Author | Jack McKinney, Brian Daley |
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Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre | Science fiction, Young adult fiction, Mystery, Thriller |
Publisher | Del Rey Books |
Media type | Print (hardcover and paperback) Audiobook |
In 1987, the Robotech animated series was adapted into novel form by authors James Luceno and Brian Daley and published by Del Rey Books. Having previously collaborated on the animated series Galaxy Rangers , the pair released the Robotech novels under the unified pseudonym of "Jack McKinney". Using fictitious epigraphs in the style of Dune, McKinney's novels escaped the limitations inherent in the dubbed cartoon and fleshed out its chronology in greater detail; most significantly, by adapting the storyline of the aborted sequel project, "The Sentinels". The entire series lasted for twenty-one books, the first fifteen of which were later collected into five three-book omnibus compilations in the early 1990s.
The original twelve novels were written to a tight twelve-month deadline, so that the books could be released one per month. Under this deadline, Daley and Luceno divided the Robotech timeline into twelve segments and worked on different segments simultaneously (i.e. Daley wrote Book 1 while Luceno wrote Book 2), then traded completed manuscripts for revision and style adjustments. As part of the research project, they watched the TV series many times, and consulted heavily with Carl Macek.
The first two omnibus collections, comprising the entirety of the "Macross Saga", were reissued in 2003 to tie in with the release of the Robotech: Battlecry video game. Then, in 2007, the next two omnibus collections, covering the remainder of the television series, were re-released as tie-ins to the animated movie, Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles . However, a revision of the Robotech timeline made by Harmony Gold alongside the release of the movie caused some continuity clashes with the McKinney novels, which were relegated to a "secondary" position in Robotech canon. To work around this, the Southern Cross and Invid Invasion collections contain new appendices written by Robotech fan Jonathan L. Switzer correcting any newborn mistakes.
The major divergences from the Robotech television series include:
The divergences can be explained partly by a lack of translated source material from the original shows—meaning that the writers could only go by what was seen on the screen and the materials they had been given—and partly by a desire to tie the series together even more completely than the television show, sometimes by including material that never ended up being animated. In particular, the "Shapings of the Protoculture" enabled this unification, serving as the deus ex machina to Robotech's Greek tragedy. At least some of the elements for which the novels have been criticized were directly suggested by Carl Macek during Daley and Luceno's consultations with him.
The following is the list of novels released by Del Rey in publishing order, Omnibus Editions and a rough chronological story order, except that the events in books #13–17 (The Sentinels) are actually concurrent with books #7–12:
Individual editions | Omnibus Collected editions | Chronological story order |
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- The last two chapters of Rubicon reference events taking place after Before the Invid Storm
Books #1–12 novelize the story of the TV series; Books #1–6 cover the story of The Macross Saga (at the time known simply as the "First Generation"); The Masters (the "Second Generation") is covered in Books #7–9; and finally, New Generation ("Third Generation") is adapted in Books #10–12. Books #13–17 document the story of the aborted sequel TV series, The Sentinels.
Book #18 is unique as it is set after the events of the final episode of Robotech and wraps up all of the outstanding plotlines and questions that remained after the series ended. Published in 1989, this book was considered to be the final chapter of the Robotech series until the 2006 release of Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles , which introduced a radically-alternate storyline.
The last three books were published from 1994–1996. Collectively labelled the "Lost Generation," they take place in the assorted "gaps" in the timeline; Book #19 takes place between the end of the First Generation and the start of The Sentinels, incorporating an adaptation of the Eternity Comic series The Malcontent Uprisings; Book #20 is set following the beginning of The Sentinels, but before the start of the Second Generation, incorporating elements from the plots of Robotech: The Movie and Eternity Comics' CyberPirates; and the final book, #21, occurs during the period between the Second and Third Generations and details the Invid-invasion of Earth.
Robotech is an American science fiction franchise that began with an 85-episode anime television series produced by Harmony Gold USA in association with Tatsunoko Production; it was first released in the United States in 1985.
Super Dimension Fortress Macross is an anime television series from 1982. According to story creator Shoji Kawamori, it depicts "a love triangle against the backdrop of great battles" during the first Human-alien war. It is the first part of: The Super Dimension trilogy and the Macross franchise.
Macross is a Japanese science fiction mecha anime media franchise/media mix, created by Studio Nue and Artland in 1982. The franchise features a fictional history of Earth and the human race after the year 1999, as well as the history of humanoid civilization in the Milky Way. It consists of four TV series, four movies, six OVAs, one light novel, and five manga series, all sponsored by Big West, in addition to 40 video games set in the Macross universe, two crossover games, and a wide variety of physical merchandise.
