Lost to Eternity

Star Trek: The Original Series

by Greg Cox

A thrilling new Star Trek "movie era" novel from New York Times bestselling author Greg Cox!

Three Eras. Three Mysteries. One Ancient Enemy?

2024: Almost forty years ago, marine biologist Gillian Taylor stormed away from her dream job at Sausalito's Cetacean Institute—and was never seen or heard from again. Now a new true crime podcast has reopened that cold case, but investigator Melinda Silver has no idea that her search for the truth about Gillian's disappearance will ultimately stretch across time and space—and attract the attention of a ruthless obsessive with his own secret agenda.

2268: The USS Enterprise's five-year mission is interrupted when Captain James T. Kirk and his crew set out to recover an abducted Federation scientist whose classified secrets are being sought by the Klingons as well. The trail leads to a barbaric world off limits to both Starfleet and the Klingon Empire—and an ageless mastermind on a quest for eternity.

2292: The Osori, an ancient alien species, has finally agreed to establish relations with its much younger neighbors: the Federation, the Klingons, and the Romulans. A joint mission involving ships from all three powers, including the Enterprise-A, turns explosive when one of the Osori envoys is apparently killed. Each side blames the others, but the truth lies buried deep, nearly three hundred years in the past…

Genres: Star Trek, Science Fiction, Time Travel, Fiction, Audiobook, Science Fiction Fantasy, Space

400 pages, Paperback

First published July 23, 2024

Reviews

[Jonathan Koan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well...that was unexpected.

This book is split between 3 different timeframes: 2024, 2268, and 2292. By the end of the book, each timeframe gets about equal presence in the book, although the majority of the 2292 story is at the end of the book.

I absolutely loved the 2024 storyline here. It was a true-crime podcaster trying to find out what happened to Gillian Taylor, and it felt like a reverse mystery because we as the audience already know what happened, and we get to see the podcaster put the pieces together. But there is another mystery involved here that had me on the edge of my seat. This was my favorite storyline in the book.

There is a very traditional "scientist captured: must rescue without breaking prime directive" storyline in the 2268 timeframe. This was the most classic "Star Trek" story in the book, and was entertaining, but not as much as the other timelines.

The 2292 story has some classic Star Trek elements, as well as a great mystery to it. I don't want to give away anything about this storyline. It felt very similar to the 2268 story, but was more interesting to me because we had the character of Saavik present, who we haven't gotten a lot of books about.

The standout character from the Original Series in this book has to be McCoy. He was very funny and interesting in this book, and he's not even present for a lot of the book. I also really enjoyed the character of Melinda Silver (the True-Crime podcaster from the 2024 story).

Overall, this was a very entertaining story with some great twists and mysteries. I'll give it an 8 out of 10. Very entertaining Greg Cox!

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is 2024 and podcaster Melinda Silver embarks on her latest true crime podcast, 'Cetacean', which tries to solve the mysterious 1986 disappearance of marine biologist Dr Gillian Taylor. As her podcast develops, Silver draws the unwanted attention of a man who will stop at nothing to find out the truth.

This novel develops over three time periods, and I was moderately frustrated that there seemed to be a disconnect between all three periods. However, having read Cox's 'Star Trek' novels before, I knew that I could trust everything to come together in a meaningful way at the end and I can say that the climax is very successful. There are plenty of 'Star Trek' references and a good knowledge of 'Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home' is vital.

[Vladimir Ghinculov · Rating 3 out of 5]

The One after the One with the Whales

This book's story continues the famous Star Trek movie with the whales. A Gen Z-er, a mad scientist/ augment and the usual Kirk and crue combine to create a pleasant potential Trek episode.

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Greg Cox is my fave Star Trek author. I've read his other Star Trek books and loved them, this one did not disappoint. The store traverses through three different time periods, that could have been confusing, but the way that Greg Cox handles it I found it to be seamless and I enjoyed this immensely. One section takes place in 2024 and addresses the situations that took place in the Motion Picture "The Voyage Home." I highly recommend this book.

