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Robotech #1-3
Robotech - The Macross Saga: Battlecry, Vol 1–3
Collected together in one neat volume—three electrifying futuristic adventures that let loose the Robotech Defense Force against the most fearsome conquerors in the universe.
Three ROBOTECH novels for the price of one. Genesis, Battle Cry, and Homecoming from the Macross Saga collected together in one neat volume.
GENESIS
The Global Civil War was about to make Humankind extinct, when the stupendous Super Dimensional Fortress, dispatched to Earth by a dying alien genius, changed all that forever. Humanity's only hope lay in a corps of untried young men and women gifted with powers they didn't fully understand. Then the most feared conquerors in the universe attacked, determined to destroy them for no reason they could comprehend.
BATTLE CRY
Henry J. Global is in command of the Super Dimensional Fortress. But a massive enemy force led by Khyron the Backstabber is hot on his trail…
HOMECOMING
For over a year, the humans aboard the Super Dimensional Fortress fought and eluded a millions-strong armada of alien warships. Now the SDF-1 would have to slug her way through the massed enemy fleet to return to blue-white Terra. But villains come in human form as well as alien 6 and the evil of power-hungry men may be the most lethal threat of all…
Three ROBOTECH novels for the price of one. Genesis, Battle Cry, and Homecoming from the Macross Saga collected together in one neat volume.
GENESIS
The Global Civil War was about to make Humankind extinct, when the stupendous Super Dimensional Fortress, dispatched to Earth by a dying alien genius, changed all that forever. Humanity's only hope lay in a corps of untried young men and women gifted with powers they didn't fully understand. Then the most feared conquerors in the universe attacked, determined to destroy them for no reason they could comprehend.
BATTLE CRY
Henry J. Global is in command of the Super Dimensional Fortress. But a massive enemy force led by Khyron the Backstabber is hot on his trail…
HOMECOMING
For over a year, the humans aboard the Super Dimensional Fortress fought and eluded a millions-strong armada of alien warships. Now the SDF-1 would have to slug her way through the massed enemy fleet to return to blue-white Terra. But villains come in human form as well as alien 6 and the evil of power-hungry men may be the most lethal threat of all…
560 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 2, 1994
138 people are currently reading
266 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
October 24, 2023
3.5 Stars
This was such an entertaining pageturner. When I was reading this trilogy,
I had no idea this was a media tie-in book. The story stands on it's own. I'm not a diehard military sci fi reader but this was just an engrossing story I found myself pulled into the action. The three stories were quite short so it was easy to binge through all three books. The characters were pretty flat, but I didn't fell like I needed dynamic characters to enjoy this one.
I would recommend this one to readers looking for an engaging, action packed sci fi adventure. The story was incredibly straightforward and accessible so it would be great for beginners.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
This was such an entertaining pageturner. When I was reading this trilogy,
I had no idea this was a media tie-in book. The story stands on it's own. I'm not a diehard military sci fi reader but this was just an engrossing story I found myself pulled into the action. The three stories were quite short so it was easy to binge through all three books. The characters were pretty flat, but I didn't fell like I needed dynamic characters to enjoy this one.
I would recommend this one to readers looking for an engaging, action packed sci fi adventure. The story was incredibly straightforward and accessible so it would be great for beginners.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
May 2, 2012
I usually don't read media tie-in books, mostly because a lot of them are of questionable quality that, at the worst of times, reads a lot like internet fan fiction. With the Robotech novels, however, I have mixed opinions. As most everybody knows, these short novels are based on the anime from the 1980s of the same name and novelizes all three seasons of the show. There were other Robotech novels too, but these sadly are now out of print and only the 12 books that retell the story of the show are still available, collected into four separate books (titled 'Battlecry', 'Doomsday', 'The Southern Cross' and 'The Invid Invasion' respectively).
Battlecry covers the first half of the shows first season. For the most part, Jack McKinney (a pseudonym for the authors James Luceno and the late Brian Daley) stays pretty faithful to the source material. But they also attempt to fill in some of the shows' logical and story-telling holes. For example there is an entire sections of the book that shows how the SDF-1 was sent to earth, and the first expedition team sent to explore the ship after it crashed on earth. There is also a scene added that explains why the governments of earth decided to rebuild the ship. They also expand on the back stories of some of the characters like the SDF-1's creator Zor and, to a lesser degree, fan favorite Roy Fokker. There are some minor continuity screw ups however, the most infamous being the 'thinking cap' concept in where the mechs the main characters use are partly controlled by the pilot's thoughts; something that was never in the show. But these things are very minor and can be forgiven.
