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Robotech #19
The Zentraedi Rebellion
Not everyone was eager to share the planet Earth with the Zentraedi survivors of the First Robotech War. There was little prospect of a lasting peace, as the tensions in the Southlands gave rise to two opposing forces, and each vowed to fight until the other was eradicated. Caught beween the two rivals was the Robotech Defense Force. Rick Hunter, Lisa Hayes, Max and Miriya Sterling, Breetai, and others who would all have their parts to play in the period that came to be called the Malcontent Uprisings....
370 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 2, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
December 26, 2016
Outstanding novel!
This is a “Robotech” novel featuring original prose, set between the events of the First Robotech War and The Sentinels saga. While it’s numbered as the 19th novel in the Robotech book series, it also can be read right after reading the first six novels about The First Robotech War.
GENERATION GAP
This novel shows the events that happened after the final of the First Robotech War and before of The Sentinels saga, and obviously also before the beginning of the Second Robotech War.
There are three novels featuring original prose, with the purpose of explaining the gaps between the three Robotech Wars (and The Sentinels events), and I can say without hesitation that this very novel, The Zentraedi Rebellion is the best, by far, of those three novels, so if you want to read something out of the novelizations of the TV animated series,...
...certainly you shouldn’t miss this truly outstanding book!
UNTOLD YEARS
Here, you will read about the follow-up of the “Malcontent Uprisings” by the surviving Zentraedi, that you were able to appreciate some of it in the TV animated series (or the novelization books) where the Khyron’s piercing attack against the SDF-2 was devastating, yes, losing priceless lives, but...
...hardly the end of the Zentraedi rebellion against the Robotech Defense Force!
This conflict continued during the years where the refitting of Breetai’s Battlewagon into the SDF-3 was in progress, supervised by Admirals Lisa Hayes and Rick Hunter.
The Zentraedi lost the war against the RDF, and they tried to live a peaceful life, but being warriors is on their DNA, literally, since the Robotech Masters engineered the Zentraedi in that way, to be their conquest force, therefore, after a while, the impulses about war are rising again, generating troubles between the Zentraedi and the human population.
Max Sterling is promoted to be the new Skull Leader (since Rick Hunter is now an admiral), where along with her wife, Miriya Parino-Sterling, are leading the Skull Squadron to deal with the Zentraedi rebellion, along with the support of the Wolf Squadron. This task isn’t an easy one, since the RDF wants to avoid a bloodshed at all costs, wanting to seek out a way to find a peaceful path to end the uprising for good.
Lazlo Zand, the unpredictable pupil of Emil Lang (Earth’s Robotech leading scientist) shows his first signs of jealousy against his mentor, along with the introduction of Janice Em, the singing android to play as a “back-up” singer in case something would happen to Lynn Minmei.
And the insidious path to power by the psychotic Anatole Leonard in an unholy secret pact with the murderous T.R. Edwards, takes finally a solid development, where they only thing that they need is that Lisa Hayes, Rick Hunter and the rest of their people would leave Earth, to erase the loose remnants of the RDF left behind, to see the rise of the Army of the Southern Cross.
Your favorite characters of the First Robotech War are back in an untold chapter of the great Robotech saga!
This is a “Robotech” novel featuring original prose, set between the events of the First Robotech War and The Sentinels saga. While it’s numbered as the 19th novel in the Robotech book series, it also can be read right after reading the first six novels about The First Robotech War.
GENERATION GAP
This novel shows the events that happened after the final of the First Robotech War and before of The Sentinels saga, and obviously also before the beginning of the Second Robotech War.
There are three novels featuring original prose, with the purpose of explaining the gaps between the three Robotech Wars (and The Sentinels events), and I can say without hesitation that this very novel, The Zentraedi Rebellion is the best, by far, of those three novels, so if you want to read something out of the novelizations of the TV animated series,...
...certainly you shouldn’t miss this truly outstanding book!
UNTOLD YEARS
Here, you will read about the follow-up of the “Malcontent Uprisings” by the surviving Zentraedi, that you were able to appreciate some of it in the TV animated series (or the novelization books) where the Khyron’s piercing attack against the SDF-2 was devastating, yes, losing priceless lives, but...
...hardly the end of the Zentraedi rebellion against the Robotech Defense Force!
This conflict continued during the years where the refitting of Breetai’s Battlewagon into the SDF-3 was in progress, supervised by Admirals Lisa Hayes and Rick Hunter.
The Zentraedi lost the war against the RDF, and they tried to live a peaceful life, but being warriors is on their DNA, literally, since the Robotech Masters engineered the Zentraedi in that way, to be their conquest force, therefore, after a while, the impulses about war are rising again, generating troubles between the Zentraedi and the human population.
Max Sterling is promoted to be the new Skull Leader (since Rick Hunter is now an admiral), where along with her wife, Miriya Parino-Sterling, are leading the Skull Squadron to deal with the Zentraedi rebellion, along with the support of the Wolf Squadron. This task isn’t an easy one, since the RDF wants to avoid a bloodshed at all costs, wanting to seek out a way to find a peaceful path to end the uprising for good.