[Brayden Raymond · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Star Trek IV so of course this was going to catch my eye and my interest, and it was a fun outing of the TOS crew. I just didn't absolutely love it. the callbacks to "the one with the whales" kept it alive for me and the 2024 plot was the most interesting (with the 2292 thread in a strong second place ) of the three plots. the verdict is that this is a good if not outstanding sequel to The Voyage Home. The concluding chapter of Melinda meeting Gillian was a touching ending as well.

[Sean Randall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this. Voyage Home is, of course, one of the better movies, and the 2020's craze for true chrime podcasts is undeniable, if, to me, baffling.
I really enjoyed the Soong Easter egg and doubtless there's so much more from TOS I'm missing, being a nextt-gen era kid. But this was great nonetheless, even if there was not too much to distinguish the characters between the two latter eras.

[Adam Collings · Rating 4 out of 5]

Weaves multiple timelines and deep Star Trek Lore into a seamless narrative in true Greg Cox fashion. It was a lot of fun seeing present day true crime podcaster investigating he events of Star Trek IV in 1986. It didn't really deliver on my hopes to see more of Gillian Taylor's life in the 23rd century. Perhaps this is an opportunity for a sequel.

While the TV era story was enjoyable, perhaps it could have had less focus, or be excluded altogether, giving more time to the movie era story (and more Gillian Taylor) alongside the 2024 story. For a book that was marketed as a "movie-era novel" I felt like we didn't get a lot of movie era.

All up a very enjoyable ride through the Star Trek world.

[Kenneth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad story, but the TOS novels have all gotten so formulaic. You know how every character and representative of every species is going to act, right down to McCoy taking umbrage at least twice. You see so much coming from a mile away, it makes the novel feel overly long.

[Jeremiah Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this one! It has three stories that are fun to follow together. I would have liked a book just on the podcasters, but I enjoyed it all—TOS, movie era, and “2024” podcasters.

I listened to the audio version Spotify. The narrator was really good at pacing and creating characters. To me, the Enterprise crew sounded more like the Kelvin crew than TOS, but that added a fun layer. I loved it every time a Romulan spoke—they’re so pretentious and passive aggressive. My one note on the narration—Spock’s voice sounded forced, which is something I sometimes hear in Ethan Peck’s (very talented) performance on Strange New Worlds. And I think Zachary Quinto does it too in the movies. I thought Leonard Nimoy’s Spock voice had a relaxed precision to it, and in the movies it was even more relaxed, which I interpreted as his acceptance of his own humanity.

My one note on the novel: there’s a villain, which I enjoyed more as the novel progressed but his motives and demeanor seemed too melodramatic. In general, Star Trek villains aren’t my favorite. I tend to like mystery and circumstance—the unknown to be the problem. Not some dude with some well crafted monologues.

But it worked—I’d recommend this book. Cox once again captures the voices and writes an exciting story that fits in with the TV show and movies. There’s lots of fun references to the books, movies and shows too.

I liked the carnivorous birds the crew encounters—scary!

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently completed reading "Lost to Eternity" by Greg Cox, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is the first TOS-centric novel I have read in quite some time, and it was a pleasure to reconnect with those characters. As always, Greg Cox skillfully captures their voices and mannerisms.

I particularly appreciated the use of multiple time periods, especially the contemporary setting. It was engaging to follow a modern-day podcaster as they investigated the 40-year-old disappearance of Gillian Taylor. I also found it fascinating to observe the different strategies employed in addressing the central mission during each time frame: the TOS action in 2268 and the movie-era diplomacy in 2292.

Additionally, the book is rich with Easter eggs, providing a delightful experience for fans. I highly recommend this title for others to explore.

