Although I may sound like a fanatic, my reasoning is this. Jack McKinney (two authors, one of whom, James Lucero went on to write some great Star Wars books and, ironically, the final wrap up of that series as well) was forced to write his books on what is basically a kids show, Robotech. He was constrained in his characters and could do little with the story. And yet his books managed to add an amazing depth to the Robotech world that was sorely lacking in the cartoons. So much so in fact that his books touched off a virtual war between the cartoon purists and the book converts. I bring this up because in this book, the gloves are off.

End of the Circle is where McKinney finally gets to write the story that he wanted to write. All the characters are much more mature than their series debute. Scott is no longer a one dimensional tragic hero and Marlene is now more human as well as being a bit grizzled. Everyone is back, if only for just a cammio. Now I have read the reviews that say this is a weakness but if this had not been in the book, these same people would probably have been angry about that too. McKinney is simply trying to include all the characters whom we have grown too like up to this point.

Yes, there is a lot that is wrapped up in this book. Yes...some may say there is too much to be wrapped up, with a few eyebrows going up about some story lines. And yet, while McKinney could have left well enough alone, it would not have been a true Science Fiction book, where eyebrows are SUPPOSED to go up occasionally. I mean come on, how exactly does a crystal in a "warp core" enable faster than light speed. Maybe not the best comparison but its all I could come up with.

When I was young, I loved this book. When I was adolecent, I loved this book and started to actually understand what was going on. As an adult, I still love this book and I think I understand much of what is going on. But you know what, I am going to read this book one more time, just to see what I might have missed. And I think all of you should too.

I think the author (or authors) tried just a little to much to cover every person, event or plot line in the Robotech universe. That is why I took away one star.

On the other hand there was a lot of humor. For example, a ship named N'trpriz with a Karbarran Captain named K'rrk, a science officer with horns, a female communications officer and the guy in engineering has a thick Highlander's accent!

"The second star to the right?" - Rick Hunter.

The SDF-3, failing to appear in Earth space for the final assault on the Regis, de-folds in a mysterious void. Meanwhile, Scott Bernard on Earth begins his search for the lost ship while the remaining Sentinels on Tirol make some hard discoveries. The ensuing action brings all of the generations together, solves one of Robotech's biggest mysteries, graphically reveals the climax of Protoculture's existence, and ties up all remaining loose ends with the remarkable Intersection segment as well as a final "Recollections" chapter from Lisa Hayes-Hunter.

THE END OF THE CIRCLE brings very satisfying closure to one of the best science fiction sagas around. As a hard core fan of the entire novel series I was quite pleased with the way the story arc was brought to a close and I believe that most other fans would probably agree with me on that. The authors deserve major credit for succeeding at a very difficult task. Five solid stars.