The Robotech Saga


Like most kids, I was a big Anime fan at a young age. And yet, only one series managed to stay with me as a became a teenager and that was Robotech. Out of nostalgia, I bought the DVDs a few years back, and I was pleased to discover that I still enjoyed the saga as much as when I was younger.

As a matter of course, I bought all the volumes from the Jack McKinney novelization of the series. Last year, Del Rey Books re-released the first three series of the saga in neat 3-in-1 omnibus editions. Which means that you can get your hands on basically the entire saga in 4 relatively cheap mass market paperbacks.

With the Holidays just around the corner, I've been receiving quite a few emails asking to write another post revealing my "older" favorites so that SFF fans can get them for Christmas. The list I came up with last winter was pretty full (Katherine Kurtz, C. S. Friedman, and many more). But the Robotech novels just might be what the doctor ordered if you are looking for an entertaining space opera.

- Robotech: The Macross Saga: Battlecry (Canada, USA, Europe)
- Robotech: The Macross Saga: Doomsday (Canada, USA, Europe)
- Robotech: The Masters Saga: The Southern Cross (Canada, USA, Europe)
- Robotech: The New Generation: The Invid Invasion (Canada, USA, Europe)

Used copies are even cheaper, and you can get copies of the earlier edition of each volume for as low as a penny. At those prices, old or new, they're quite a steal!

I was pleasantly surprised that a great Robotech community is still thriving at http://www.robotech.com/, where you can get a ton of info on the storylines and everything Robotech!

So join Rick, Lisa, Roy, Max, and the other untried REF forces who must face the Zentraedi threat from outer space. And it all begins when a large alien spacecraft bursts through hyperspace and enters Earth's atmosphere, crashing on Macross Island in the South Pacific. The nations of the world, who are engaged in a global war at the time, call a cease-fire to assess the alien threat. According to the first top secret report of the study of the alien spacecraft, it is discovered that the ship is military in nature, and its crew are on average, six times the size of human beings, with exceptional individuals exceeding fifty feet in height. Terrified by the all too real prospect of invasion from deep space, a campaign is initiated to unite the Earth under one unified government.

The construction of the Super Dimension Fortress-1 (SDF-1) is formally announced to the world, though the true nature of its underlying alien technology is kept "top secret". Development of weapon systems for use in combat against the giant alien threat begins.

Nearly a decade later, during the official launch ceremonies celebrating the maiden voyage of the SDF-1 on Macross Island, a Zentraedi fleet, sent by the Robotech Masters to retrieve their spacecraft and led by Commander Breetai, arrives near lunar orbit.

Sensing the threat, the aline ship reconstructed by the Earth united forces engages the enemy. The main guns of the SDF-1 automatically fire and destroy two approaching Zentraedi scout ships. Thus begins the First Robotech War. . .

Check it out! It's a lot of fun!

9 commentaires:

Anonymous said...

I was curious about this series at that age myself but never got into it. Maybe I'll check out those new editions - thanks.

Dream Girlzzz said...

Hey Pat, we must be of an age because I used to like that show a lot!

Never read the books though, so maybe I should go back on memory lane and give these a shot.

Adam Whitehead said...

It was a good show, but I felt the books were much better because all the inconsistencies from the TV show (which were due to the TV show being three different Japanese series re-dubbed into one with no common characters between them) could be explained a lot better.

You also missed out on the subsequent books: THE SENTINELS omnibus is also pretty good, catching up on what happened to Rick, Lisa, Breeta, Lang, Edwards etc after they vanished into space. There's also two very good original novels which I believe are accepted as canon: THE ZENTRAEDI REBELLION takes place immediately after the events of the original Macross saga and is easily the best single ROBOTECH novel out there. THE MASTERS' GAMBIT is okay but a bit cheesy, as is BEFORE THE INVID STORM. THE END OF THE CIRCLE is interesting but apparently has been decreed non-canon to make way for the new ROBOTECH movie that aired a few months back (THE SHADOW CHRONICLES).

Fun factoid: the author 'Jack McKinney' is a composite of two authors, Brian Daly (who wrote a bunch of early STAR WARS novels) and James Luceno, who was one of the creators of the NEW JEDI ORDER series of STAR WARS books and still a frequent STAR WARS writer today.

Anonymous said...

I agree with you Pat. This show is one of the few TV shows from my childhood that I can still watch. Not only that, but when I began to get into reading at age ten, it was Jack Mckinney's ROBOTECH books that started me on my way.

Patrick said...

Adam: I'll have to check, but as far as I can tell there was no omnibus edition for The Sentinels...

I knew that Jack McKinney was a pseudonym for two authors, but I had no idea who they were! Thanks for the heads up!

Adam Whitehead said...

Since I own it, I think there was ;-)

http://www.amazon.com/Sentinels-Robotech-Omnibus-Vols-1-3/dp/0345389018/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1226602865&sr=8-2

As far as I know, they never released Books 4 and 5 as an omnibus though. I found Rubicon going cheap in a second-hand bookstore, which means as of now the only Robotech books I haven't read are World Killers (Sentinels #4) and The End of the Circle.

Anonymous said...

FYI - The Shadow Chronicles doesn't blatantly contradict The End of the Circle - it's really more like an adaptation taking liberties in a good way and making it into a story that's a little more action based and could be used as a springboard for a TV/OVA series (instead of the cap for a book series).

I completely agree about these books - they in many ways surpass the series (and the series itself is pretty great). Well worth picking up even if you've never seen the show.

Napoleon said...

The Robotech novels rocked. All of them did. Even the side novels like the Zentraedi Rebellion, Before the Invid Storm and The Masters' Gambit. And dont forget the Sentinels books.

I actually enjoyed the books more then the shows. Great, great reads.

Anonymous said...

I read the books long before I watched the show. They still retain a cherished spot in my bookshelf. It's hokey, yes, but the Jack McKinney novels are one of the best examples of space opera done right.