[The Library Lady]

Forty years ago (eep!) I discovered the Original Series via reruns on WPIX in New York, I've been reading Star Trek books ever since, and this is a good sample of what's out there. The use of three time periods is interesting, but at time things get confusing and you have to remind yourself of which period you're in! Characters are true to who they are, but there are few of the little touches that deepen what we know and humor is at a minimum, something that to me is necessary for a really good ST story, no matter which period it's set in. The ending was pat but satisfying. In sum, entertaining, but not one I'd read again.

[Max]

This was a super fun book following up on the most fun of the Star Trek movies. You know: the one with the whales! The story takes place in the three different eras; 2024, 2268, and 2292, but never once feels confusing or awkward. The author captures the voices of every character really well; I can see why he’s gotten this sort of gig many times over the years.

[Paul Darcy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one I quite liked. Very recent publication (2024) and well done.

3.7 stars. Takes place in 3 different time-lines (2024)(2268)(2292) that all intersect by the end.

I won't spoil anything except to say it ties in heavily to Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.

Entertaining read.

[Scott Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This builds on Cox’s Eugenics Wars novels and on The Voyage Home. It’s pretty entertaining.

[ShamNoop · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was not at all what I expected. Good stuff.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant and so fun to read!

[Ben A · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was super fun and like any Greg Cox Star Trek novel, filled to the brim with Easter eggs. I also really enjoyed him getting to include Saavik in another Trek story and I am incredibly hopeful that he'll get to use her again soon. Like many of his other entries, it does leave open some interesting possible story seeds for the future that I also hope Cox will have the chance to explore.

[Emma Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very entertaining and well-written.

Greg Cox never disappoints. I have read several of his franchise novels for Star Trek and Batman. As a fan, I really appreciate how he references past episodes/movies within his works. And this novel is no exception. His passion for and dedication to the franchise is very apparent.

To Reign in Hell, Child of Two Worlds, and A Contest of Principles remain, in my humble opinion, his best works. However, this latest novel just wasn't as engaging as usual. Granted, he was juggling three different storylines simultaneously but I wasn't as invested in this plot. I found his 2024 characters bland and archetypal and cringed at his modern Star Trek rewriting of canon. (Namely, that WW3 was an event of the 2020s that occurred as a result of our contemporary political issues, instead of the Star Trek canonical fact that WW3 began in the 1990s as a result of genetically engineered tyrants). I don't know if Cox had any control over that decision in his writing though or if it was above his head.

Regardless, I did enjoy this read. My personal favorite part of this novel was the way Cox adjusted his writing depending on the era he was writing about. The TOS storyline was written like a TOS episode whereas the 2292 storyline was reminiscent of Kirk's six films. This book was entertaining, fun, and provided a broader understanding of the Star Trek universe!

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit of a miss for Greg Cox on this outing. It felt as if it were taking too long for the 3 plots to finally converge, and I can't say I was very hooked by the 2268 plot & setting. I was also not enamored with the protagonist across all three time lines -- he's not in the same league as the tragic immortal Flint from "Requiem for Methuselah"...and calling back to him only makes the comparison sharper. On the flip side, I'm always up for something set in the movie era, and the links to Spock's future attempts at Romulan/Vulcan reunification were most welcome. Finally, a follow-up to the mysterious disappearance of Gillian Taylor at the end of Star Trek IV seems to have taken years to occur, but bears tasty fruit at last in this novel (and I love the call back to the new kidney). So...it's a mixed bag, but with far more positives than negatives.

[Adam Goss · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really I want to give this book three and a half stars. This was a mostly good read but it did have some things holding it back.

The book's story is spread out over three time periods - 2024 (the present day at time of publication), 2268 (just after the events of the TOS episode "Day of the Dove") and 2292 (roughly a year before the events of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country). The overall plot is complex, so I will describe it simply as a question: What does the disappearance of whale biologist Dr. Gillian Taylor from 1986 (see Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home) and, more specifically, a podcaster's investigation of that disappearance in 2024 have to do with a Federation scientist kidnapped to a pre-warp planet centuries later in 2268 AND a diplomatic mission in 2292 involving the Federation, the Klingons, the Romulans and a reclusive and ancient alien race? If you think this sounds complicated, you're right, it's quite the tangled web. If you think it sounds bonkers to tie it all in with a 2024 podcaster, you're also right, and yet it all works!

