Book 6: Robotech: Doomsday

by Nathan Stout (of AccordingToWhim.com)

Doomsday (by Jack McKinney) is the last of the 'First Robotech War' of books. It finishes out the final of the 36 episodes of the 'Macross Saga' part of Robotech. It begins a little out of sync of the show with the Robotech Masters detecting that something has happened in the war of the SDF-1 and the Zentraedi grand fleet.

During the first chapter there is some very interesting re-capping of the story of Zor that I never really thought much about in the past. The series never goes into the explanation of how Zor was the master of the secrets of Protoculture and exactly how the 'Masters' of Robotech came into power. It is pointed out that it was Zor who started it all with his discovery of turning the flower of life into a power source. The book goes on to tell us that it was with this power that the Zentraedi were created and put to work on Fantoma as miners. The 'Masters' manipulated Zor and took control of the Protoculture, put themselves in power, and turned the Zentraedi into warriors. A plausible storyline but this all means that the rise of the Robotech Masters and their empire happened only within Zor's lifetime. Zor didn't appear to be that old (at least his clones didn't (and he didn't in the comics). That means that the WHOLE of the events that put the Masters in power and such happened in just a few short years. From the show, comics, art, and books (an the unoffical Robotech timeline) it always seemed to me that the Masters and their Zentraedi had been around for a long time... apparently not! There is some food for thought.

I finished this book then promptly let life overtake my ambitions to run headlong through the Robotech universe so there was quite a bit of a gap from when this post was initially started to now (the point at which I am finishing this post). While reading the book I would take notes on my phone for later remembrance (since I forget stuff so easily).

When Max and Miriya take little Dana into the Robotech factory (an absolutely insane idea BTW), the book describes Dana in an EVA suit. For a split second I was thinking of Evangelion... lol

I thought the usage of the word Shibboleth to be strange. I think the writer was overthinking us as a target audience for a moment.

In this whole mess of bringing an infant into the middle of a military action made me think of one other thing. When Reno saw the mutant why o why didn't he just shoot it? He had enough time to wax eloquently about it being an abomination but the simple solution of incinerating it didn't cross his mind.

Later in the book Khyron is doing some inner monologuing about him being the Master's one last hope. When did that happen. After the destruction of Dolza's fleet Khyron seemed to want to do only what Khyron wanted to do. Never anywhere did anyone ever say or think anything different. Khyron is a mad devil who really only answers to himself. Not to mention the fact that it is apparent that all 'infected' Zentraedi are destroyed and Khyron is certainly infected.

When Rick ditches Lisa at the outdoor cafe before their picnick so he could go drool over Minmei he drinks so much (after the whole Kyle debacle) the bartender cuts him off. He then gets into a car and drives!

He heads out to help crush the Zentraedi that attack the airfield. He gets in a Destroid... Why? There was a Veritech there and when you are one of the top Veritech aces you don't get in a Destroid (the stormtrooper of the Robotech universe). Maybe it was cause he had a bit too much to drink.

When Khyron is looking for the Protoculture Matrix in the city the book mentions that Azoina's troops are also looking... in Quadrono Battalion Invid Scout Ships... what the heck are those?

Anyway in the end the story wrapped up nicely. Unlike a visual format like comics or cartoons you have to do a lot of Character interaction and such and although it helped to tie up stuff, having the visual only of the show was more powerful when it came to the destruction of the SDF1/2 at the end.

So long ago when I first finished this book I went to the only book that I even considered to read next (the first book of the 2nd Robotech War). Ofcourse that skips over 15 whole years. When I re-read the series years after that I did it in the right order but the Zentraedi Rebellion I read out of order because it came out after my 2nd read though. Now I shall be reading it all in order so the next book I will cover is The Zentraedi Rebellion. Keep an eye out for it and the comics that take place at the same time.

Book 2: Robotech Battle Cry

by Nathan Stout (of AccordingToWhim.com)
Hey all! Welcome to the next blog post in my year long look at Robotech. This post is about the Del Rey Robotech novel: Battle Cry. If you remember I split up the first book into 2 posts since the first part of the first book took place way before the show started (with Zor's backstory).

This book deals with the next set of episodes in novelization form. For some reason I always thought that the book each contained six episodes worth but that just ain't so. It's pretty close but not quite. Perhaps they were shooting for a general length for each book so that's why it the material covered varies. This one finishes with the 12th episode so maybe it just took longer to deal with the first few episodes to set up a good series.

This book picks up right when Rick joins the RDF and he goes out on his first mission. Once again Jack McKinney takes the show and elaborates on it. They take the show and give it more realistic feel. This book is no exception.

Early on in the book Captain Gloval gives the order to move the destorids to the front of the Dadelus for Lisa's plan. He gives the order to move all: 'Destroids, Spartans, and Gladiators'. This one again gave me pause. If you remember while covering the show I mentioned that he called the big robot known to me as a Radar X, a Destorid. I just assumed that it was a mistake but once again the reference is here in the book. I always had known them as Radar X because of the Role Playing books. Could it be that all these years I was the one wrong about that? The two sources conflicting and I taking the one I knew best (the RPG). Well, you live and you learn. To me though, all non-flying robots are collectively known as Destroids... sorry ghost of Carl Macek!

Wait wait wait! Just a couple of paragraphs later Jack McKinney describes the Destroids in the bow of the Dadelus. He uses the word collectively... now I'm really confused. Perhaps McKinney was just unsure of the usage during the show and decided to just leave Gloval's dialogue as-is. Fhew...

In the 'Forward' of Chapter Four there is reference to Khyron's ingesting the flower of life. This is the first mention of this and it's only found in the novels. This must have been a Jack McKinney device. I remember when I first read it way back when that I thought it was their way to account for Khyron's un-Zentraedi-like behavior.

Before they land on Mars the book says that Gloval consults the other commanders on the SDF-1. This is one of those things that is written to be more realistic since in the show and comics Gloval makes all the decisions while in real life decisions like it would be by committe.

If there was 'added' gravity via the gravity mines that trapped the SDF-1, wouldn't people on the ship feel the 'added' gravity?

I made a big deal in the comic review of this part of the story that they were referring to the base as Sara, not Sera. For some reason I always thought it was Sera Base, not Sara Base. I guess that was just my misunderstanding.

Minmei's enthusiastic response to getting Rick's medal as a birthday present is re-worked here as to not make Minmei look like such a shallow human being. There was no talk of it being 'sparklie'.

Colonel Edwards is mentioned in passing in chapter 9 and I thought that was cool. To mention so early someone who would later play a huge roll (in the Sentinels) was neat.

The author(s) began to referring to Rick's team as Vermillion (as the show does) but on their first mission they are called Black Team. I wonder why.

I know I forgot to address this on the show blog but the theme that they play for the Miss Macross pageant is the same tune for Stage Fight. In the book Minmei apparently wrote that song. So what's the story here?

The author must have changed or something during the Miss Macross pageant. They do a LOT of re-writing of what happens in the show. It's more of a re-telling than adaptation.

Infact, there is a lot of re-telling for the rest of this book. I am wonder why I was under the impressions the books were far more direct in their representation of the story all these years. It's not bad or anything, it's just that I had a different remembrance of them. Perhaps it was due to the fact that I had read the books before watching the show again... I don't know.

Rick's comment about Women not being able to do some tasks because they were just to hard is politically removed from the book. Rick doesn't sound like such a bastard here! lol. Come on! He's young and bound to say dumb stuff!

I found it interesting that the restroom that I was so surprised about where Max knocks out the Zentraedi while in his Battloid is called a utility closet here in the book.

The book finishes with the end of episode 12 (and issue 12 of the comic). Rick, Max, Ben, and Lisa are rescued from their stolen battlepod and are safetly on their way back to the SDF-1.

Book 1: Robotech Genesis - Chapter 3 - 11

by Nathan Stout (of AccordingToWhim.com)
It is time to jump back to the Robotech novels in my 2012 Robotech 'experience'. I read Chapters 0-2 back in January then moved away to continue all the 'pre crash on Earth' storyline. Now we are back up to date and start out with Chapter 3 on launch day of the SDF-1.

Like I said before, the Robotech novels took a 'realsitic' approach to the cartoon. James Luceno and Brian Daley took their combined experience (in Daley's previous writings and Luceno's real world Vietnam experience) and attempted to put Robotech into the 'real world'. This was quite the task since there is a lot of very unrealistic action in the cartoon. Luckily the concept of Protoculture (the mysterious fuel behind Robotechnology) provides an easy 'out' in explaining away many situations. You are going to read alot of that coming from me so be prepared for the gripes.

I do appreciate their efforts. I'm glad this isn't just a straight 'port' from the show. I'm glad they did their best to fit what happens into real physics (as close as they can). They only use the 'unknown element' when they can't explain away the biggest plot holes and anti-physics.

I remember reading this book back in the early nineties in the midst of my discovery of Robotech and being so impressed with how closely it followed the show and then being someone disturbed when the writers varied off of the shows dialogue. Infact, when rereading this now I still know exactly which lines are on the show and which were added by the writers.

Robotech Genesis chapter 3 on starts out with the launch day activities of the crew of the SDF-1 and Rick Hunter as he shows up for the ceremony. The book follows the show VERY closely. This includes the dialogue but the writers also give us slight alterations and additions but only when they are really needed. The first episode of the series is really played out and takes up chapters 3 - 11 (the majority of the first book). Daley and Luceno really needed to do their best in setting up the series of books and taking shortcuts wouldn't do for this pivotal part of the tale.

In several instances during these chapters that involve the first episode there are issues that arise from real life versus cartoon physics. When Rick brings Minmei into the cockpit of the Veritech he is flying the book explains away the ability of Rick, doing a free fall in a jet and being able to open the cockpit canopy and not have it ripped off as a strange ability of Robotechnology. When Macross Island is taken into deep space the ocean that is taken with it freezes over (as one might think it would happen). I guess water was boil away in the vacuum of space so the writers once again rely on the strange trappings of Robotechnology to explain it away. Before Rick is let in on the fuel known as Protoculture the writers continually refer to the somewhat mystical and unexplainable substance that can do these incredible things as Robotechnology.

The witers also deal with the strangeness that is Japanese storytelling through usage of character thought and backstory. On the bridge of the SDF-1 the behaviour of all involved is rather odd and informal for being a military command. The writers use Captian Gloval's, Lisa's and Claudia's thoughts and reflections to explain away the bridge crews sometimes unmilitaristic nature.

I know all this is nitpicking but as I have said time and again, I am going to do it because it is fun... so deal with it!

The additions to the original material I noticed in this first chunk of book (not including the first 3 chapters) are the inclusion of Rick's examination of the Veritech's helmet which helps explain the human-interface with the mecha which were never explained in the original animation. In the show they are just robots, they never had that complex explanation of how these machines could move so human-like and do things so human-like. The little additions to the books about the ability of Protoculture to make men and machines interact so seamlessly was added later and is a great device and gave it all more depth. The explanation behind soda machine that follows Jason around trying to sell that damn Petite Cola was added to as well. Roy explains that the alien technology effects all electrical systems and does 'strange things' to normal items (like the soda machine).

Book 1: Robotech Genesis - Prologue Through Chapter 2

by Nathan Stout (of AccordingToWhim.com)

This is the first part of the first Robotech book: Genesis. The Robotech books were the first detailed glimpse into the Robotech universe for me and my friends. The book series took 6 episodes and detailed what happened on screen and created all the bits in between. Sometimes the writers would explain away errors in animation or character's dialogue and sometimes they would expand on what was shown or said.

I pickup my dog-eared, yellowing copy of the first book and look it over. I have had this book for many years and have read them at least 3 times. The front and back covers are cracked and there are large pieces missing where it ripped and the brittle cover came off in places. I refuse to get new ones... at least newer editions. These original editions have the old school art on the front. I always thought the art was crappy and cool at the same time. It gave a 'real' look to the characters and mecha but at the same time they looked badly drawn and sometimes they were scaled all wrong. The artist must have never actually seen the show. I have a Book Club edition of the Red Dwarf novels and it is obvious that the artist never saw the show (or even a picture from the show). Lister is a white guy, Rimmer looks like a farm hand, and The Cat is... literally a cat (in a suit). I love that cover. It's so quirky. That's one of the reasons I like the Robotech covers, they are quirky and they have art that appears nowhere else.

The author of the book series was Jack McKinney. This was a pseudonym for James Luceno and Brian Daley. In an interview from Protoculture addicts they would watch an episode, take notes and then expand on what they saw to bridge the scenes or give greater detail to what happens. In my opinion they did a great job and really grounding Robotech in a more realistic world with their writing. You may know Brian Daley from some Star wars books as well the novelization of TRON. You may know James Luceno from novelization of The Shadow and a few Star Wars books as well.

This first part which covers chapter 1 was written far in advance of the rest of this blog. I wanted to read the parts about Zor while I was still in the middle of reading the comics which dealt with him and his death.

Prologue:

This chapter re-enacts for a third time (but this was the 2nd time, at the time) the death of Zor and the launching of the SDF-1. I always found it strange that Dolza would react so threateningly to Zor (he says if he wasn't under orders to protect Zor he would kill him). I always got from the material that the Zentraedi were clones with the imperative to always follow their Tirolian creators submissively. I guess that means the Masters only but I just though it was strange.

The book suggests that the SDF-1 was Zor's creation whereas in The Legend of Zor comic the Master created the ship and sent Zor out in it (to get rid of him until they needed him). It makes more sense that it was a ship designed by Zor.

Zor is said to have somehow located Earth through his use of the power Flower of Life. In the Genesis: Legend of Zor comics he finds earth with a computer. This leads me to the Flower of Life. In the books and even to some extent in the show the Flower is shown to be not only a source of power but a mind stretching biological organism. It gives abilities to some (like Zor and Lang) and it effects others like a drug (Khyron and Rand). In the Legend of Zor comic it is shown to be simply a plant that can be converted into fuel with no illusion to it's other abilities. I assume that it has the ability to create power as well as alter one's mind in ways that give that person a sort of cosmic link to understanding. The Flower of Life.. super drug.

Chapters 1&2:

This and the next chapter deal with the landing and exploration of the SDF-1. The planet has quickly come together to explore and exploit the alien ship. Fokker and Edwards are there as well as Gloval (the future captain of the ship).

Not too much to say about these chapters. It was content originally created by Luceno and Dailey. I don't believe any of this (other than the general outline of an idea) was out there somewhere. I guess Harmony Gold went with the writing pair's idea on the events right after the crash of the ship.