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Robotech #17
Rubicon
Optera! Birthplace of the Flowers of Life and their agents of retribution, the Invid . . . nexus for an unfolding of events that had left the galaxy reshaped and redefined . . . and now the focal point of the Sentinels' long campaign to liberate the Quadrant from the Regent's tyranny.
Edwards is on his way to Optera, in flight from Tirol with his prisoner Lynn-Minmei and a handful of Invid Inorganics under his control. So too are Breetai's Zentraedi -- closing on the very world the Imperative bade them defoliate generations ago -- and the renegade forces of Tesla, mutated beyond recognition by the fruits of the Flower.
The Sentinels themselves are not far behind. However, they have Peryton to deal with first -- a godforsaken planet cursed by fate and time itself. But what awaits Rick, Lisa, and the Human Sentinels there is a mere primer for what is to come: the realization that they have journeyed across the galaxy . . . to wage war against each other!
Edwards is on his way to Optera, in flight from Tirol with his prisoner Lynn-Minmei and a handful of Invid Inorganics under his control. So too are Breetai's Zentraedi -- closing on the very world the Imperative bade them defoliate generations ago -- and the renegade forces of Tesla, mutated beyond recognition by the fruits of the Flower.
The Sentinels themselves are not far behind. However, they have Peryton to deal with first -- a godforsaken planet cursed by fate and time itself. But what awaits Rick, Lisa, and the Human Sentinels there is a mere primer for what is to come: the realization that they have journeyed across the galaxy . . . to wage war against each other!
215 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 12, 1988
122 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
September 30, 2017
The Sentinels’ Robotech War comes to an end!
This is the fifth prose novel in the five-book series of “The Sentinels”, part of the “Robotech” franchise.
NOTHING IS THE SAME AFTER ANY WAR
This is the final book in the saga of The Sentinels, part of the Robotech franchise, where it was told the war that never was shown in screens.
The REF got bigger beyond its initial conception, developing a vast fleet and also mechas beyond their wildest dreams. The Sentinels campaign was successful to liberate the Local Star Group. The Invid Regent’s forces were beaten even with an unexpected evil twist at the climax of the conflict. The space sector is secured again and peace is enjoying and progress is on full, but…
…what they have to pay to achieve that…
…was simply too costly, too dearly…
...and even many of the surviving ones, they won't be the same anymore...
…hails of victory were exclaimed, but also tears of sadness fell.
And even in the middle of those bittersweet feelings post-war…
…one of the sent battlecruisers to Earth came back, but…
…not with its original crew aboard, but…
…some loved ones and some strangers, but all friends, however…
…with sad news about the outcome of the Second Robotech War at Earth against The Robotech Masters and the impending arrival of the Invid Regis’ forces due the blossoming of the Flower of Life there.
The horizon is clear, the REF must return to home, to face the Invid Regis.
The Mars Group fleet is deployed and sent there (but if you read the Third Robotech War novels, you may know how that would result).
The Jupiter Group fleet is ready to follow, with the SDF-3, in command again of Admirals Rick Hunter and Lisa Hayes-Hunter…
…but never is as easy as it supposed to be in Robotech…
…The End of the Circle is yet to explode!!!
The Sentinels Robotech War ended, but still there is much to happen!
This is the fifth prose novel in the five-book series of “The Sentinels”, part of the “Robotech” franchise.
NOTHING IS THE SAME AFTER ANY WAR
This is the final book in the saga of The Sentinels, part of the Robotech franchise, where it was told the war that never was shown in screens.
The REF got bigger beyond its initial conception, developing a vast fleet and also mechas beyond their wildest dreams. The Sentinels campaign was successful to liberate the Local Star Group. The Invid Regent’s forces were beaten even with an unexpected evil twist at the climax of the conflict. The space sector is secured again and peace is enjoying and progress is on full, but…
…what they have to pay to achieve that…
…was simply too costly, too dearly…
...and even many of the surviving ones, they won't be the same anymore...
…hails of victory were exclaimed, but also tears of sadness fell.
And even in the middle of those bittersweet feelings post-war…
…one of the sent battlecruisers to Earth came back, but…
…not with its original crew aboard, but…
…some loved ones and some strangers, but all friends, however…
…with sad news about the outcome of the Second Robotech War at Earth against The Robotech Masters and the impending arrival of the Invid Regis’ forces due the blossoming of the Flower of Life there.