The chapters mostly alternate from one year to another, with the solution to the mystery of their connection playing out gradually, with clues dropped along the way. I don't want to say too much so as to not give away anything. However, I WILL say that the book keeps you wondering as more and more pieces of the puzzle keep coming in to play until, eventually, the picture starts to become clear. I will also say that while a 2024 investigation into a cold case of a missing person is interesting, it comes with a VERY unexpected twist, a twist so subtle you don't even see it playing out right away.

The 2268 chapters, admittedly, feel a bit by-the-numbers for Trek, full of things and tropes we've seen before. They're not bad, just not all that fresh, but still appealing, like comfort food. The 2292 chapters bring back the character of Saavik (last seen in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home) and it's great to see her playing a major role in those chapters' events.

The real surprise however was the 2024 chapters, featuring mostly original characters and a few minor characters from The Voyage Home. The two co-protagonists of these chapters (the podcaster and her friend/roommate/tech guy) are delightful, and feel like people we know in the real world. Watching them follow the clues of a forty year old missing persons case (the author comes up with many logical questions and consequences that the movie raises but never had time to address) is actually the most exciting and fun part of the novel, and I was not expecting that at all. I thought the 2024 chapters would be on the boring side, but it actually outshines the telling of the events in the other two eras. That's highly unusual for Star Trek, not a storytelling approach often used (Star Trek: Voyager's "11:59" episode comes to mind), and seemingly even less likely to work so well, but Cox makes it work. One of the key twists of the plot in 2024 happens so suddenly it feels like the work of fellow Trek author Peter David, who was known for making the turn from zany humor to epic drama on a dime!

However, the book's main problem for me was this: the pacing. It comes in two forms:

1. One of the tendencies of many Trek authors over the years has been a tendency to slow down dialogue between characters with endless interruptions of narrative, narrative telling us things about the characters who are providing the dialogue, things we the readers, as Trek fans, already know - descriptions, attitudes, historical connections, sometimes at great length. Sometimes these are needed, but only sometimes, and only in very small amounts. Such narrative interruptions slow a scene down to a slog and ruin the flow of the scene. If exposition is needed, include it, but put it into the dialogue. If a character's private indecision or inner conflict is something we should know due to his relevance and importance to the story, then put it in, but sparingly. Not every Star Trek novel has to be written as if it is some random reader's first Star Trek experience - the odds are good that, because Trek is primarily a product of television, anyone picking up a Trek book to read has seen the show and knows the characters. Characterization via dialogue AND narrative is important for wholly original works, and for original characters being added to Trek for the first time in literary form, but we don't need much of it for the main TV characters unless it's VITAL for some reason to the book's specific events. This is a mistake that Greg Cox doesn't make a lot in this book, but it IS there and is noticeable enough to be annoying when it crops up.

2. The second flaw is more serious and it's one I've seen in other Trek books by this author. Cox has a tendency to stretch events out to the point where you want to find him and shake him and tell him to speed things up. This is especially the case when our heroes are dealing with stubborn, hostile characters who argue and argue and ARRRGUUUE, over and over again. We get it, they're hostile, they're unreasonable, but the more we're forced to read (or listen to, as I read this as an audiobook) such seemingly unending dialogue, the more impatient we get even with our heroes. This is, admittedly, kind of the OPPOSITE of the prior flaw talked about above. The prior flaw was too much unnecessary narrative interruption of dialogue, thus slowing down everything. But too much dialogue and not enough *progression* of the plot via that dialogue is just as bad, especially if the character are being annoying JUST to be annoying. The story needs to keep moving forward. If you need to demonstrate that someone is stubborn, okay, sure, do so, but do it with a light touch, even if you're building to a key point or clue - the author in such scenes is not building tension or suspense so much as dragging the tension or suspense out to an unpleasant degree. To be clear, this isn't impatience on the part of the reader because we know something the characters don't, but rather it's impatience with characters WHO WON'T SHUT UP AND YOU REALLY WISH THEY WOULD.

