Robotech: Doomsday

Robotech: Doomesday-Jack McKinney

How I found this book: When I found out there was two books about the series, I needed them both! Besides, I was going on a camping trip to Yosemite that weekend and needed reading material.

Setting: Immediately after the events of the first book, and up to two to three years in the future, (all of which is supposedly around about our current time and perhaps a bit later.

Main Characters:

Captain Henry Gloval: Commander of the SDF 1, he is desperately trying to both get the citizens of Macross City back home to Earth, at the same time fend off the Zentradi forces intent on grabbing the ship. He is all too aware of what the Zentradi can do to Earth, but feels that the Earth Command is blind to the danger they are in.

Lt. Commander Lisa Hayes: The First Officer of the SDF 1 and the officer in charge of coordinating the Veritech Squadrons, Lisa is the daughter of the head of the Robotech Defense force, Admiral Hayes. Lisa’s cool under fire, as well as her now extensive knowledge of the Zentradi, (thanks to having been held hostage on one of their ships), has convinced her that the Zentradi forces are too great for the over-confident Earth command to handle. She also knows that the Zentradi are biologically similar to humans, not some strange aliens from no where, and have been bred for war and know nothing else. She feels that Earth’s only chance is to convince the Zentradi of the merits of human culture, and to start opening them up to the idea of peace, or else the Earth has no hope in defending itself against the full onslaught of the Zentradi fleet.

Bridge Officer Claudia Grant: Having lost the love of her life, Roy Fokker, Claudia acts as the big sister to Rick Hunter and best friend to Lisa as she navigates the rough terrain between the two’s blooming romance and her own broken heart, while still managing her bridge duties with the common-sense efficiency she always has.

Lt. Rick Hunter: Now commander of the Skull Squadron after the death of his ‘big brother’, Roy Fokker, Rick is unsure of his own skills and tired of war. He, like Lisa, recognizes the need for a change in tactics, and perhaps reaching out to the Zentradi in the hope for peace. He tries to be supportive of Lisa and her efforts to reason with Earth Command, knowing that his relationship with the often prickly First Officer has always been rocky, but he finds himself attracted to her, even though he still has conflicted feelings for his teenaged sweetheart, Minmei.

Linn Minmei: After winning Ms. Macross, Minmei’s career has skyrocketed into a pop idol and movie star, giving the beleaguered citizens of Macross City something to look forward to in their lives. Her new career has taken her far away from her friend, Rick, and she is starting to become more and more attached to her cousin, Linn Kyle.

Lt. Max Sterling: After the death of Ben Dixon, Max remains in the Skull Squadron with Rick Hunter, one of the best and most elite pilots in the Veritech force, (despite his appearance). Max’s greatest enemy on the battlefield will prove to be his greatest love as well, when he falls for the Zentradi ace, Myria Parino

Quadrano Leader Myria Parino: The top and most elite of all Zentradi pilots, Myria is shamed when she is defeated by Max, who is a human. It doesn’t matter to her that he is the most elite Veritech fighter, only that she, a Zentradi warrior, has been defeated. She has herself ‘micronized’ so that she can infiltrate the human society and discover who he is and kill him. She doesn’t realize that her warrior’s heart will be turned against her, though, and that there is a fine line between love and hate when Max asks her to marry him.

Dolza: The Supreme Commander of the Zentradi forces, the race of aliens who are tracking down the SDF 1. He fears the influence of the humans on his people, and orders the ship and the Earth destroyed.

Breetai: The commander of the fleet sent to find the SDF 1, Breetai is a cunning warrior, and a match against the equally experienced Captain Gloval. He realizes that Dolza is now determined not only to destroy the SDF, but the Earth as well and perhaps his own forces as they’ve been exposed to human culture. This forces him to make a decision that his Supreme Commander perhaps will be shocked to hear.

Exedor: The Minister of Affairs for the Zentradi, he is the only source of science and information for the Zentradi people, and their contact with the human culture on board the SDF 1

Rico, Kanda, and Bron: Three Zentradi spies on board the SDF 1, they fall in love with Minmei and with human culture and encourage their fellow Zentradi warriors to defect and become part of the human world, creating chaos in the ranks of Zentradi warriors.

Khyron: One of the commanders under Breetai, he is vain and murderous, and hates human culture with all his being, feeling it is corrupting his people, (though to be honest, it’s a bit of the pot calling the kettle black). He tries everything to thwart the efforts of Breetai in negotiating with the SDF, preferring to annihilate everything and everyone.


Plot: Having returned to Earth from the outer reaches of the solar system, the SDF 1 is attempting to return its load of Macross City citizens to Earth, only to find out that Earth Command has created a neat cover story to explain the long disappearance of the SDF, and that everyone is legally considered dead. To accept them back would cause all sorts of questions the government would rather not answer. As Captain Gloval tries to negotiate with the Earth in terms of the citizens, his first officer, Lisa Hayes tries to negotiate with her father and the other leaders of Earth Command about the Zentradi and the need to negotiate for peace with them, only to find herself hitting a brick wall. Frustrated, she attempts to reason directly with her father, taking with her the evidence of the Zentradi’s close biological connection to humans, as well as the defections of many Zentradi warriors to the SDF, including Rico, Konda, and Bron. Rick Hunter supports Lisa in this as the commander of Skull Squadron now, seeing the toll that the war is taking both on himself and his men, but the Zentradi as well, and realizing the effect that Minmei’s music and human culture has had on the war-like race of Zentradi. But before anyone can get anywhere in the negotations, Dolza, the Supreme Commander of the Zentradi forces has determined that his people are becoming corrupted by the Earth and it’s culture, and orders the entirety of his force to destroy the SDF, the Earth, and the Zentradi forces who have been infected, the protoculture on the SDF be damned. Now the SDF might prove to be the last bastion of protection the Earth has against the fully unleashed forces of the Zentradi army.

Themes:

Give peace a chance: Unsurprisingly, the book has a strong theme of peace over continued aggression, of trying to solve our issues through mutual understanding rather than continued fighting, (cough, cough….wow, art imitating life?) The efforts of Lisa Hayes in particular reflect this ideal that even the military must recognize that it can’t always be an all-or-nothing war, that ‘ultimate surrender’ can more often then not lead to complete destruction. Diplomacy can be an effective tool when guns cannot.

The power of love: Max and Myria’s love overcomes the differences between the two cultures, and we see this reflected again and again, especially with the Zentradi love of Minmei and her music. This idea of there being something other than war and regulation is foreign to these people, and it is attractive to them as well. Love, it turns out, can conquer even the hardest of warrior hearts. While it doesn’t fix everything, it does give people a reason to live and to keep on going, no matter how bleak it all seems.

A Squared, plus B Squared, Equals C Squared: Pythagorean theorems aside, the love triangle between Rick, Minmei, and Lisa plays itself against the backdrop of war. It highlights the fact that war changes everyone, what people thought they wanted or needed going into it isn’t what they come out needing, and that sometimes growing up means letting go of long cherished dreams. While it is a bit on the fluffy side in terms of romances, (and of course you are asking yourself what in the WORLD Rick saw in Minmei to begin with), it is an example of how everyone changes and grows up over time.


Every book sucks somewhere: I think really, besides the fact that it is cheesy, sci-fi, written for a pre-teen boy, (and I’m not saying this as if it is a bad thing), is that perhaps with all the peace, love, and understanding, the story is a bit TOO idealistic, and perhaps not as gritty as us adults would like it. Granted, it’s not the intended audience, but if I had to redo it for a grown up like me, I’d add the grit factor to it.

What did I like: Rick and Lisa…enough said.

How would I rate this wormy book: I would rate this as a FAT WORM. It’s still just as much a fun read as the first book, and is perfect for people who dork on this sort of stuff. However, it isn’t a MONSTER, mostly because unless you dork on this sort of thing, you will not be as totally amused by it as the rest of us. I wouldn’t’ recommend reading any book based on a movie or show to anyone unless they REALLY loved that show.