The horizon is clear, the REF must return to home, to face the Invid Regis.
The Mars Group fleet is deployed and sent there (but if you read the Third Robotech War novels, you may know how that would result).
The Jupiter Group fleet is ready to follow, with the SDF-3, in command again of Admirals Rick Hunter and Lisa Hayes-Hunter…
…but never is as easy as it supposed to be in Robotech…
…The End of the Circle is yet to explode!!!
The Sentinels Robotech War ended, but still there is much to happen!
July 5, 2022
The story was fine but the pacing was off which made the story seem to drag and feel rushed at the same time.
June 25, 2021
This is the second time that I have read this series and I still wished they would have completed the animated series, but I'll admit that after this recent read, it wasn't as good as I remembered it being. Sure, there were some epic battles (which would have probably felt more exciting as an anime cartoon), bad villains, political intrigue and heroic sacrifices, but a lot of the story felt too disjointed, confusing and just plain silly at times. Some of the epic clashes (such as Breetai versus the Regent) seemed like lost opportunities because their descriptions were boring and lackluster. Edwards and his wasteful use of the Genesis Pits and Invid resources seemed contradictory to his previous depictions as calculating (though he was also portrayed as crazy, so maybe it all works out). In the end, the series as a whole is pretty consistent- it's okay and once in a while, maybe, a little better than okay.
December 5, 2021
The epic conclusion of Robotech: The Sentinels, and despite the veering into some absurdity and body horror in the final battle, I cannot help but think that Jack McKinney understood Robotech better than Carl Macek ever did. Freed from the constraints of trying to assemble a story built for television syndication and animation budgets, McKinney put everything into the blender and made a better story. He crafted a better ending for the characters we loved, and he created some fantastical new worlds and characters. I know many Robotech purists recoil at these novelizations, and while I understand it, I do not buy into it. Jack McKinney took the fragmented story line of a cobbled together anime series, and he constructed storylines that plausibly filled in the blanks. When I look back on my life with Robotech, the book versions will always be those that I remember.
Now, will I say these books are well written and “literature?” No. There are lots of mistakes that a good editor should have caught, but I am sure the choice was to churn these books out on 1988 and hope for the best. I still love them though, and I am glad I went down memory lane.
Off to The End of the Circle, which is the where McKinney takes a whack at bringing the story to a close.
Now, will I say these books are well written and “literature?” No. There are lots of mistakes that a good editor should have caught, but I am sure the choice was to churn these books out on 1988 and hope for the best. I still love them though, and I am glad I went down memory lane.
Off to The End of the Circle, which is the where McKinney takes a whack at bringing the story to a close.
June 1, 2022
This book does a good job of tying up a lot of loose ends created when three disparate anime series, and planned but never-aired sequels, were arbitrarily shoved together to create the Robotech universe. Previous books in the series tried to do this with muted offhand comments. Because this is book is near the end of the story, we get a more complete chronology of events, highlighted by an actual table of events at the end of the book. The plot moves along nicely but because the landscapes and characters are so completely alien, it was hard to make a clear mental picture of what is exactly going on in several of the scenes. That said, the book was enjoyable and I am looking forward to the next in the series.
September 28, 2020
None of this made sense or was logically consistent. The levels of power in any given thing were all over the place, the timelines, etc.
From start to finish it was a good finish to the Sentinels. But any given part... no.
From start to finish it was a good finish to the Sentinels. But any given part... no.
September 22, 2020
The rest of the series is bad enough, but this one is downright horrific.
June 14, 2010
I'm still stubbornly slogging my way through some books I've basically out-grown, but want another read-through of before I donate/sell/burn them.
It was going so well up until this point. The first 4 Sentinels novels, while shallow and pulpy action and space opera, at least had a good pace, non-annoying characters (outside of minmei who was mercifully minor) and creative machines/planets/aliens which is all I've ever really wanted out of Science Fiction. Unfortunately, the plot really falls apart in this last book (of the sentinels anyway). There are just too many moments that seem out of character for too many characters. Minmei as assassin. The invad Regent out in the middle of the battlefield (he had been portrayed largely as an ineffective coward/bully at this point), Breetai's apparent death wish and lack of fighting skill, minmei's song debilitating the zentraedi after they had had years to adjust, the fighting machines the evil Colonel Edwards cooks up to freak out the RDF (in like a day he manufactures grotesque naked versions of all the main characters to demoralize them. it was just dumb).