Lazlo Zand, the unpredictable pupil of Emil Lang (Earth’s Robotech leading scientist) shows his first signs of jealousy against his mentor, along with the introduction of Janice Em, the singing android to play as a “back-up” singer in case something would happen to Lynn Minmei.
And the insidious path to power by the psychotic Anatole Leonard in an unholy secret pact with the murderous T.R. Edwards, takes finally a solid development, where they only thing that they need is that Lisa Hayes, Rick Hunter and the rest of their people would leave Earth, to erase the loose remnants of the RDF left behind, to see the rise of the Army of the Southern Cross.
Your favorite characters of the First Robotech War are back in an untold chapter of the great Robotech saga!
August 17, 2023
This was a very good book with an entertaining story that fit right in with the main series. But, that was also part of the problem. This book takes place shortly after book 5 and reads great when read at that point but when read as the 19th book in the series the story seems a little point less.
3.5/5
3.5/5
July 18, 2022
This is a dual-purpose novel. First, it fills in the narrative between the first and second Robotech wars as portrayed in the TV series and the novelization of them by this same author. But second, it manufactures explanations on why the first and second seasons of the the series are so different and seemingly unconnected. In this book we learn why the premier army of season 1, the Robotech Defense Force, is hardly mentioned in season 2 as most of Earth's defense is handled by the the Army of the Southern Cross. We learn why season 1 ends with a large population of Zentraedi cohabitating with Earth's human population, but in season 2 the Zentraedi seem nowhere to be found. Specific weapon changes are mentioned that explain why they look so different between the two seasons. And the book sees all of the on-screen characters from season 1 preparing to leave earth, which explains their absences from season 2. Understanding that the Robotech series is really three separate Japanese series pieced together for a Western audience, it's easy to see why the author thought this was necessary. This completely original story he uses to do this is not a bad story, but the forced season 1-to-season 2 explanations shoved into the narrative are jarring. I often felt myself stopping mid-paragraph to tell myself, I see what the author is trying to do here and then mulling over whether it really works from a continuity perspective. It's a four star Robotech story, but only a two star retcon of the TV series, averaging into my three star rating.
August 17, 2011
The level of detail in the book is like a dream for a true Robotech fan. An essential part of this epic that makes japanese Macross continuity pale in comparison.
July 15, 2024
This is the most fun I’ve had reading a book in a while. It’s been a long time since I’ve consumed any Robotech stuff. The last was the new comic line with the Remix that was cancelled at the pandemic in 2020.
This novel is great. It is not a novelization of the show but original story to bridge the gap between Macross and the Masters. The focal points are the Zentraedi Malcontent Uprisings and the forming of the Southern Cross.
The story of the Zentraedi struggle to find peace is on par with good sci-fi. It is a lot better than one would expect from an 80’s cartoon tie in. There are real feels in this book as the characters struggle to find their way.
The depth added to the Robotech world and characters is also great.
I look forward to reading the other couple books that add to the series, I hope they’re at least half as good as this one.
This novel is great. It is not a novelization of the show but original story to bridge the gap between Macross and the Masters. The focal points are the Zentraedi Malcontent Uprisings and the forming of the Southern Cross.
The story of the Zentraedi struggle to find peace is on par with good sci-fi. It is a lot better than one would expect from an 80’s cartoon tie in. There are real feels in this book as the characters struggle to find their way.
The depth added to the Robotech world and characters is also great.
I look forward to reading the other couple books that add to the series, I hope they’re at least half as good as this one.
September 1, 2025
First book not tied to the tv series. Fills in the gaps between book 6 of the main series and the first book of the sentinels.
Overall the book is good and shows the racism and hatred the humans shared towards the zentraedi and how the zentraedi were treated like 2nd class citizens. This leading to a revert to their old ways.
Main complaint with the book is that it reads more like a time line summary with key events explained after they happened.
Overall the book is good and shows the racism and hatred the humans shared towards the zentraedi and how the zentraedi were treated like 2nd class citizens. This leading to a revert to their old ways.
Main complaint with the book is that it reads more like a time line summary with key events explained after they happened.
December 3, 2023
The extra color given in this book brings a lot of societal issues to play. Great read!
December 17, 2016
I have a soft-spot for Robotech as my first real exposure to anime and a true oddity in 1980s animation: a series with tight continuity that required that episodes follow the broadcast order. Miss one installment and you'd have to wait until the entire 85-episode cycle made its way around again and repeated ... and this was an era where even the lowly VCR still wasn't in every household, and the Internet and Netflix was something right out of a cyberpunk novel.
Add the fact that the show often aired in odd time slots that made it impossible to catch it and still go to high school (I once faked the flu for several days *just* to stay home and catch a climactic arc in the series because even then at a tender young age I had my priorities straight), Ballantine's paperback novelization of the animated series was a godsend, if for nothing else to just be able to catch up on parts of the story you missed out on.