My biggest problem with this novel and the other books in the series is the prose. Its god awful, it felt like I was reading fan fiction half the time and not something by two professional writers. This is especially true when you come to the sections that were written by James Luceno. I never thought Luceno was that great a writer to start with. But here his prose is so wooden that its almost unreadable, its as if he's not even trying. He rushes through entire scenes, some of which are actually kind of important to the plot, as if he wants to get the "boring stuff" out of the way so he can get to the big space battle. And even when he finally gets there, the space battle is boring as hell to read. The sections written by Delay, by far the more experienced writer of the two, are a little better but not by much. Delay regularly breaks the rule of "show, not tell" and he rarely grants us a peak inside the characters heads and lets us know what they are thinking and going through. If this wasn't Robotech, this book would have been in the trash long ago.
But to be fair, the time constants that Luceno and Delay were under to write and publish these books was GALACTICLY ridiculous, even by today's standards. Harmony Gold, the company that owns Robotech, had them churning out a new book literally once a month, with little or no time for revision. That's insane, I don't think even the Star Wars authors are under that kind of pressure. So in that sense, I have a lot of respect for what they were able to do.
Overall: As a book, Battlecry is a complete failure. But as a novelization of one of the best anime's of all time its pretty good. If you're a fan like me then pick this and the others up and check them out, otherwise stay away.
Battlecry covers the first half of the shows first season. For the most part, Jack McKinney (a pseudonym for the authors James Luceno and the late Brian Daley) stays pretty faithful to the source material. But they also attempt to fill in some of the shows' logical and story-telling holes. For example there is an entire sections of the book that shows how the SDF-1 was sent to earth, and the first expedition team sent to explore the ship after it crashed on earth. There is also a scene added that explains why the governments of earth decided to rebuild the ship. They also expand on the back stories of some of the characters like the SDF-1's creator Zor and, to a lesser degree, fan favorite Roy Fokker. There are some minor continuity screw ups however, the most infamous being the 'thinking cap' concept in where the mechs the main characters use are partly controlled by the pilot's thoughts; something that was never in the show. But these things are very minor and can be forgiven.
My biggest problem with this novel and the other books in the series is the prose. Its god awful, it felt like I was reading fan fiction half the time and not something by two professional writers. This is especially true when you come to the sections that were written by James Luceno. I never thought Luceno was that great a writer to start with. But here his prose is so wooden that its almost unreadable, its as if he's not even trying. He rushes through entire scenes, some of which are actually kind of important to the plot, as if he wants to get the "boring stuff" out of the way so he can get to the big space battle. And even when he finally gets there, the space battle is boring as hell to read. The sections written by Delay, by far the more experienced writer of the two, are a little better but not by much. Delay regularly breaks the rule of "show, not tell" and he rarely grants us a peak inside the characters heads and lets us know what they are thinking and going through. If this wasn't Robotech, this book would have been in the trash long ago.
But to be fair, the time constants that Luceno and Delay were under to write and publish these books was GALACTICLY ridiculous, even by today's standards. Harmony Gold, the company that owns Robotech, had them churning out a new book literally once a month, with little or no time for revision. That's insane, I don't think even the Star Wars authors are under that kind of pressure. So in that sense, I have a lot of respect for what they were able to do.
Overall: As a book, Battlecry is a complete failure. But as a novelization of one of the best anime's of all time its pretty good. If you're a fan like me then pick this and the others up and check them out, otherwise stay away.
December 1, 2020
Something from my childhood.
Overall Thoughts
The Macross Saga was something that I remembered from when I was a kid. To this day, I still have memories of sitting with my feet up on the sofa, awkwardly angling my body to try to get the good light from the lamp on the left.
The story is one that — in my opinion — stands the test of time. Humans are attacked by an alien race, to sum it up lightly. But it’s so much MORE than that. There’s a human element that the action series on XBOX couldn’t really capture. The book was able to expand on concepts and theories and make them more believable.
