Legacy Review #14 – ROBOTECH BOOK 19 (The Zentraedi Rebellion)

Release Date: May 1994

Author: Jack McKinney

(James Lucerno and Brian Daley)

Page Count: 370 pages

INTRODUCTION

This McKinney novel escaped my attention for an extremely long time. Classified as part of the "Lost Generation," those books that bridged the gaps between the Generations. I had bought and read the novels for the First, Second and Third Generations; I’ve read them countless times over. The Sentinels and expanded novels are completely new territory. The first thing I noticed about The Zentraedi Rebellion was both the heft of the book and smaller font than found in most books from 1 through 12. After reading the first ten or so pages, the differing tone was immediately apparent, markedly so to those based on the Japanimation. This is not the episodic, combat-driven stories first presented to North American audiences during Saturday morning cartoons. And I’m all in for that change of pace.

REVIEW

Episode Counter. Not applicable. This standalone novel details events outside any anime presented in the Carl Macek ROBOTECH series.

Synopsis. In a world recovering from the apocalyptic barrage of the Zentraedi, regional powers have taken control, under loose oversight of the United Earth Government. The context of Zentraedi survivors in this setting is the driving force of the novel. Not everyone is eager to share the planet Earth, a sentiment that applies equally to Humans and Zentraedi. A number of Zentraedi factions revert back to the Imperative, essentially a martial worldview based on the thrill of combat instilled into them from their cloned birth process. Zentraedi dissident groups create a vicious circle where their violent actions cause disparate approaches to dealing with these issues by the regional political blocks. While the RDF tries to maintain global order, it is also equipping the SDF-3 for the Robotech Expeditionary Forces’ mission. Regional armies like the Armies of the Southern Cross come to prominence under the leadership of Governor Leonard, more than happy to exploit the political void. As the violence ramps up, more destructive and insidious weapons are employed by the Zentraedi, leading to the climactic resolution.

Cast of Characters. Initially expecting Rick Hunter to once again be the chosen protagonist, I was pleasantly surprised to be proven wrong. We get introduced to most of the primary characters from the First Generation, but these are peppered throughout with names from the Second Generation, a whole host of Zentraedi characters, and a series of new names. Very much a diverse cast of characters, it provides a much more compelling mosaic of perspectives. I found this developed a more grounded reflection on the aspects at play, a facet not quite there in the First Generation. Something as simple as Wolff and his wife dealing with multiple career postings, the most recent one bitterly accepted, but it forces a real discussion that any service couple or “base brat” (like myself) would immediately understand. It’s a very telling shift in the storytelling.

Politico-Military Fiction. A more mature entry in the novelization, most likely due to the lack of a tie-in to an anime series. Political intrigue is mixed in with military planning and strategic discussions, making for a much more adult-oriented approach. Gone are the episodic-based combat between Humans and their mecha against the Zentraedi invasion forces. The writing style is very much remains similar to previous Jack McKinney novels, quick yet engaging, but the text size and heft of this book speaks to the variation of approach. There are a lot of moving parts, much of it in an action-results then reactions-consequences flow that really never lets up. This maintains a very dynamic flow events across various viewpoints, something I found incredibly satisfying.

Governor Leonard. The backstory (I daresay origin story) to Leonard is introduced, and we get a much better insight into his actions throughout the Second Generation. Several epigraphs and context within a few chapters develops the basis of his character with a fanatical religious perspective founded in the Global Civil War era; and this really sets up Leonard’s worldview throughout this book and into the Second Generation I found immensely compelling. We see how ruthless he was as governor, and the motivation for the path he took to eventually become such an influential player in the United Earth Government. This greatly enriches our understanding of his actions, and provides an important glimpse into the character’s arc that sees its culmination in The Final Nightmare. It was interesting to see how key characters understood the threat Leonard posed, but were politically stymied by Leonard’s allies in the UEG and the actions of the Zentraedi dissidents.

Armies of the Southern Cross (ASC). Something that struck me were the differences in presentation of the ASC. This is nothing like the Southern Cross of Dana Sterling in the Second Generation. The nascence of the ASC are as Leonard’s personal army as he rules over the regions of South America. It’s the hotspot for much of the Zentraedi conflict. Leonard has little difficulty projecting his armed forces elsewhere across the globe to strike Zentraedi dissidents. This is most prominently evidenced by the spectacularly developed lead-up to a strike on the dissident leadership assembled in Cairo. This effectively begins the global shift of blame to the RDF for mishandling of the uprisings, the UEG subject to machinations that places the Southern Cross as the only reliable response, and Leonard as the singular solution space for many of the UEG’s problems the RDF is no longer trusted to solve.

Zentraedi Language. Something I found particularly interesting was the exploration of the Zentraedi language, both written and spoken. We have numerous examples where their language is phonetically provided, typically to reinforce the Imperative influence over their actions. The other is the introduction of the glyphs they use to denote words, or more appropriately syllables and meaning. One of the few educated Zentraedi, Exedore is often there to provide a human interpretation of these glyphs that provide an indication of intent or simply as a tool for immersion. It’s an effective tool and helps the reader understand the illiteracy of the Zentraedi and the worldview/lifespan expectations they had under their Robotech Masters’ rule.

