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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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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