There is also one very minor quibble I have and that is a couple questions of continuity and science aren't really resolved or even addressed offhand - if the population of humpback whales made a comeback after 1986 (as they did in real life, and the book mentions their resurgence), why were they still extinct since the 21st century? How does Gillian (who does appear in the book) intend to save the humpbacks with only 3 of them (George, Gracie and their singular offspring) when modern genetics doesn't allow for that? I think there were a couple more questions I had that went unaddressed, but I cannot remember them now. (Note I say unaddressed, not unanswered - even if Cox has no good answer, at least hang a lampshade on it!)

So, I definitely recommend reading this book, but I recommend reading it in print where it's easier to gloss over or speed through the times it slows to a crawl (it's hard to fast forward an audiobook without knowing the time stamp of when something of critical importance needs to be heard, whereas the eye will have an easier time spotting the key moments to re-focus one's attention). The best Trek writers not only know the characters, their voices, and their lore (and Cox is GREAT at lore, no doubts there, it's one of his strengths!), but also know HOW to tell a story well in general, and that HAS to include knowing when to take it slow and when to pick up the pace.

[Josie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got this as an ARC (no obligation to review.)
The best parts were everything to do with the podcasters' investigation, but to be fair my personal experience with TOS is centered on the movies and less on the actual show. I did feel like the final act of 2024 ran off the rails a little bit, but was ultimately satisfied with where everything ended up.

[Marlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (the one with the whales), was one of the great movies of the Original Series movie era, alongside The Wrath of Khan. Voyage Home had something for everyone, in that it told a great story, had lots of sweet moments of nostalgia for fans, addresses important and still relevant issues of its day with its tale of species extinction, had oodles of funny scenes and memorable, quotable lines – and ends with a heartwarming scene of the ‘band getting back together’ in a crowning moment of awesome.

It also presents a heaping helping of wish fulfillment for legions of fans then and now as the 20th century cetacean biologist, Dr. Gillian Taylor, time travels with the crew of the Enterprise and the whales George and Gracie from her time to their 23rd century.

It was the stuff that both dreams and fanfic were made of.

But it left a mystery in Taylor’s time that, nearly forty years later, is still unsolved. That mystery serves as the inspiration for a true-crime podcast – because of course it would. And thereby, as the saying goes, hangs this tale that spans from intrepid podcasters in 2024 to a medical researcher’s abduction in 2268 and onward to a planned peace conference with an advanced species in 2292.

What do those three widely separated incidents have in common? None other than Captain James T. Kirk, the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise – with or without their equally famous ship – and an enemy that no one saw coming.

Escape Rating B: Like most media novelizations, Lost to Eternity is absolutely a story for the fans – and not just because of its homage to the fanservice of Dr. Gillian Taylor’s fate in Star Trek IV.

There are three separate stories in this one, set in 2024, 2268 and 2292. At first, with the focus on the podcasters in 2024, the story is thoroughly grounded in our here and now. It’s easy to get caught up in Melinda Silver’s need to find out what happened to Taylor, and the way that it devolves into conspiracy theories and men in black even as it picks up the remaining threads of Voyage Home as seen through the eyes of the people those events left behind in puzzlement was absolutely riveting.

If you’ve ever wanted the X-Files to cross with Star Trek, that part of this story is pretty much that story.

But the story unwinds across all three eras in turn, so the 2024 chapter is followed by a 2268 chapter and then a 2292 chapter. It all makes sense in the end – but as it goes along it takes a long time and a lot of pages to get a glimmer of just what makes these three stories connect up.