The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love?, also known as Macross: Do You Remember Love? or Super Spacefortress Macross, is a 1984 Japanese animated space opera film based on the Macross anime television series.
The Zentradi are a fictional, militaristic race of alien, humanoid giants and often the main antagonist in Macross media mix and its Robotech (1985) cartoon adaptation.
Carl Frank Macek was an American screenwriter and producer. Noted for his work on English-language adaptations of anime during the 1980s and 1990s, he was the creator of the Robotech franchise and the co-founder of Streamline Pictures. His work is considered to have been instrumental in creating mainstream awareness of Japanese animation in the United States.
Genesis Climber MOSPEADA is an anime science fiction series created by Shinji Aramaki and Hideki Kakinuma. The 25-episode television series ran from late 1983 to early 1984 in Japan. MOSPEADA is an acronym of "Military Operation Soldier Protection Emergency Aviation Dive Armor", one of the transformable motorcycle-armors the series features. The other primary mecha featured in the show is the three-form transformable fighter called the Armo-Fighter AFC-01 Legioss. MOSPEADA was adapted as the third generation of the American series Robotech, much like Macross and Southern Cross.
James Luceno is an American author, known for his novels and reference books connected with the Star Wars franchise and the Star Wars Expanded Universe, and novelizations of the Robotech animated television series. Luceno is also the author of several original novels along with film novelizations and other franchise tie-ins. He has also written for television cartoon series.
Jack McKinney was a pseudonym used by American authors James Luceno and Brian Daley before the latter's death.
Brian Charles Daley was an American science fiction novelist. He also adapted for radio the Star Wars radio dramas and wrote all of its episodes.
Hikaru Ichijyo is one of the main fictional characters of the Macross Japanese anime series. His voice actor was Arihiro Hase. After the death of Arihiro Hase in 1996, he was voiced by Kenji Nojima in the PlayStation 2 Macross video game from 2003. In the English dub of the series produced by ADV Films, he is voiced by Vic Mignogna.
Del Rey Books is an imprint of the Random House Group, a division of Penguin Random House. The imprint was established in 1977 under the editorship of Judy-Lynn del Rey and her husband, author Lester del Rey. Today, the imprint specializes in science fiction, fantasy, horror, and fantasy romance.
Robotech 3000 was Harmony Gold's attempt to revive the Robotech franchise before the turn of the millennium. After the relative success of Voltron: The Third Dimension and Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles, a new Robotech sequel was proposed that would use 3D CG visuals, with producer Jason Netter and original Robotech writer Carl Macek at the helm.
Robotech comics first officially appeared in print in 1985, though Comico published the first issue of its license from Harmony Gold USA under the Macross name.
The Robotech Role-Playing Game is a licensed science fiction role-playing game published by Palladium Books in 1986 that is based on the Robotech and Robotech II: The Sentinels anime television series, which were, in turn, based on the Japanese mecha anime television series Macross. A second edition of the game, based on Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles, was released in 2008.
Robotech is an American 85-episode adaptation of three unrelated Japanese anime television series made between 1982 and 1984 in Japan; the adaptation was aired in 1985. Within the combined and edited story, Robotechnology refers to the scientific advances discovered in an alien starship that crashed on a South Pacific island. With this technology, Earth developed giant robotic machines or mecha to fight three successive extraterrestrial invasions.
Robotech: The Movie, also known as Robotech: The Untold Story, is a 1986 American-Japanese science fiction animated film directed by Noboru Ishiguro and Carl Macek. Part of the Robotech franchise, the film is set between the events of The Macross Saga and The Masters from the original 1985 series. It follows Mark Landry, a young man who becomes involved a conflict between Earth and the invading Robotech Masters when he discovers the Masters have infiltrated Earth's military.
Robotech II: The Sentinels is a 1988 American-Japanese animated film written and directed by Carl Macek. Part of the Robotech franchise, it is set between the events of The Macross Saga and The Masters from the original 1985 television series. The film follows Rick Hunter, now a major general, as he leads Earth's forces aboard a new space station on a diplomatic mission to the Robotech Masters, unaware that the Masters have come under attack from the Invid.
Robotech: Prelude to the Shadow Chronicles is a five-part comic book mini-series written by Tommy Yune along with the Waltrip brothers, who were previously the art-and-writing team of the Robotech II: The Sentinels comic series. It was published under DC Comics' Wildstorm imprint. It bridges the gap between The Sentinels and the new movie Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles, and also features characters from the Robotech Masters Saga. The series is important, in that it provides an explanation and deepened background for many of the events seen on screen in the movie, and clears up many apparent contradictions within the original animation.