What I liked about this book:
a) Colonel edwards in control of optera.
b) closure on the storyline.
c) How the curse of peryton is ended
Next up: The Robotech Masters invade earth!
It was going so well up until this point. The first 4 Sentinels novels, while shallow and pulpy action and space opera, at least had a good pace, non-annoying characters (outside of minmei who was mercifully minor) and creative machines/planets/aliens which is all I've ever really wanted out of Science Fiction. Unfortunately, the plot really falls apart in this last book (of the sentinels anyway). There are just too many moments that seem out of character for too many characters. Minmei as assassin. The invad Regent out in the middle of the battlefield (he had been portrayed largely as an ineffective coward/bully at this point), Breetai's apparent death wish and lack of fighting skill, minmei's song debilitating the zentraedi after they had had years to adjust, the fighting machines the evil Colonel Edwards cooks up to freak out the RDF (in like a day he manufactures grotesque naked versions of all the main characters to demoralize them. it was just dumb).
What I liked about this book:
a) Colonel edwards in control of optera.
b) closure on the storyline.
c) How the curse of peryton is ended
Next up: The Robotech Masters invade earth!
March 3, 2012
The Sentinels are left with two planets to complete their original mission to rid the quadrant of war: Peryton, a cursed planet, and the Invid homeworld Optera. This is an exciting epic finale as all of the various characters in the power struggle converge - The Sentinels, The Invid Regent, the evolved Invid scientist Tesla, the REF, the remaining Zentraedi and the renegade Edwards - on a drastic fight of domination surrounding Optera.[return][return]This volume completes The Sentinels campaign that took many familiar characters from the Macross Saga across the universe to investigate the Fourth Quadrant. This final volume ties all of the loose strings from the saga rather quickly, but in an exciting ending the reader won't see coming.
August 3, 2011
I loved Rubicon. It was a very good end for the Sentinels (which despite its quirkiness, was a good storyline). I acually liked Rubicon much more than the Prelude to Shadow Chronicles which is now officially "canon". Prelude to Shadow Chronicles removed a lot of things which I liked about Rubicon, such as Breetai's climactic fight (which was retconned to being killed by Edwards ingloriously), as well as killing Rick and Lisa's unborn child (I loved Roy Hunter!). Rubicon essentially wraps up the civil war in the REF, with the defent of the Regent's Invid, and ends the Sentinels with the REF preparing for the final attack to liberate Earth for the Regis.
March 29, 2011
Great series of books for kids that enjoy or are interested in science fiction. I read these books in middle school (I'm now in my 30s) and loved each one. The stories are fun, engaging and relatively fast paced. I'd be tempted to reread them now just for old time's sake if I didn't have so many new books on my to-read list.
I knocked it down a peg because, in retrospect, there are some aspects that are a bit too cheesy. I'm sure when my kids are old enough, they'll get thier own copies.
I knocked it down a peg because, in retrospect, there are some aspects that are a bit too cheesy. I'm sure when my kids are old enough, they'll get thier own copies.
February 20, 2008
The final act for the Sentinels Saga, this helps close it with a bang, taking the place of book #19 in the Chronological order. This also ties the Sentinels Saga storyline back into the one occurring on Earth as well, and helps to set up some of the events that occur at the end of Symphony of Light.
June 2, 2013
This is it!! The battle for freedom in this neck of space and beyond is here. I really liked it and I know this has all been replaced now over the years as non cannon. But that's a boardroom choice not mine. So I'm sticking with this story line.
February 23, 2019
The sorta epic conclusion.
May 16, 2024
Rubicon (Sentinels)
by Jack McKinney
the book is looking into the next generation and the cultural change that happened when the two enemies join together.
by Jack McKinney
the book is looking into the next generation and the cultural change that happened when the two enemies join together.
May 12, 2015
Great SiFi series. Giant battlesuits battling outer space monsters, what more can you ask for. Very recommended
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews