Book 5: Robotech: Force of Arms

by Nathan Stout (of AccordingToWhim.com)

The next book in my year+ long look at Robotech is the fifth book in the Del Ray series Robotech: Force of Arms. This book covers episodes 19-24 which cover the big events of the first Robotech War. Before we go on you will undoubtedly notice that I now am calling this my 'year+ long look at Robotech' as opposed to my 'year long look at Robotech'. As the middle of the year zipped by I started to figure out that my schedule will not permit me to finish this within the year. This will probably drag into the majority of 2013 now. No big deal but I would have liked to have completed this task before the year was out so I could read other stuff. Watching the show is a breeze but the reading of the books and the comics have become a real time drag. Oh well, more Robotech fun!

This is the big one... the book covers the near destruction of the human (and Zentraedi) race. After the events of the Zentraedi attack the story takes this lurch of 2 years and slows way down. Yeah, I know this is all spoiler material but you probably know everything that happens anyway, right?

This is also the book that covers the fun events of Max and Miyira's meeting and wedding. Wow, a lot happens here. The novel does a lot to explain some of the weirdness of their meeting like the fact that Max meets this stranger in a park at night and why all the sudden he falls so in love he doesn't care that she is trying to kill him.

They fall in love and marry and all that jazz. Suddenly the military lets Miyira get in a Veritech and fly around with him in battle?! Does anyone find that a bit strange? The author does his best to explain it but you can only do so much.

As you know I have had my suspicions as to who was writing which book (Daley or Luceno). It used to be somewhat obvious but now I am not 100% sure. I would bet that Daley did this book but he didn't stick so closely to the show like he did before.

Back to the action: so Max and Miyira are in the battle and she tells him to shoot the pods so the pilot will survive. What Miyira does is more cruel to the Zentraedi pilots that just blowing them up. She is basically disabling the pod, stranding the pilot in deep space to presumably to die of starvation. They are a warrior race that seems to care little for their troops. Do you really think higher-ups will bother to go retrieve a few measly pods? I doubt it. Also, these are warriors, to deprive them of a honorable death in battle is humiliating! That Miyira... what a bitch!

During Rick's rescue of Lisa (in the show) his canopy gets broken. It's very faint (thanks to the fact that is transparent) but you can see it. In the book this doesn't happen. I think the source tape the author was watching was bad enough for him to miss this fact.

In the final attack of the SDF-1 on Dolza's headquarters the main gun is NEVER used. I just found that interesting since it was always such an important part of the ships offense and the storyline.

In the show several direct hits on the SDF-1 and the destruction of Macross City. It looks like they animated the destructing at 32 frames a second (twice as normal). It is kinda heart wrenching but the book just mentions it briefly.

When the SDF-1 launches it final attack and turns on the shield barrier the book never mentions that this is the same overload type explosion that happened to Ontario. A very clever twist by the writers. The book says the alliance attacks Dolz'a base's reflex drive. This just sucks. The deliberate use of the faulty overloading shield is much cooler.

Dolza seems to change his mind at the last second when he sees the power (and cunning) of the SDF-1 in the hands of the humans. I doubt this behavior would be the Zentraedi way. Again (as in an earlier book) the Zentraedi high-command considers attacking their masters (the Robotech Masters). I think this is off-base with their character as a whole. They are Zentraedi, bred for war. I doubt it would have even crossed their minds to betray their masters.

I have never really even though about this part but Breetai and Azonia's forces fight along side the SDF-1 where do they go when the SDF-1 goes in and blows up Dolza's ship? The explosion takes out ALL of the Zentraedi forces. How did Breetai and Azonia escape?

In my RPG books and in other material it looks like the SDF-1 lands in North America after it destroys Dolza's fleet. Now... Rick and Lisa are on hand to see it fall from the sky. Rick saved Lisa from Alaska base. You mean to tell me that Rick and Lisa flew that far? Remember Rick ditched his Veritech's canopy after it was damaged. So they flew unprotected all the way down there? Whaaaaa????? lol.

Chapter 22 (the beginning of 'Reconstruciton Blues') recaps the destruction of the Earth at the hands of Dolza's fleet. It is very good. Bravo!

Sorry this took so long to post. I have been trying to sell my house and all that jazz so it has taken extra long to get this stuff done. Not to mention I finished watching the Flash TV series and Birds of Prey series (on DVD). I'm such a slacker!

Book 4: Robotech: Battlehymn

by Nathan Stout (of AccordingToWhim.com)

Welcome to the next post in my 2012 Robotech experience. Today I will be covering the fourth book in the Del Ray Robotech series: Battlehymn.

The book covers six episodes but I am watching the show one episode at a time then reading only the part of the book that covers that episode. Finally I will be reading the comic that corresponds to that episode.

The opening chapter is an invention of the author and it deals with what it might have been like to be on Earth when the SDF-1 showed back up after it's long voyage. It was neat to consider the surprise and panic it would have caused.

How even more fantastic would it have been for the people of the city who the SDF-1 first flew over (in the show). That would be awesome!

Yes, the two authors must be doing alternate books. This is the author that paraphrases what's going on as opposed to the other guy who is sticking very close to the show.


One thing I liked is that more emphasis was placed on the SDF-1's departure from Earth. It was a big moment in the story and in the lives of everyone on the ship and it was nice to see it given more here.

Dolza recalls Azonia and puts Breetai back in charge of the mission. If you payed attention you would have noticed that Azonia did absolutely nothing during her command. It was Khyron that kept going in and getting his ass handed to him.

I'd like to know where the spies got the ship to escape back to the fleet... in the previous book they mention that the pod dissolves so no trace is left but no one seems to know where the escape pod came from. My guess is that in the series it is the same pod they arrived in.

When Gloval announces that the SDF-1 has been ordered back into space Minmei breaks out in song... right there in the middle of the newscast. What an entertainer!

The writer makes a goof here when he is writing about Rico and the other spies talking. He says that Rico has only 'one good eye'. It's almost like he got Breetai mixed up with Rico.

When Rick and Lisa are trapped in the SDF-1 during the battle/drill/what the heck ever it was the book doesn't handle it as well as the show. The language is a little more natural but the feelings conveyed are not a 'blooming love' as they appear to be in the show.

I'm still stunned that Breetai would use his own ship and risk its destruction when he tries to get his troops inside the SDF-1 via the Dadelus attack. Seems awful risky...

I don't have a lot more to say about Minmei in this book. She takes a back seat to the action of the spies, Rick and Lisa, as well as the Zentraedi bungling.

It's funny the way the writer deals with previously unaddressed things in this book. Myria sees the defected aliens working right after their arrival on the ship and assumes (wrongly) that they were planted there for sabotage. Khyron is stunned to find out that Myria is there and assumes (wrongly) that she is there to find and kill the defectors. All the while Breetai takes credit for Myria being there, never telling Khyron it wasn't his idea.

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 - 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.