At the same time, the stories in each of the timelines and the way that they are interwoven with previous (from a certain point of view) events in the Star Trek timeline as a whole allows for a whole lot of loose ends from an amazing number of stories to get referenced and eventually closed – which goes back to this being a story for the fans because the more of those loose ends that one recognizes the more familiar – and fun – the story feels.

I had a good time with this story – as I always do when I pick one of these up. I love slipping back into this familiar and beloved universe, and that carried me over the points late in each timeline’s story where I just wanted to see all the dots get connected – and to see if the connections that my brain was making were the ones the author intended to make.

In the end, I enjoyed all three of the individual stories, liked the way they merged, had fun with the way they tied up different loose ends, and loved spending time with these characters. I also thought the author did a great job of making sure that the stories got told from different perspectives – that it wasn’t all Kirk and Spock saving the day no matter how much I do love those stories.

But I found the villain just a bit flat. He read a lot like Arne Darvin, the villain of the episodes The Trouble with Tribbles (TOS) and Trials and Tribble-ations (DS9)combined with the motive but not the scenery chewing of the villains in Star Trek: Insurrection. The villain of Lost to Eternity unfortunately got all of his character from Darvin – who was fairly colorless. A little bit of scenery chewing might have improved him a bit – for select definitions of the word ‘improvement’. Perhaps it would be better to say that a little bit of scenery chewing might have made him a bit more colorful – and interesting.

Still, a good reading time was absolutely had by this reader and I loved the way that it did exactly what Voyage Home did – it connected our present with Star Trek’s future and dreamed a dream of getting from here – to there.

Originally published at Reading Reality

[Paul Lunger · Rating 4 out of 5]

New fiction in any part at times of the Star Trek universe as of late has been a rarity so it's nice to come across something. Greg Cox's "Lost to Eternity" is a book that means well, but at times gets lost in its plotlines to the point that the end story suffers. The book is set in 3 distinct eras - 2024, 2268 & 2292. Of the 3 plotlines which aren't until near the very end fully tied up, the 2024 one is perhaps the strongest story of the 3 with 2292 being the 2nd strongest.

In 2024, we find Melinda Silver doing a podcast called Cetacean which asks the question "Whatever happened to Gillian Taylor in 1986 when she vanished?". This part of the story reveals parts of the aftermath of the events of "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" and shines the light on things that nearly 40 years later people are still wondering about from the hypothetical to the bizarre. As her investigation continues into things, we the reader land in conspiracy & mystery of sorts that end up as confidential and secretive to the point where this could be something even Section 31 could've handled or the Department of Temporal Investigation. When this plot ends in a surprise twist, we the reader are stunned when it reappears later on.

The 2268 story line almost seems like filler even though Cox spends a lot of time here. It starts with a space hijacking of a scientist and rogue of a transport ship that ends up on a pre-warp planet near the Klingon border. Kirk & company are tasked with going to this world to retrieve the scientist who is working on ways to extend life beyond the norm by regrowing organs and other things. The world they end up on is barbaric and downright medieval with stuff although as a reader the characters in this part of the story are more fleshed out albeit there is no real logic as to why this part of the book is there in the first place save the ending.

In 2292, the Federation, Klingons & Romulans are looking at a first contact by an ancient & powerful race known as the Osori. All 3 ships have a delegate from each civilization on board along with an Osori enjoy to reach a peace conference where the Osori will ultimately decide who (if anyone) they'll align with for future diplomatic relations. When a Klingon escape pod explodes after being taken off the ship due to a fake emergency, tensions rise between all parties to the point of almost war until a surprise message is received explaining how we got here. One very useful thing Cox does do is use Saavik in a way we haven't seen in a while which is beyond useful for the resolution.

