Terminator Salvation: Cold War

By: Greg Cox

The second novel in the Terminator Salvation Series Timeline.  2 novels in one book! Beginning with the Judgement Day in 2003, this book takes a look at the other side of the missile launches.  Also, in 2018 a small resistance cell in Alaska takes on a large heist to get the attention of Command.

Plot: The year is 2003.  Captain Dimitri Losenko is ordered to launch a barrage of nuclear missiles against the USA in a counter attack.  After Judgement Day, the Gorshkov submarine surfaces to find out that machines were the cause of the initial strike, forcing Russia's hand.

Now Dimitri resurfaces to encounter hostile machines, humans enslaved or sympathetic to the synthetic cause, and a small group of remnant military factions trying to unite to take on Skynet.  If only the old countries can put their now obsolete prejudices aside.

Now the year is 2018.  A group of rag tag resistance members battle the Alaskan weather while trying to survive in post Judgement Day Alaska.  Molly Kookesh struggle to keep her Resistance cell safe from the terminators with very little resources.  A fuel heist gone wrong lures a terminator back to their camp, destroying the place and costing many lives.

After the devastation, Molly is convinced to get the notice of General Losenko at Command, by planning to steal Yellowcake from a Skynet train, that passes nearby like clockwork.  But like most things that involve Skynet, not everything goes as planned...

Review:  The view into immediately after Judgement Day was quite exciting as a reader.  For me at least, this was an area of the timeline that hadn't been explored yet.  Learning about the Skynet Sympathizers was a great explanation of how Skynet was able to take over the world so quickly.  The story of the Alaskan resistance group almost seemed like a sub plot, and was not real engaging.  The characters were very well developed and likable, but the story itself was plain.

Also, the reader had to jump from one story to the other from chapter to chapter, which was very disruptive as far as the story's flow was concerned.  This story really should have had a part 1 (2003) and a part 2 (2018).