Lazlo Zand. The depiction of Zand is a really interesting character study of a man who thinks more of himself than his achievements would merit. Feeling forced into Lang’s shadow, he is rashly embittered to try and find a way out, showing little regard for ethical boundaries and norms. He is desperate to find some way to gain the insight into Robotechnology that Lang stumbled upon during the initial reconnaissance of the SDF-1 crash site. He goes so far as to inject himself with random protoculture-tainted liquids, eventually finding himself lifted into similar levels of heightened consciousness and intellect as his mentor, Emil Lang. And as Leonard gets better defined herein, we also get a more in-depth idea of Zand’s motives in the Second Generation books, providing what I thought was a much more dynamic explanation to the culmination of his story arc in The Final Nightmare.

Rules of War. There is something to be said about the ethics and Law of Armed Conflict that isn’t overtly tapped into. Not necessarily a primary concern for an IP like ROBOTECH, this heady topic finds some significant prominence. Principally, the use of chemical warfare by the Zentraedi against the humans, and their devastating results. The effects of military control over civilian populations, as well as detained persons (read: Zentraedi) in control zones (Z-towns), and the substandard care/services provided is definitively atypical as a regular topic of the IP. Without spoiling anything or getting too far into the weeds, for someone with my background and tradecraft, this made certain parts a more cerebral read. Well done, bravo.

Protoculture Effects. As later books really start to dive into the Flower of Life’s capacity to influence events, we see a touch of it here. The interplay of Zentraedi and Human genetics, the design characteristics the Masters chose in developing the Zentraedi (e.g. the Imperative), all of it comes out in subtle details. It adds to the complexity of the over-arching plot line, which I found gloriously appealing. Lazlo Zand finds himself at a fulcrum point trying to become Lang’s equal, possibly even surpass him. His wildly unorthodox experiments make him into much more of a villainous mastermind that still gets outplayed by others; this makes his efforts during the Second Generation books all the more ghoulish and horrifying. But how the Flower of Life seems to have an invisible hand over some of the points at play becomes a sinewy thread that ties and interweaves throughout the entirety of the series. This is something that very much is extant in the McKinney novelization, not well presented in the anime media.

CONCLUSION

With no clear path to follow, most Zentraedi have been forcibly settled/marooned on Earth. While many fully embraced Human culture, not all have found the grass greener on the other side. Many revert to their original worldview and follow the Imperative. They battle both Human prejudice and the conflict among their own kind on how best to deal with their fate. As with any socio-political subject, there are various influences that tug and pull to define responses. This is applicable to both Human and Zentraedi, and as valuable a lesson the genre of science fiction can provide.

The political vacuum developed by the formation and parameters for sourcing the REF come into direct conflict with the United Earth Government’s rebuilding programs. The RDF, once the defenders of Earth, find themselves suborned by this new political reality, where the star bound mission is cast as a power- and resource-hungry deterrent to the rebuilding and defense of Earth. This is exactly the wedge issue Governor Leonard needed to firm up his grasp on the UEG and leapfrog from his rule over the Southland Sectors for Monument City, the de facto Earth capitol. He brings with him the ASC, now viewed as the preeminent force for ensuring Earth security (read Human prosperity), but only if it supports his vision and powerbase (actively excludes the Zentraedi).

By the end of the book, the reader is really getting a launch or bridge from the First Generation to Sentinels, vice into the Second Generation. Although much of the action and characters lead into the action for both series, the timeline leads directly into Sentinels.

Initial Assessment (9/10). Based on the media interplay of the 1990s, the authors get away with some of the plot points. In terms of presenting a post-apocalyptic world, it comes across as much more cohesive than what we ever got in the First Generation books; what they missed is more than made up for here with some spectacular world building. The action is much more like a spy thriller, a multitude of perspectives used to reinforce the dynamics from all angles. I found this made for a richer reading experience. That said, this is also something that I found a little lacking; mecha dogfights are replaced with a significantly more pervasive political aspect to the book. It presents two cultures forced to try and deal with each other and the obvious friction points that causes.

There are a few points worth noting. The book concentrates on a significant cast of characters, providing motivation to the narrative, but makes the reader skip around (and I mean a lot). If you’re looking for constant clashes involving mecha, this isn’t the book for you. Combat is almost entirely based on Earth and very plot-driven. The impacts are much more gripping by the immediacy of the characters’ perspective and the realistic effects. Presentation of Supreme Commander Leonard and the nascence of the Armies of the Southern Cross induces a significant retcon to Robotech Novel 7: Southern Cross and Robotech: Southern Cross RPG. I’m actually quite supportive of the changes; they provide a grounded reality to the reader, and give a wealth of character development to both Leonard and Zand.

Whereas previous reviews are based on novelization of episodic Japanimation, I believe this book would be hard-pressed to be produced in that same medium. There are some seriously mature and complex concepts worth addressing, and while other series have effectively done so (e.g. Ghost in the Shell), I don’t see this IP really getting away with it. I am currently blistering my way through the Sentinels books, and this novel really sets things up for that series; it certainly does for the Second Generation. This was a particularly difficult review to write, based partly on the divergence of its approach, but also its complexity and maturity. I actually quite enjoyed the book; an exceptionally fulfilling read. You could read the Generations series without dipping your toes into it, you just lose some of the nuance. From my perspective, this is a must read for anyone going through the Jack McKinney Novelization, and I’m remarkably happy to have both acquired and taken the time to read this entry.

Post-Script: If you dive deep enough, you'll find a fair amount of discussion on the 'canon' of the novelization as a whole, and more specifically this novel among others that are referred to as the "Lost Generation." As the reader you can take it or leave it. This one does present some contextual changes to Southern Cross era. Does that change the value or enjoyment of the read for this novel? Heck no!

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