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Death Dance | Rating | |
| C | |||
| Jack McKinney | |||
| Series | Related Books | ||
| Robotech: The Sentinels | Genesis, Battle Cry, Homecoming, Battlehymn, Force of Arms, Doomsday, Southern Cross, Metal Fire, The Final Nightmare, Invid Invasion, Metamorphosis, Symphony of Light, The Devil's Hand, Dark Powers, Death Dance, World Killers, Rubicon, The End of the Circle | ||
The Robotech Expeditionary Force is still stuck around Fantoma, unable to return to Earth and defend it against the Robotech Masters. And the Sentinels are stuck on Praxis, their ship destroyed by the Invid thanks to data given them by the treacherous, power-hungry General Edwards. But Praxis is tearing itself apart due to the Regis' evolutionary experiments, and if they don't get off soon they'll die along with the planet. Meanwhile, Doctor Lang and Breetai must gather what forces they can as Edwards tightend his grip around the REF.
Obviously, Edwards is back as a major player in the game, but it's not as bad as it was in The Devil's Hand. Oh, I still don't understand him well, or why he has so much influence, or why his squadron is full of people like him - mean and powermad. But at least his plotting is truly behind people's backs. There's a great many reasons the good humans should (and do) think him over ambitious, but nothing solid enough to raise suspicions of planned treason and murder.
There are things that could have been done better, though. Burak and Tesla have struck up a bargain of sorts, but it is difficult to believe Burak couldn't see how badly he was being used, no matter how self desperate he may be. And repeated mentions of Peryton's "curse" are meant to raise dramatic tension and give Burak a motive, but do nothing but make me want to throttle the author. If it is that critical to readers understanding a character, then he should have explained exactly what this "curse" is by now. Otherwise Burak will seem to be acting very irratinally - which is exactly how it does seem.
Another significant flaw is a major inconsistancy. Escape from Praxis is, in the first half or so of the book, a major issue, a puzzle to be solved. The ship is gone, and the Veritechs are extremely low on fuel. There's a way out of the system in orbit, but no way to reach it. Yet later, those same VTs stage a rescue mission, diving from orbit into the atmosphere... and back out! What happened to their fuel status?
Despite its plot holes and occasional flaws, though, I still found this book... not bad. Hardly great reading, of course, but I attribute that largely to the original source; it can't be fixed without changing the entire series. Readers shouldn't need to forgive much. No more than for the animé.
Okay, so I suppose that means rather a lot. But I think anyone who's managed to get through this much of the Robotech books is willing to let a bit more slide than usual.
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