Ok, so to return to this, I don't think I've seen anyone mention Covenant of the Crown, by Howard Weinstein. It's come up twice as a recommendation in a review thread I post in periodically; more recently after finishing Deep Domain, but also earlier as a book to include for transitioning out of an older novel continuity towards the more modern novel continuity. I got the impression Covenant was meant to be post-TMP.
Oh, definitely. Right off the bat, in its first chapter, it makes a point of referring to "Dr. Christine Chapel and Lieutenant Commanders Uhura and Sulu" (though for some reason it omits Chekov's rank in the same paragraph) and has the characters talk about getting older -- McCoy is worried about gray hairs and Chekov is told "you aren't twenty-two anymore."
Indeed, it's the first novel that was ever set post-TMP (despite the covers of the previous couple), which makes it interesting that it still fits into modern continuity, as least as of the last time I read it. It's the oldest novel I still count in my personal Trek continuity.
It was mentioned that a character from Covenant gets picked up by later authors...
From what I gather, the L.A. Graf writing team bring back or mention the character from Covenant.
Yes, Michael Howard of security (whom I assume Howie named after himself, though I'd bet L.A. Graf coined his first name in honor of Michael Jan Friedman). I've referenced the character once or twice in my own books.
And I've got the impression that their novels are post-TMP, but I haven't read them yet, so you might want to check Memory Alpha or Beta, other readers here might be able to confirm the setting for those books. Those books include Kobayashi Maru, Death Count, Ice Trap, Firestorm, and Shell Game (I probably got the order of those mixed up).
Yes, those are all post-TMP. The release order was:
#47
The Kobayashi Maru by Julia Ecklar (not to be confused with
Enterprise: Kobayashi Maru by Mangels & Martin)
#60
Ice Trap by L.A. Graf (Ecklar, Melissa Crandall, and Karen Rose Cercone)
#62
Death Count by Graf (Ecklar & Cercone)
#63
Shell Game by Crandall
#68
Firestorm by Graf (Ecklar & Cercone)
Though I think they pretty much stand alone storywise. This was in the no-continuity era, so while the books have a consistent feel, style, and approach to the characters, I don't think they explicitly reference each other's events.
