Star Trek: The Original Series: Lost to Eternity
Written by Greg Cox
Published by Pocket Books
KIRK: No, no, no. All I need is the radio frequency to track them.
GILLIAN: What are you talking about? I’m coming with you.
KIRK: You can’t. Our next stop is the twenty-third century.
GILLIAN: I don’t care? I’ve got nobody here. I have got to help those whales!
(Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home)
And so, cetacean specialist Dr. Gillian Taylor disappeared from San Francisco that morning in 1986, never to be seen again. Or not for a long time, at any rate. What did her friends and co-workers think about her disappearance? Was there a police investigation? When combined with the other strange occurrences in those three days, like the capture and loss of an odd Russian spy aboard a US Navy aircraft carrier, that same spy’s disappearance from a local hospital the next day, and odd happenings around Golden Gate Park, did Dr. Taylor’s missing person’s case raise any red flags in the United States government? Well Greg Cox’s new Star Trek book has you covered, and more so.
Star Trek: The Original Series: Lost to Eternity takes place in three time periods: in 2024 following podcaster Melinda Silver and her producer, Dennis Berry, as they try to track down leads on that 1986 cold case for their true-crime podcast, in 2268 following the USS Enterprise under the command of Captain James T. Kirk during the third year of their mission, as they investigate a missing-persons case of their own, and in 2292 (a year before Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country) following the Enterprise-A under the command of Captain James T Kirk, escorting delegates from a first-contact species to a conclave with representatives of the Federation and the Klingon and Romulan Empires. Cox loves balancing stories in multiple timelines, and it has become a sort of calling card of his writing. Here, he expertly balances interest in each storyline, bringing them to an action-packed and stirring conclusion.
For my money, the most interesting story by far takes place in 2024, as Melinda interviews supporting characters from the story told in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, people who interacted with Gillian at the Cetacean Institute, the pizzeria, and the hospital, and with Kirk, Spock, Chekov, and others throughout the film. As her investigation heats up, she and her conspiracy theorist producer find themselves in more and more danger, and their journalistic drive and ethics are severely challenged. Melinda Silver is a spunky and resourceful journalist, and the story here feels very much of our time, bringing a freshness to the Star Trek stories I grew up loving.
The 2268 story is harrowing and filled with action, teasing out some of the boundaries of adherence to the Prime Directive in a situation where our crew must retrieve a kidnapped scientist whose research could be deadly in the wrong hands. In this story, we see Kirk and his crew at their prime, working undercover and clashing with Klingons and many others. Of special note is Kirk’s Klingon counterpart on the planet, a smoky Klingon spy reminiscent of a buff Emma Peel. I greatly enjoyed this part of the adventure.
I was delighted to see Saavik on the cover of this novel. She plays a major role in the 2292 storyline, and it is fantastic to see this part of the story through her eyes. While this is the era in which everything finally comes together, it is the weakest of the three storylines. Though Cox takes great pains to craft distinct personalities for each of the Klingons and Romulans, the Klingon Captain with whom Kirk interacts the most is just an annoying, shouty, impediment to progress. I prefer Kirk’s main adversaries to be clever and worthy of respect.
But the delights of this book far outweigh the slight annoyances. Cox has taken the question of “What happened after Gillian Taylor disappeared in 1986?” and run with it in fascinating and fun directions. Every page is layered with references to previous Trek adventures, as characters believably connect what they are currently doing with their past experiences, enriching both the characters’ inner lives and the fun for the diehard fan reader. And in the Osori, Cox has crafted a new alien species with a unique and interesting take on immortality and space exploration, an approach that challenges the worldviews of the Federation and its sometime foes. The package is all wrapped up in the hopeful idealism that marks the best of Star Trek.
This book is a lot of fun, and rewards both the casual fan and the committed Trekkie alike.
Available Now
Greg Cox’s Star Trek: The Original Series: Lost to Eternity was released by Pocket Books on July 23. You can order it on Amazon in paperback and Kindle e-book.
Lost to Eternity is also available as an audiobook on CD now and also Audible.
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