This book actually spans 3 stories, each with their own name. Battlecry is a great name, and the best of what I remember.
There’s 13 or 20 “books” in this series, and I won’t read them all, but there’s SUCH a nostalgic, awesome element to this.
Pros
1) The story is from a video game. This is a huge pro, but will also be a con. There are tons of action scenes and cool things I remembered while reading.
2) The human element can, surprisingly, really impact you when you get down to it. It had some intriguing plot lines
Cons
1) It’s based on a video game. It’s a standard “fight for survival” story at its heart
2) While there are mature story elements, it does seem REALLY YA to me
Closing Thoughts
My 1300 page epic was coming out soon, and was undoubtedly to be heavy. This was a great way to relive something from my past, read a book in between other books, and really just...zone out.
Not everyone’s bag of tea, slightly sophomoric, but with a subtle maturity that lets this one stick through the ages.
Overall Thoughts
The Macross Saga was something that I remembered from when I was a kid. To this day, I still have memories of sitting with my feet up on the sofa, awkwardly angling my body to try to get the good light from the lamp on the left.
The story is one that — in my opinion — stands the test of time. Humans are attacked by an alien race, to sum it up lightly. But it’s so much MORE than that. There’s a human element that the action series on XBOX couldn’t really capture. The book was able to expand on concepts and theories and make them more believable.
This book actually spans 3 stories, each with their own name. Battlecry is a great name, and the best of what I remember.
There’s 13 or 20 “books” in this series, and I won’t read them all, but there’s SUCH a nostalgic, awesome element to this.
Pros
1) The story is from a video game. This is a huge pro, but will also be a con. There are tons of action scenes and cool things I remembered while reading.
2) The human element can, surprisingly, really impact you when you get down to it. It had some intriguing plot lines
Cons
1) It’s based on a video game. It’s a standard “fight for survival” story at its heart
2) While there are mature story elements, it does seem REALLY YA to me
Closing Thoughts
My 1300 page epic was coming out soon, and was undoubtedly to be heavy. This was a great way to relive something from my past, read a book in between other books, and really just...zone out.
Not everyone’s bag of tea, slightly sophomoric, but with a subtle maturity that lets this one stick through the ages.
April 15, 2018
Nostalgia: It's a hell of a drug.
I've bought this book in print three or four times. The first time, I was a young teenager who remembered watching the Robotech cartoon as a kid. I enjoyed the book, but I was also reading pretty much every book I could get my hands on.
A few years later, I learned to be a bit more discerning with my reading. I took my copy to the local Half-Price Books, and there it lived ... until I saw a copy at HPB and vaguely remembered enjoying it. "It can't be as bad as I remember it being," I told myself. Only it was.
I probably bought the same copy from HPB multiple times, each time returning it after re-reading it. I'd have saved myself a ton of money by donating it to the local library.
It's not good. It's fun. In parts, it's a LOT of fun. But this is not, and never has been, good.
Read for the nostalgia. Read for the fun. Don't read for the quality of the writing or the deep storyline or anything silly like that.
Just don't come crying to me if you don't like it. I already know how bad it is, and I did warn you.
I've bought this book in print three or four times. The first time, I was a young teenager who remembered watching the Robotech cartoon as a kid. I enjoyed the book, but I was also reading pretty much every book I could get my hands on.
A few years later, I learned to be a bit more discerning with my reading. I took my copy to the local Half-Price Books, and there it lived ... until I saw a copy at HPB and vaguely remembered enjoying it. "It can't be as bad as I remember it being," I told myself. Only it was.
I probably bought the same copy from HPB multiple times, each time returning it after re-reading it. I'd have saved myself a ton of money by donating it to the local library.
It's not good. It's fun. In parts, it's a LOT of fun. But this is not, and never has been, good.
Read for the nostalgia. Read for the fun. Don't read for the quality of the writing or the deep storyline or anything silly like that.
Just don't come crying to me if you don't like it. I already know how bad it is, and I did warn you.
November 8, 2015
Yes, I am complaining that at the bottom of p. 453, "Azonia" is mistakenly substituted for "Miriya" and for two paragraphs, the wrong Zentraedi is involved in the action.
