Revealing the Covenant is a modern medical thriller involving embryonic stem cell research and the current worldwide debate they have spawned. The novel follows a young promising neurosurgeon as he explores the amazing possibilities of what stem cells can actually do. This revelation coupled with the untimely deaths of several of his colleagues places him in a precarious position so he goes on the run as he tries valiantly to save this miracle from falling into the wrong hands. His journey to save himself and the drug force him to examine the deficiencies in his own life. On the road he finds love and finally confronts his past. His struggle to liberate his brother ultimately frees his own deep seeded guilt. This novel is best described as a journey of discovery.
Which would you choose... human life or money? When faced with choosing the Hippocratic oath or keeping a seven billion dollar medical empire afloat which would most doctors select? Phillip Morris decided to take the money over human life by selling cigarettes for decades despite knowing their highly addictive nature and the fact they cause cancer. Enron and WorldCom decided to take the money and leave its employees with absolutely no retirement and virtually penniless. Would the medical establishment hold back a cure for spinal cord injury, Parkinson's, MS and Alzheimer's? As a whole... no, but those at the pinnacle of power. That one percent who actually run our country and the corporations within it... absolutely yes.
Dr. Michael Preston, a California neurosurgeon is summoned to a remote Mississippi clinic which was once a vast southern plantation (Roland Oak) where a business syndicate called the Club is running state of the art trials using embryonic stem cells to find a cure for paralysis.
After two of the four original surgeons who preformed the landmark operation mysteriously die, Stergis Braxton, the flamboyant self made billionaire and leader of the Club franticly recruits Dr. Preston to help quickly and quietly bring the clinical trials to fruition.
Unfortunately one of the worlds largest HMO conglomerates known as the Consortium is one step ahead of the Club. The race is on for the Consortium to keep this genie tightly within the bottle. They had failed in the 1950s to keep the polio vaccine from surfacing and that cost them dearly. A single injection eliminated years of revenues from care, medicine, wheelchairs and surgeries. This new medical miracle could cost them billions. They vowed to work on every level to keep stem cells from ever being used as a remedy for spinal cord injury, Parkinson's, MS and Alzheimer's.
How far will men of power go to protect their financial assets? Look no further than Wall Street to find mind blowing examples of corporate greed like Phillip Morris and Enron. This novel is about human nature and what propels each of us to make the choices we make in life. Trust, mistrust, love, denial, hope, money, revenge are but a few feeble excuses we rely on as we live out our fate. Like every facet of life there are degrees of good and evil.
Follow Dr. Preston on this odyssey of the heart, soul and mind as he seeks to unravel the mysteries of the Covenant and it's keepers.
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Reviews for "Revealing The Covenant"
Reviewed by Thomas
8/19/2003
This is a tightly-written, eminently credible thriller. It is fast-paced, with nothing wasted, and pulled right from today’s headlines, with a villain (HMOs) that most Americans are more than willing to hate. It’s especially neat the way you incorporate recent history, such as the Clinton Administration, Whitewater, Charlie’s fancying himself a latter-day Harrison Ford, etc.
Starting off with the scene where Christopher Reeve walks again is brilliant (especially the motif of Superman holding the wheelchair over his head). Your Consortium is a monolithic villain, seemingly all-powerful and completely evil. What’s intriguing is that Stergis Braxton is not all good, either, but is willing to take underhanded measures to protect his Club.
You’re very good with detailed descriptions of places. Every sky you describe is different; the verdigris copper of the gas torches at Rolan Oak, the rosewood tables, Waterford crystal, the detailing of the road signs as Michael drives to Cypress Cove, his taste in music, are exactly enough to put the reader in the setting, without weighing them down.
You really know your medical science, and you have the gift of explaining it to the layman without talking down or overwhelming them with data.
You avoid the cliché of love at first sight through the early rivalry between Kayla and Michael, which at first becomes professional respect and then eventually love – much better. Your plot is marvelously well constructed. Hans Kilmer’s forgetfulness, and what happens to the precious envelope, is quite believable, and the consequences move the story along at a suspenseful pace. There’s a good cliffhanger at the end of Chapter 33, and the tornado is a nice touch. Lucky’s finding the writing impressions on the legal pad that lead them to the Majestic Lady is also a good device.
You write good dialogue. The way Michael’s Southern accent slips out once he relaxes with Kayla makes a likeable guy even more likeable.
There are plenty of nice little touches, like the cabbie with the vodka-laced strawberry malt, the fact that the bad guys are stressed and sweaty and living on junk food, Charlie’s playing “bumper cars” with the FBI, the waitress playing romantic songs for Michael and Kayla. And the Major’s “kite” is fantastic! Just a touch of James Bond, but also within the realm of believable military technology.
“Simon’s” transformation is fascinating, but at least some of it – the foster home, his legal training – might be better introduced earlier on to make him more sympathetic. He’s a complex character (in a good sense), because the reader doesn’t know whether or not to trust him until the very end.
Kimberly Crist is also a complex and interesting character. She offers contrast and commentary on white society, and she’s a good role model for what a bright young person of color can achieve. Why do I get the impression that Kimberly and Simon might appear in a subsequent book someday? This would be a very good thing.
The chase, complete with the storm at sea and the foul-up with the saline net, and John-John’s going back to retrieve Gabby, is a nail-biter. And the final standoff shows everyone’s true character, especially Kayla’s finishing off the Major to save Michael’s life, and Charlie’s attempt to save Lucky, which is something a doctor would do.
Revealing the Covenant is a book I would pick up and read and recommend to others. Best of luck with it!
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