Valentine Pontifex by Robert Silverberg

Now established as Coronal of a vast and ancient world, the protagonist must confront the entrenched power of the Pontifex and a mounting political and social crisis that threatens the planet’s future; navigating court intrigue, conflicting cultures and strange peoples, he forges unlikely alliances, faces moral choices about leadership and justice, and mounts a desperate struggle to dismantle corrupt authority and steer his world toward a more hopeful order.

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