Other than that, I was mostly happy with finally reading the first three Robotech novels.
Other than that, I was mostly happy with finally reading the first three Robotech novels.
March 31, 2019
I think 3 stars is pretty fair for this one. Primary reading it for the Robotech nostalgia - very enjoyable in that respect. The writing is not all there, but stays true to the show, and offers a lot of additional background and insight.
January 2, 2008
Best Sci-fi series I have ever read and watched. closely resembles the anime series. so if you remember the series no need in reading these books.
November 28, 2020
If you're a fan of Robotech and need more Robotech in your life then this book is for you. If you've never heard of or watched the classic show then tragically it's not. However, I strongly recommend you do watch the show and then come back and try the novels even if the novels are just okay. It's something you might want to read and maybe flip through now and then because you love the characters and the Robotech universe, but not a book you own or read because of quality. Which is terribly lacking.
The writing is rushed. Too much 'telling' and not 'showing' and although there are parts where the 'showing' is interesting too many times the author(s) does 'show' it's not great and goes right back to 'telling'. I read another review and I think that person said there was a tight publishing deadline to pump out as many Robotech novels in a year as possible so the author(s) had to work fast. And it shows, which is a damn shame. There's so much great material to write about and expand on that it's a major let down that money was the only concern and not making a great product for the fans and potentially new sci-fi fans.
Yet, despite the bad writing I blasted through the book and did enjoy it. But again, only because I love Robotech.
The writing is rushed. Too much 'telling' and not 'showing' and although there are parts where the 'showing' is interesting too many times the author(s) does 'show' it's not great and goes right back to 'telling'. I read another review and I think that person said there was a tight publishing deadline to pump out as many Robotech novels in a year as possible so the author(s) had to work fast. And it shows, which is a damn shame. There's so much great material to write about and expand on that it's a major let down that money was the only concern and not making a great product for the fans and potentially new sci-fi fans.
Yet, despite the bad writing I blasted through the book and did enjoy it. But again, only because I love Robotech.
April 8, 2021
So there's this cartoon. Then someone watched the cartoon and wrote what he saw almost scene by scene into narrative form. This is that. I was expecting some additional character development and insight. I was expecting some additional back story. None of that is here. That being said, it is one of my favorite anime series and this novelization is true to it's original nature so I am being entertained as I read it. There are novelizations that stay true to the original video source that I have rated better, but the problem here is that the source is very visual. It is much better to see epic space battles than read about them. A military fighter jet that transforms into two different forms of fighting robot is a purely visual fantasy, and a written description of it could never match up to the images. In fact, this book did little more than make me relive the cartoon in my head. This is the first three books of the series so I will continue to read more of the series and most likely will be entertained but not impressed.
July 24, 2018
These were better than I ever knew when initially reading twenty years ago, and do a lot to flesh out the Robotech universe in tiny details. The thought processes of various characters, tidbits about minor characters and exposition, the chapter asides from the far end of the series reflecting back, and really nuanced descriptions of the characters emotions - all of this went a long way for me. There are a few things that are added to the canon out of nowhere and other things that are flat out untrue (how the Veritech pilots control their VTs for one, by some kind of techno-mental synchronicity akin to Evangelion), but the overall product comes together so well that I can't begin to care.
April 17, 2022
I grew up watching Robotech on Chicago TV and it was great to read this retelling of the Macross saga. The book is fun to read if you're a Robotech fan, but I'm not sure it would convert you if you were not already familiar with the property.
Pretty much written at the YA level, the book (three books, really) is a brisk read and I really had a blast and it brought back great memories of flyboy Rick Hunter and that pain in the ass Minmei...
Pretty much written at the YA level, the book (three books, really) is a brisk read and I really had a blast and it brought back great memories of flyboy Rick Hunter and that pain in the ass Minmei...
July 26, 2025
An amazing book!
Just a great book that makes you remember the shows from your childhood. Has twist and curves that just push you into your seat. Fly high commander Roy!
Just a great book that makes you remember the shows from your childhood. Has twist and curves that just push you into your seat. Fly high commander Roy!
March 14, 2022
Good it ain't. At times it was downright stupid. But it was fun. Minmei fucking sucks as much as she did in the cartoon. Yeah, it's a book based on a cartoon and I'm an old person. This is my life.
