The Covenant of the Crown by Howard Weinstein

The Covenant of the Crown by Howard Weinstein
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The planet of Shad is the key to the stability of the quadrant and the Klingon Empire are arming a dissident faction and the civil war is slowly but surely crumbling the long established monarchy. Shad also supplies raw material for energy generation to many nearby worlds and if she falls to the Klingons many other worlds will follow. James Kirk served on Shad as adviser to the King and led him into exile, 18 years later the loyalist forces have turned the tide and have started bickering amongst themselves. Only the return of the king who represents both the lineage of rulers but also a living conduit to the gods of Shad can stabalise and bring true peace to this world.
The Covenant of the Crown is a story which feels a lot bigger than it is, the narrative is complex and diverse allowing you to really sink your teeth into the character and situations. Klingons are Klingons and their MO syncs with the tv series although like one or two of the tv episodes how the Federation deals with non-member worlds and pre-warp at that isn't entirely clear. If you can accept that then this is a great Star Trek story, lots of action and suspense with the characters written very well and always nice to have McCoy front and center:)

View all my reviews