Customer Reviews

Robotech: The Masters Saga: The Southern Cross (Vol 7-9)

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Robotech: Southern Cross, Metal Fire, And the Final Nightmare continue the increadiably gripping saga of Robotech. Set twenty years after SDF 3 has left Earth, these books focus on the events of the Second Robotech War, but more actions of Dana Sterling and Bowie Grant, respectivly Maxamillo Sterling and Miria Sterling a half human half Zentradi and the cousin of Claudia Grant Killed in the climatic final battle between SDF 1 and Kyron the Backstabber. Both thier parents left on SDF 3 and they have grown up in the care of an United Earth Goverment and Souther Cross Army officer. In Southern cross Dana and Bowie graduate from the Robotech Academy and are assigined to the 15 ATAC's Hover Tanks. The Robotech Masters who send the Zentradi to capture SDF 1 over a generation ago have now come to capture Earth. But Dana now the leader of the 15 ATAc's (Alpha Tactical Aramored Corp) and the rest of the 15th vowed to fight to the end. These three books chronicle the events of the Second Robotech War, and The 15th's, Dan Sterling's, Bowie Grants, and all of Earths Battle. Robotech blends intriging characters with incrediable technology, and a great plot. These books had large expectations of them and they fill and overflow them. -Adam Conner adamconner@hotmail.com

"No book is really worth reading at the age of ten which is not equally (and often far more) worth reading at the age of fifty." C. S. Lewis (On Stories: And Other Essays on Literature, 14)

"Southern Cross" is shorter than "Macross," and is a bit tighter story. But the themes are the same. We get a cosmic conflict, all the mecha we could want or need, knotty relationships, the power of music and love, teamwork, and a hefty glistening of fantasy over the solid state hardware.

And, of course, the existential angst (see The Concept of Anxiety : Kierkegaard's Writings, Vol 8). An all to familiar existential angst that hits too close to home.

Dan is the confused halfbreed, reminding us that we all are confused half breeds, or amphibians. Our bodies are clearly made of the "dust of the earth," but our spirits are otherworldly. The poetess Eliza R. Snow-Smith summed up these feelings:

"Yet ofttimes a secret something
Whispered, `You're a stranger here,'
And I felt that I had wandered
From a more exalted sphere." (Eliza R. Snow's Greatest Hymns)

This inner conflict is the basis of all her frustration. And add to that her burn-out with Zor, and we detect an undercurrent of spiritual malaise. The rest of the crew is equally frustrated. Louis is bitter over his pupil pistol being militarized. Bowie is lovelorn. Angelo is a bigot. Nova Satroi is Javert. Leonard is Dolza jr. But the only person who enjoys himself is Sean Phillips.

Despite all of his setbacks, Sean keeps himself buoyant. He is busted to buck private. He looses his command. He has serial relationships, until he meets Marie Crystal. Even then, he gets both of her shoulders very cold. But he always bounces back. In a way, Sean is a hobbit. A hobbit with a Bugs Bunny attitude, but a hobbit nonetheless.

That is the atom; there is also the hurricane of the Robotech Masters and behind them, the shadow of the Invid. This appeals to me, these layers and layers of the Robotech Saga. But this is not surprising, since life is like that. Edmund S. Morgan asserted that "history is Junk." (So What about History?), inferring that life lies on layers of the past. "Southern Cross" encapsulates this idea with both second generations: after the Zentraedi come the Robotech Masters, and after the Robotech Defense Force comes the Southern Cross.

As the second in a trilogy, the book leaves us with an aftertaste of GNDN (Goes Nowhere, Does Nothing), but that is just the nature of trilogies. The whole shebang will end with quite a pop--but that is the next 3-in-1.

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As Always, I am a fan of both the DVDs Robotech - Protoculture Collection and the books. I consider them two different version of the same history. Or two different historians writing about the same events. Either way, we get a marvelous story.

Remember the reason why we have these novels in the first place. Before VCRs, DVDs, and Youtube, the only way we could relive the magic was by these books. Harmon Gold took advantage of this, and let "Jack McKinney" iron out some of the inconsistencies and rough spots that were in the anime. In my humble opinion, the Lang-Zand sub-cabal, protoculture being a syntropic force, and the Flower of Life addiction all add to the saga. In fact, I would love to read the full account of Zor seducing the Invid Regress. I imagine it to very a very Tolkienesque romance. And maybe Zor is the father of Marlene-Ariel?

Of course all of these additions give the book version of Robotech History a different feel. This history is more like Dune (Dune Chronicles, Book 1) and Star Wars, Episode IV - A New Hope. But remember that these franchises are so popular because they resonate with us. Something inside of us wants there to be an overarching guiding power that we all can access. We want there to be something more than just technology, gizmos, and 24/7/365 Paris Hilton coverage.

In light of the Robotech - The Shadow Chronicles Movie, these novels become all the more important. So, I am for all of the Robotech novels to be republished. I realize that there is some discussion of canonicity. This should not be an issue. We will believe which version of history we want to believe. Besides, there are questions of canonicity with Star Trek The Animated Series - The Animated Adventures of Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek and Star Wars: Splinter of the Mind's Eye, yet these apocryphal works are still in print. We should do the same for all 21 of the novel, putting them in 7 3-in-1 collections. If you print them, we will buy. We want to pass the legacy on to our children.

This is a nice continuation from the Macross Saga. The explanations about Robotech history are much deeper than the animated series, thus giving the reader a very good understanding of the plot. The author was particularly interested in the aliens' culture, and of course goes into some depth about weaponry and the secret alien technology.

Earth finally must face the Robotech Masters in a battle over the last Protoculture Matrix. If the Masters can get it, they will become Masters of not only the Earth, but all of known space. Will Dana Sterling and the Army of the Southern Cross be able to stop the Robotech Masters? Will either side get to the Matrix before it degenerates into the Flower of Life which will draw the Invid? No matter what happens, Earth will never be the SAME!

Rick is now out of the picture, but Max's daughter Dana is the heroine of the story with her friend Bo. Dana is a mix of Human and Zentradi, seeing as how her dad was a human{Max} and her mom was a Zentradi{Miriya}. If you recall her encounter with Rick in Homecoming then you know that Rick wasn't to fond of Miriya.
But I recomend this to all Robotech fans especially if they liked the Sentenal saga. That's all for now, See ya....

before i read all three of these...masterpieces, i hardly knew anything about protoculture. well, after reading the war about protoculture, and the long summary of Zor's life just put things into motion in my mind and really cleaned things up! My personal favorited part is in Metal fire, and the final campaign against the masters is launched by the battle crazed supreme comander leanord. this is a great series and i hope you become a fan just as i. xoxoxox

Wow, fantastic book(s). The Southern Cross Warriors were even better in the novels than they were in the series. Also, where is Dr. Lazlo Zand in the series? Why was the seen with Dana and the Beers cut out? Anyway, the series was great, but these novels show us the whole story. The ending in the novel is extended, whereas the TV series leaves you with millions of questions. I highly recommend this book!

This is a very good book, but the binding itself is inferior. I had the binding snap in 2 pieces (at page 198) when I was reading the book. The binding itself is only attached to the cover in two places, and the binding resembles a thick glue. When reading this book, be warned not to open it all the way, otherwise you'll break the binding.