February 4, 2019
Review of the series on my blog.
September 12, 2023
See my review here:
https://sarahoverbooked.wordpress.com...
https://sarahoverbooked.wordpress.com...
April 30, 2015
Same as the others, I am a fan of this Space Opera. The path from the original unrelated anime series that were stitched together and adapted for an audience of american children seems so sloppy and backwards that it couldn't possibly work but there are just too many cool elements for it to fail. And even the awkward, inappropriate scenes that the writers struggled to explain have become some of my favorite moments.
The books are even written based on the television series, with much of the cheesy dialogue ("See you later! We're being evacuated!") intact but given more depth and maturity by talented sci-fi writers who are good at action scenes: "A disc struck a pod near Breetai even as he was firing left and right with his rifle; blast and shrapnel hit his head and the right side of his face. Breetai dropped, skull aflame..." This is the beginning of the book describing an injury sustained by the alien commander in charge of retrieving an alien fortress from the clueless humans of Earth. Later, he gets in a hand to hand fight with several transformer/fighter jets from Earth and when one explodes it blasts a hole in the side of the ship and Breetai gets sucked into space and without oxygen or a space suit he claws his way back inside and when his soldiers wonder in amazement at how he did it he just tells them, "I am made of sterner stuff than you."
There is a lot of fuss about "protoculture" which is vaguely described like some sort of energy source but I think in the original story protoculture is a reference to a common ancestor between the tiny people of Earth and the giant, clone, warrior aliens who are fighting to retrieve their ship.
At times you wonder why you are reading about love triangles and beauty contests in space but then it is awesome to see these alien warriors spaz out because they can't handle seeing a man and a woman kiss and they consider a beautiful young girl who wants to be a famous singer as a terrifying weapon that leaves them questioning their entire way of life.
And did I mention all the space battles, cool mecha and original rock music? Some people know what is cool and some people you have to twist their arm to get them to pay attention. I'm not going to twist your arm, though.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b8nd...
The books are even written based on the television series, with much of the cheesy dialogue ("See you later! We're being evacuated!") intact but given more depth and maturity by talented sci-fi writers who are good at action scenes: "A disc struck a pod near Breetai even as he was firing left and right with his rifle; blast and shrapnel hit his head and the right side of his face. Breetai dropped, skull aflame..." This is the beginning of the book describing an injury sustained by the alien commander in charge of retrieving an alien fortress from the clueless humans of Earth. Later, he gets in a hand to hand fight with several transformer/fighter jets from Earth and when one explodes it blasts a hole in the side of the ship and Breetai gets sucked into space and without oxygen or a space suit he claws his way back inside and when his soldiers wonder in amazement at how he did it he just tells them, "I am made of sterner stuff than you."
There is a lot of fuss about "protoculture" which is vaguely described like some sort of energy source but I think in the original story protoculture is a reference to a common ancestor between the tiny people of Earth and the giant, clone, warrior aliens who are fighting to retrieve their ship.
At times you wonder why you are reading about love triangles and beauty contests in space but then it is awesome to see these alien warriors spaz out because they can't handle seeing a man and a woman kiss and they consider a beautiful young girl who wants to be a famous singer as a terrifying weapon that leaves them questioning their entire way of life.
And did I mention all the space battles, cool mecha and original rock music? Some people know what is cool and some people you have to twist their arm to get them to pay attention. I'm not going to twist your arm, though.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b8nd...
December 5, 2023
In Genesis, the Global Civil War raged until the appearance of the Super Dimensional Fortress. It crashed into Macross Island, and a city grew up around it to explore its technology and train a new generation of recruits to pilot the experimental tech. When aliens arrive, it's up to these people to defend the planet.
In Battle Cry, the Super Dimensional Fortress is on its way back to Earth after performing a fold operation that got the aliens away from the planet but damaged the mechanism. New alien forces are dogging their every step.
In Homecoming, the Super Dimensional Fortress has evaded the alien fleet despite the odds stacked against them. They're still making their way home to Earth, but there are more villains determined to destroy the human fleet.
If you have ever seen the original Macross anime, yes, this is the novelization of that series, and it does so faithfully, with more insight into character motivations and background. For those that haven't, Macross in all its forms involves giant mechs piloted by humans, some kind of singing idol, and a love triangle. This universe of anime series is as much human interest stories as they are about battles and awesome giant robots. (Macross Plus and Macross Frontier have the best music!) This novelization really takes me back, and we know much earlier than the characters do that the aliens are the warlike Zentraedi, are fifty feet tall at a minimum, and do nothing but fight. We also know that they serve another force, which is outlined in the book much earlier than we find out in the anime.
Characters here are exactly as they were presented in the anime, with more insight into their thoughts and why they behave the way they do. I understand Lisa a lot more now and feel kinder toward her. I have to admit, I hate Minmei just as much in the book as I did watching the anime years ago, even with knowing her thought processes. The pilots have their rivalries, friendships, and loyalties, and I fell right back into it as if I were watching the anime again. There's so much more here than in the original anime, which already had more to the story than the altered Robotech series that was shown in the US. If you're a fan of either series, definitely pick this up and read it.
In Battle Cry, the Super Dimensional Fortress is on its way back to Earth after performing a fold operation that got the aliens away from the planet but damaged the mechanism. New alien forces are dogging their every step.
In Homecoming, the Super Dimensional Fortress has evaded the alien fleet despite the odds stacked against them. They're still making their way home to Earth, but there are more villains determined to destroy the human fleet.
If you have ever seen the original Macross anime, yes, this is the novelization of that series, and it does so faithfully, with more insight into character motivations and background. For those that haven't, Macross in all its forms involves giant mechs piloted by humans, some kind of singing idol, and a love triangle. This universe of anime series is as much human interest stories as they are about battles and awesome giant robots. (Macross Plus and Macross Frontier have the best music!) This novelization really takes me back, and we know much earlier than the characters do that the aliens are the warlike Zentraedi, are fifty feet tall at a minimum, and do nothing but fight. We also know that they serve another force, which is outlined in the book much earlier than we find out in the anime.
Characters here are exactly as they were presented in the anime, with more insight into their thoughts and why they behave the way they do. I understand Lisa a lot more now and feel kinder toward her. I have to admit, I hate Minmei just as much in the book as I did watching the anime years ago, even with knowing her thought processes. The pilots have their rivalries, friendships, and loyalties, and I fell right back into it as if I were watching the anime again. There's so much more here than in the original anime, which already had more to the story than the altered Robotech series that was shown in the US. If you're a fan of either series, definitely pick this up and read it.
June 2, 2017
The appeal of these books did not survive my transition to adulthood. Here are some of the main issues I have:
Plodding prose
Apparently this whole series was rushed out in a single year, and it shows. You cannot write and edit this many pages well in that kind of time frame. That's one book every two weeks.
Straight-from-screen story-telling
To get the books out, the authors more or less copied the show, scene by scene. You really sense this during the repetitive descriptions of the dogfight scenes from the series. (These scenes are also repetitive in the source material because of the cost of animation, but that's no excuse.) The same phrases get recycled over and over -- how many times do we need to hear that explosions are spheres in a vacuum?
Characterization
Many of the characters were pretty cookie-cutter in the series. That's kind of a staple of 80s and 90s TV, anime in particular. But writing a cookie-cutter character for fidelity's sake is not a good idea.
Here's an example of where this gets really painful. Remember the first scene with the fight between Lisa and Claudia? Well that's pretty painful to watch in the TV show. But it's so bad in the book. It dives into a multi-paragraph exposition of how Lisa feels when people call her a stick in the mud.
There's a few problems here. First, the show-don't-tell adage. It's rendered impossible by the slavish, scene-by-scene fidelity to the source material. But that doesn't make the reading any better. Second, who cares? We've only just met Lisa! Motivate us to like her before dumping her problems on us.
Conclusion
Amateurish, sweat-shop writing. T'was fun as a teenager who knew no better. Would not read again.
Plodding prose
Apparently this whole series was rushed out in a single year, and it shows. You cannot write and edit this many pages well in that kind of time frame. That's one book every two weeks.
Straight-from-screen story-telling
To get the books out, the authors more or less copied the show, scene by scene. You really sense this during the repetitive descriptions of the dogfight scenes from the series. (These scenes are also repetitive in the source material because of the cost of animation, but that's no excuse.) The same phrases get recycled over and over -- how many times do we need to hear that explosions are spheres in a vacuum?
Characterization
Many of the characters were pretty cookie-cutter in the series. That's kind of a staple of 80s and 90s TV, anime in particular. But writing a cookie-cutter character for fidelity's sake is not a good idea.
Here's an example of where this gets really painful. Remember the first scene with the fight between Lisa and Claudia? Well that's pretty painful to watch in the TV show. But it's so bad in the book. It dives into a multi-paragraph exposition of how Lisa feels when people call her a stick in the mud.
There's a few problems here. First, the show-don't-tell adage. It's rendered impossible by the slavish, scene-by-scene fidelity to the source material. But that doesn't make the reading any better. Second, who cares? We've only just met Lisa! Motivate us to like her before dumping her problems on us.
Conclusion
Amateurish, sweat-shop writing. T'was fun as a teenager who knew no better. Would not read again.
June 23, 2012
I enjoyed this quite a bit. I know takes a bit of slag for not being the best written work, and for straying a bit from the source material but I didn't see it that way. Almost immediately my impression was that the writer either had to or chose to keep almost every line and scene from the series in tact, but that he had complete freedom to add to that. And he does, fleshing out characters, adding in additional scenes, trying to explain of of the goofier moments in the series. At first I found some of the "realistic" explanations for the series goofier bits a tad off putting, but I came to love them. So yeah, after reading it those extra scenes, those sometimes forced explanations to make funny scenes or situations serious, they were my favorite thing about the book.
I did find my self asking one question while reading the book: would I have liked and fully understood it if I hadn't seen the series? Honestly, probably not. But I feel it's a book for people that liked the cartoon and wanted to relive it with a bit more of a logical and grown up slant, and if thats what your looking for this delivers.
I did find my self asking one question while reading the book: would I have liked and fully understood it if I hadn't seen the series? Honestly, probably not. But I feel it's a book for people that liked the cartoon and wanted to relive it with a bit more of a logical and grown up slant, and if thats what your looking for this delivers.
April 16, 2014
I will start by saying I am biased about this book. For one Robotech the animated series was my favorite anime when I was young and the first 'serious' cartoon I watched. However as reviews are personal opinions(especially ones you aren't getting paid for) I loved this first collection of Robotech books.
For one, in short amount of time James Luceno and Brian Daley(RIP) had to write these stories as Jack McKinney I feel they have a high standard of quality. Both veteran SciFi writers and personal friends they not only capture the original story but expand it with tons of extra details. It has been awhile since I read the collection, but I had watched The Macross Saga more than once and the books really bring the world of Robotech to life.
The characters feel realistic as does the lose of some of the characters. The SDF1 is brought to life as a space fortress and Captain Gloval is expanded on, who was in the anime and story my favorite character, Roy Fokker being 2nd.
If you love Robotech then definitely read these omnibus', you'll be blown away.
For one, in short amount of time James Luceno and Brian Daley(RIP) had to write these stories as Jack McKinney I feel they have a high standard of quality. Both veteran SciFi writers and personal friends they not only capture the original story but expand it with tons of extra details. It has been awhile since I read the collection, but I had watched The Macross Saga more than once and the books really bring the world of Robotech to life.
The characters feel realistic as does the lose of some of the characters. The SDF1 is brought to life as a space fortress and Captain Gloval is expanded on, who was in the anime and story my favorite character, Roy Fokker being 2nd.
If you love Robotech then definitely read these omnibus', you'll be blown away.
February 20, 2008
The first three books of the RoboTech series, and also, the first three chronologically (the entire series was written anti-chronologically so my reviews will reflect when to read stuff so you can actually enjoy the series as it was intended to be enjoyed).
Starts off with a mysterious alien spacecraft crashing to earth, which happens to end the global civil war at the time. The anime series it corresponds to (and draws its name from) is the original Macross series, well worth watching in either the RoboTech or original Japanese form, as it's a pretty solid one... anyways...
To cut a long story short, this starts off this series pretty well, and makes for a fun read, if you like science fiction and space battles, that is.
Starts off with a mysterious alien spacecraft crashing to earth, which happens to end the global civil war at the time. The anime series it corresponds to (and draws its name from) is the original Macross series, well worth watching in either the RoboTech or original Japanese form, as it's a pretty solid one... anyways...
To cut a long story short, this starts off this series pretty well, and makes for a fun read, if you like science fiction and space battles, that is.
December 4, 2014
Jack McKinney, or the authors who make up that persona, did a great job capturing the details of the Robotech TV series as well as adding in various character thoughts that we couldn't 'see' as viewers. One of the most intriguing things to me about reading the book was the author's grasp of aircraft and space, something totally lost in the show. McKinney continually had to explain away the bad science of the show in interesting ways, or in some cases just had to go with 'it was an effect of Protoculture', which I was good with. Certainly and excellent read for Robotech junkies out there, and the three in one means more 'bang for your buck', although it would have been nice to chew through various smaller books with a feeling of accomplishment.
February 16, 2015
Biased review... Fan of the classic animation. Blah blah Blah.
This is a book based on an American anime show edited together from 3 unrelated Japanese series just so Matchbox could import some cheap toys. Ah, 1985 we miss you so. I originally read the series while in my teens. It was a completely different experience rereading this space opera in my thirties. I connected with the characters in different ways. Some of the characters I disliked before I now felt empathy for. Others that I liked now I find slightly annoying. The one constant is Maximilian Sterling, he is the BOMB.
I highly recommend picking up a favorite book you haven't read in 20 years giving it a go.
This is a book based on an American anime show edited together from 3 unrelated Japanese series just so Matchbox could import some cheap toys. Ah, 1985 we miss you so. I originally read the series while in my teens. It was a completely different experience rereading this space opera in my thirties. I connected with the characters in different ways. Some of the characters I disliked before I now felt empathy for. Others that I liked now I find slightly annoying. The one constant is Maximilian Sterling, he is the BOMB.
I highly recommend picking up a favorite book you haven't read in 20 years giving it a go.
December 9, 2008
These might be a guilty pleasure. Usually I don't feel guilty about my pleasure. Really I shouldn't feel guilty for this pleasure. Sure there's some incredibly cheesy dialogue and some plot elements lacking in verisimilitude (not to be confused with veritech) even given that it's sci-fi and you have to accept the universe presented in the first place. It's Robotech though, ya know? Skull Squadron!! Yeah. I'm a dork. Anyway. I like it. If you like sci-fi, you probably like it. It's got grand themes and explosions and romance and stuff.
March 1, 2020
Huge fan of Robotech growing up as a 80s kid. I read the books several times in middle and high school as I was a sci-fi junkie. I ordered the books for my son‘s 12th birthday as a present to share some of the things I liked as a kid but he did not show any interest in reading them. I pick them up as something to read on the plane for a vacation trip and really enjoyed reading it but being an adult it took me a while to finish them. Like somebody else posted nostalgia is a heckuva thing really enjoyed the trip down memory lane. It is definitely more coherent then the cartoon series.
May 16, 2017
Amazing!!!
Great sci-fi action and awesome characters! Lots of adult themes even tho it's based on a cartoon. (A certain death in here still chokes me up a little, and I'm 36!). It's a space opera with all the love, hate, hope, death and cool fight scenes you could want. How is this not a movie series? This is the start of a generations long struggle that could take ten movies or more to tell.
Great sci-fi action and awesome characters! Lots of adult themes even tho it's based on a cartoon. (A certain death in here still chokes me up a little, and I'm 36!). It's a space opera with all the love, hate, hope, death and cool fight scenes you could want. How is this not a movie series? This is the start of a generations long struggle that could take ten movies or more to tell.
August 8, 2011
Some funny moments and hot actions but nothing special on the long run, could have make one good book with the three of them. better to watch the anime than reading book like that.
Don't know if I will read the other omnibus...
November 29, 2014
I really loved this first three books. These books left me wanting to read the entire series and were a great part of the story. Over all this is my favorite trio of the entire series. It was interesting the way that they had the Aliens defeated by emotion. All-in-all they are great books.
April 8, 2007
I love everything robotech. =)
September 26, 2018
Still epic. I think they have a few typos from converting to Kindle.
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