Sarek

By A. C. Crispin

The novel begins after the events of STAR TREK VI: THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY.Spock's mother, Amanda Grayson, is dying and Spock returns to the planet Vulcan where he and Sarek enjoy a rare moment of rapprochement. But just as his wife's illness grows worse, duty calls Sarek away--once again sowing the seeds of conflict between father and son. Yet soon Sarek and Spock must put aside their differences and work together to foil a far-reaching plot to destroy the Federation--a plot that Sarek has seen in the making for nearly his entire career.

The epic story will take the crew of the U.S.S. Enterpriseto the heart of the Klingon Empire where Captain Kirk's last surviving relative has become a pawn in the battle to divide the Federation... and conquer it. With Sarek's help, the crew of the Starship Enterpriselearns that all is not as it seems. Before they can prevent the Federation's destruction, they must see the face of their hidden enemy--an enemy more insidious and more dangerous than any they have faced before...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
• Release date: Dec 11, 2012
• ISBN: 9781471108952

A. C. Crispin

A.C. Crispin (1950–2013) was the author of more than twenty novels, including the StarBridge series. 

Reviews for Sarek

[glassich_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a MUST READ for any Star Trek Fan!

[merrymary_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I always like the Spock background stories best.

[vincentdarlage · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I've always liked A.C. Crispin as a Star Trek writer. I liked how she fleshed out Sarek and Amanda. I didn't care for the heavy-handed treatment of the instant love story between the Klingon and Kirk's nephew. It had an interesting plot and was, overall, pretty good.

[lyndainoregon · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A.C. Crispin is among that small handful of pro writers who can be counted on to handle classic Star Trek fiction well, but this is not her best effort.Overburdened with a let’s-destroy-the-Federation plot based on complex, convoluted intrigues which have been decades in the making, and festooned with not just one, but two young-love subplots, the essential story – that of Sarek – threatens to disappear entirely.That’s the bad news.The good news is, Sarek is a tough old bird (as any devoted Trekfan already knows), and he is not about to surrender without a fight. When Crispin isn’t wrangling intergalactic warfare issues, she turns an insightful eye on the formidable Sarek of Vulcan, his human wife, Amanda, and his often-estranged son, Spock. Father and son are again banging heads here, this time over Amanda’s impending death, when Sarek chooses to abandon her bedside to answer an ambassadorial call dealing with a political issue menacing thousands of lives. Spock is left to witness his mother’s final hours as she repeatedly calls for her absent mate. This pretty well wipes out the tenuous peace that had begun to build between the two men. The action-adventure portion of the story sometimes forces these two into subordinate roles, though Sarek does reclaim the stage when he faces down the Main Bad Guy (and incidentally provides Peter Kirk – did we mention Captain Kirk’s nephew, Peter, is in the mix here? – with the means to deal with a third-plot-line challenge of his own).Throughout the build-up to the adventure-plotline climax, Crispin has used flashbacks of Sarek’s early life, particularly focusing on his relationship with Amanda. Formative moments in the family structure emerge, with Amanda’s voice being kept strong in the story through the use of her journals. And once that pesky menace-to-galactic-peace issue has been resolved, it’s the journals that ultimately provide the pathway for father and son to begin a final reconciliation. There’s also some nice foreshadowing here of Spock’s far-in-the-future attempt to reunite Romulan and Vulcan civilizations.