The really interesting thing is how well Robotech works as space opera / military sci-fi outside of its anime origins -- Jack McKinney is a pen name for two co-authors who gracefully handled the entire adaptation, adding much detail when there was often scant little in the source material to work with, yet playing fair by staying completely faithful to the canon of the series and the original writer's vision.
This book presents a 'lost' chapter of the story, filling in the blanks of a period that was glossed over in the show: strangely enough, it's set in 2016 (the far future when the story timeline was first presented thirty years ago), and there was enough of a parallel between real world events to give me a slight case of the creeps -- the excuse of an uprising by militant alien terrorists trapped on Earth to support the rise of a blustery, populist xenophobic human leader who promises to address the problem and protect his people, even if peaceful aliens suffer (and are given plenty of reason to buy into the anti-human rhetoric and join the ranks of the terrorists because of it). Certainly wasn't written as an allegory, but some very strange synchronicity at work ...
Add the fact that the show often aired in odd time slots that made it impossible to catch it and still go to high school (I once faked the flu for several days *just* to stay home and catch a climactic arc in the series because even then at a tender young age I had my priorities straight), Ballantine's paperback novelization of the animated series was a godsend, if for nothing else to just be able to catch up on parts of the story you missed out on.
The really interesting thing is how well Robotech works as space opera / military sci-fi outside of its anime origins -- Jack McKinney is a pen name for two co-authors who gracefully handled the entire adaptation, adding much detail when there was often scant little in the source material to work with, yet playing fair by staying completely faithful to the canon of the series and the original writer's vision.
This book presents a 'lost' chapter of the story, filling in the blanks of a period that was glossed over in the show: strangely enough, it's set in 2016 (the far future when the story timeline was first presented thirty years ago), and there was enough of a parallel between real world events to give me a slight case of the creeps -- the excuse of an uprising by militant alien terrorists trapped on Earth to support the rise of a blustery, populist xenophobic human leader who promises to address the problem and protect his people, even if peaceful aliens suffer (and are given plenty of reason to buy into the anti-human rhetoric and join the ranks of the terrorists because of it). Certainly wasn't written as an allegory, but some very strange synchronicity at work ...
March 29, 2011
Great series of books for kids that enjoy or are interested in science fiction. I read these books in middle school (I'm now in my 30s) and loved each one. The stories are fun, engaging and relatively fast paced. I'd be tempted to reread them now just for old time's sake if I didn't have so many new books on my to-read list.
I knocked it down a peg because, in retrospect, there are some aspects that are a bit too cheesy. I'm sure when my kids are old enough, they'll get thier own copies.
I knocked it down a peg because, in retrospect, there are some aspects that are a bit too cheesy. I'm sure when my kids are old enough, they'll get thier own copies.
March 31, 2016
Hrmph. In trying to tie everything together, the McKinney team instead causes a mild amount of chaos with the previous versions of the story. None of the characters come off well, and the hamfisted exposition that occurs endlessly is not a plus.
Gone is any sense of why the Army of the Southern Cross is so named. The Malcontent Uprisings, which are ripe for opportunities of all sorts in the RPG, are presented as a few scattered events that are remarkable only because they fill space in the book.
Gone is any sense of why the Army of the Southern Cross is so named. The Malcontent Uprisings, which are ripe for opportunities of all sorts in the RPG, are presented as a few scattered events that are remarkable only because they fill space in the book.
February 20, 2008
Taking the chronological place of book/part 7 of the RoboTech book, this book provides the storyline link between the Macross Saga and the Sentinels Saga. It's also one of the two best books of the series, as it's a really fun read, and reads about as fast (at least for me) as the Harry Potter series. It's also one of the 4 books written last, to help link everything else together, and provide the series with a bit more of a flowing structure.
May 20, 2010
I'm glad I'm continuing this project. It's at the very least instructive on how different things look at 16 and 34. It's kind of astonishing to me how the very silly Lisa-Rick-minmei love triangle molded a lot of my relationship frames. I know, I know. Anyway, glad to read it one last time and glad to put the books in the donation pile afterwards.
September 11, 2014
Probably the best of the expanded Robotech novels. A really good take on what happened between the first war and the REF starting along with the seeds of what becomes the Army of the Southern Cross. Really well written characters with some great drama and tension.
May 14, 2008
Kind of a set up book for lots of characters. Probably too many characters and not enough of the main trio. Recommendation from a friend at work. I'm planning on reading more in the series.
October 31, 2018
It's not as epic as the ones adapted straight from TV but it does help to fill in some holes between the first and second series.
June 2, 2013
Cool book it fits in very nicely a welcomed add-on to the Macross sage.
May 12, 2015
Great SiFi series. Giant battlesuits battling outer space monsters, what more can you ask for. Very recommended
October 1, 2014
how the zentraedi learn that culture is the anti-zentraedi traditions
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews