Legacy Review #02 – ROBOTECH Novel (Genesis)
- Francois DesRochers
- 16 hours ago
- 5 min read
Release Date: February 1987
Author: Jack McKinney
(James Lucerno and Brian Daley)
Page Count: 214 pages
(includes Chapter 1 from Battle Cry)
INTRODUCTION
The first of the six-book series covering the “First Generation” of the Robotech franchise; at least as portrayed to North American audiences. First presented to me as a gift from a friend, I had already been introduced to the franchise. I recalled watching some of the episodes during the “Saturday morning cartoons” era, but couldn’t get into an episodic cartoon presented out of sequence.
My friend, a bit of a Robotech-phile, had the first few Palladium Books ROBOTECH RPG releases, and these led me straight down the rabbit hole. I was forever hooked on both the Palladium Books Tabletop Role-playing Game (TTRPG), and the setting.
REVIEW
Episode Counter. The first book encapsulates the events from the first four episodes.
Synopsis. Here we see Earth in the midst of a Global Civil War, on the verge of culminating into an extinction level event. The sudden arrival of an alien craft, unbeknownst to Earth as the crown jewel of the Robotech Masters and their Zentraedi shock troopers, brings Humanity together into a tenuous peace accord. Ten years pass and several key discoveries into the technology produce most of the weapons of war for the Robotech Defence Forces (RDF), as well as myriad civilian applications.
The SDF-1. As the ship, now christened the Super Dimension Fortress is celebrated and preparing for its maiden operational voyage, Zentraedi forces enter the Solar System. The SDF-1 triggers a booby trap and fires its main guns on the scout cruisers, obliterating them. So begins a series of attacks, moves and countermoves. Barely understanding the science behind Robotechnology and the SDF’s systems, they conduct a last-ditch space fold. If there is one thing I will definitely give the anime props for is the visually overstimulating graphics and artistic design they used throughout the space fold sequence. Watching it again, my eyes went one direction, my stomach another. Vastly overshooting their mark (Lunar orbit) and end up in adjacent to Pluto, along with the island of Macross and the civilian population. So begins the rescue and reconstruction efforts, beginning a return voyage to Earth, with a massive alien armada waiting for them.
Civilian / Military Dynamic. With the tragic result of the SDF-1 fold to Pluto, the civilian population of Macross City mistakenly came along for the ride. This presents a very crucial dynamic that I'm sure the initial writers for the anime didn't necessarily consider; the relationship between civilian and military personnel. Whereas the civilians are obviously dependent on the military for defence and survival, their inclusion does more than provide convenient plot points to exploit. It also gives the military a cause to fight for. Not something explicitly explored in the novelization, certainly not in the anime, it provides a background impetus to the forces of the RDF. There are a few passages throughout where Gloval thinks of the impact events have on the civilians, or the interaction main characters have throughout, highlighting the importance of this dynamic to motivate RDF personnel.
Rick Hunter (Protagonist). The book is very much centered on Rick Hunter as the primary character. This plucky civilian pilot is invited to the SDF maiden voyage by 'big bother' Rick Fokker, ace pilot for SFD-1’s Veritech wings. Swept up into the events that develop upon the arrival of the Zentraedi, he forms a bond with Minmei while they are trapped in a random chamber of the SDF-1 after the ship’s fateful space fold from Earth into the orbit of Pluto. Respective ages of the characters aside, we start to see the connection between these two, but also some of the other characters that will play critical roles as the series continues.
Veritech Fighters. Very early on we note that the majority of the battles will include human Veritech Pilots against the Zentraedi Battle Pods. While they battles initiated in the atmosphere initially favour the Humans, the battles in space are much more in favour of the Zentraedi, as their experience with non-atmospheric combat shows. We also see a hint of something the anime presents, the difference between the Destroid's capabilities in combat versus the "thinking cap" pilots of the Veritechs. The technology differential is obviously meant to show how the Veritech Pilots are the pivotal warriors, the knights to the Destroid infantry fodder.
Support Crew. Something I noticed that the author decided to introduce into the narrative was the importance of the secondary support staff to the operations of the SDF-1. We have a number of scenes that involve launch crews, or search and rescue personnel. providing a glimpse into the unglamorous but vital functions of the ship. It was a small element, typically only a few lines here or there, but I found the inclusion to only reinforce the immersive elements of the novel. From a military officer's perspective, it was a bit of a treat I thought worthy of note.
Tale of Two Warriors. Something else that I found more profoundly developed in the novels over the anime was the duality developed between Capt Gloval and the forces of the SDF-1, and that of Breetai leading the Zentraedi. Both are confounded in the unknowns of their opponent’s capabilities, intentions, or limits. On several occasions we see one or the other accurately forecasting their adversary's moves, but putting their own spin on events to turn cold hard strategy into a more chaotic, tactical exercise that drives the action. Breetai and Gloval have completely different levels of martial resources at their disposal, but each has limitations that develop the interplay between human and Zentraedi throughout the remainder of the series.
Robotechnology. Presented as a bit of a crutch throughout the anime, the idea that the functional defence of the SDF-1 and Earth writ-large is due to leveraging Robotechnology into Earth mecha (Veritechs, less so Destroids) permeates the series. What it also provides is a simple "handwavium" solution to reconstruction of the Macross City; so much so that they had to do so more than three times along the voyage from Pluto to the inner Sol system. The idea is that advanced technology, despite being used to create weapons of war, can also be used constructively in the rebuilding process.
CONCLUSION
Given the intense release schedule of this series, it still did not meet my voracious need for the following entries to be released. It also, in a very distinct way, transformed the Japanese anime away from some of the tropes that style is subject too. I don’t necessarily mind them, but over the extended series, I eventually found them distracting and annoying – in particular those feminine pouting fits they had Minmei or any of the ‘bridge bunnies’ do when frustrated or embarrassed. The written form glosses over these stylistic portrayals, presenting them in a way someone not familiar to Japanimation would still be able to connect with.
Current Assessment (8/10). The action is quick with enough information to present the combat scenario without getting bogged down, dramatic pieces are not over-wrought. The one exception to this would be the Rick-Minmei sequences where they are stranded inside the SDF-1; I was relieved to have them rescued, and looking back I understand why this prolonged segment had to happen. Otherwise, the story flies off the pages, and quite frankly provides a more compelling narrative than the anime. It’s a quick and easy read, even if you have not been exposed to the anime in DVD/Blu-Ray format or during the ‘Saturday morning cartoon’ era. It quickly and effectively draws int the reader to the story, without any overbearing information dumps. Those newly exposed would do well to read the novels, which have survived the aging process much better than the anime. Notwithstanding the nostalgia factor, fans of Robotech should find a lot to enjoy here.
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