I vaguely remember reading somewhere that there was some kind of issue with the rights to this novel and that it was withdrawn from sale a while after publication. The book itself also has a rather interesting – if hazy and confusing – history too. So, yes, this is technically the very first Shaun Hutson novel I ever read 🙂 At the time, I didn’t pay much attention to who wrote it, and it was only after I became a Shaun Hutson fan at least several months later ( when I happened to find a copy of “Assassin” on a market stall in Stafford) that I finally noticed that “The Terminator” was also a Shaun Hutson novel too. If I remember rightly, I found this book in a charity shop when I was about twelve or thirteen and really enjoyed it. I am, of course, talking about Shaun Hutson’s 1984 novelisation of James Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd’s classic sci-fi thriller film “The Terminator”. In 2008, The Terminator was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.Well, although I’ll probably take another break from reading books, I thought that I’d take a look at one that I have been meaning to re-read for absolutely ages.

The film's success led to a franchise consisting of several sequels, a television series, comic books, novels and video games. It is credited with launching Cameron's film career and solidifying Schwarzenegger's status as a leading man. The film's special effects, which included miniatures and stop-motion animation, were created by a team of artists led by Stan Winston and Gene Warren Jr.ĭefying low pre-release expectations, The Terminator topped the United States box office for two weeks, eventually grossing $78.3 million against a modest $6.4 million budget. Filming, which took place mostly at night on location in Los Angeles, was delayed because of Schwarzenegger's commitments to Conan the Destroyer (1984), during which Cameron found time to work on the scripts for Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985) and Aliens (1986). Originally approached by Orion for the role of Reese, Schwarzenegger agreed to play the title character after befriending Cameron. He sold the rights to the project to fellow New World Pictures alumna Hurd on the condition that she would produce the film only if he were to direct it Hurd eventually secured a distribution deal with Orion Pictures, while executive producers John Daly and Derek Gibson of Hemdale Film Corporation were instrumental in setting up the film's financing and production. Cameron devised the premise of the film from a fever dream he experienced during the release of his first film, Piranha II: The Spawning (1982), in Rome, and developed the concept in collaboration with Wisher.

The Terminator by Shaun Hutson