As the 2292 plot wraps up, we the reader get the twist involving the 2024 plotline which gets us to a resolution that fits for this novel and honestly as a reader I wouldn't mind seeing the Osori appear somewhere down the line in another novel set under one of the series set in the future. My issue with this is the conflicting plotlines which as we the reader shift between them it can get confusing. There is also a point where the 2292 line gets temporarily ignored and we the reader get a basic understanding of the need behind the 2268 story which still could've been trimmed down.

Overall, this book is far from perfect for Greg Cox, but it does though finally answer a mystery that a lot of people may or may not have wondered about for almost 40 years and that perhaps is why this book ultimately will be one fans of the series will enjoy.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 4.0 of 5

In 2024, investigative reporter Melinda Silver tries to track down whatever happened to Gillian Taylor, an influential marine biologist who walked away from a great job at Sausalito’s Cetacean Institute, never to be heard from again. Slowly, Melinda begins to put together a picture of the people she had been with - people for whom there is no other searchable data. The only possibility it too far out there to possibly be true.
In 2268, Captain James T. Kirk must delve into unknown, and off-limits territory in order to rescue and recover a Federation scientist whose secrets are wanted not only by the Federation, but by the Klingon Empire as well.

In 2292, the Klingons, Romulans, and the Federation come together for a joint mission when the Osori, a race so ancient that they consider the other three races 'young.' But the mission begins to unravel when an Osori enjoy is killed and each believes the other is responsible.

Author Greg Cox weaves each of these three stories into one exciting rollercoaster ride.

I've long admired Greg Cox's work, and, it's no secret, I'm a huge Star Trek fan, particularly the Original Series. So getting to read this new, original story is really great. I love that the story takes place in three different eras. I was really afraid I wouldn't like - too often this kind of time-jumping within a book gets confusing - but I never had any trouble knowing immediately where and when I was.

The investigation into the disappearance of Gillian Taylor is just brilliant. Why has no one written this before now? Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home was a huge box office hit, it only makes sense to follow up on that story. Do this from a modern reader perspective with an investigator trying to uncover what happened is just brilliant concept.

The story of the missing scientist gets just a little muddled and lost in the other stories. It's probably the most Star Trek-like of the stories (it could easily have been an episode in the late 1960's) and maybe it's because of that that it less interesting to me.

The Osori story also has a lot of what we might think of as Star Trek themes - older, almost god-like races that decide it's time to come make some proclamations. This brings about some of the good conflict in the book and it's great, from a fan point of view, to have familiar races, such as Klingons and Romulans.

The stories do seem pretty divergent, but have faith that things will come together. There's a reason these three stories are being told.

It's pretty clear that Cox is a fan himself. He slips a lot of classic Trek references and Easter Eggs. I can't help but wonder how many I catch and how many pass over my head.

I used to read a lot of Star Trek novels but quit when they started coming out so often that I couldn't keep up. I'm slowly getting back to reading more and I'm really glad that the quality seems to have improved as well.

Looking for a good book? Lost to Eternity by Greg Cox is a Star Trek: The Original Series novel spanning many generations, from the 1980's to the 2020's and beyond. Fans of the series will really enjoy this well-told story.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have you seen Star Trek IV: A Voyage Home? It’s easy to remember — it’s the funny one, with whales and Admiral Kirk not recognizing 20th century slang. The Enterprise crew have to go back to 1986 to pick up some humpback whales because there are some aliens who used to talk to the whales, and now that they’re gone the aliens are sad and vaporizing Earth’s oceans. Kirk & company got the whales, but on their exit a cetologist named Gillian Taylor asked for a ride to the Future, because 1986 was dullsville and The Future would need a cetologist. No Gillian, no Cetacean Ops! But whatever became of this transparently obvious violation of the Temporal Prime Directive? Find out…..in the epilogue!

Star Trek: Lost to Eternity is an interesting TOS release, with stories across three different timeframes (2024, series-era TOS, movies-era TOS) developing and converging toward the very end. Greg Cox is no stranger to TOS writing, and as usual, the characterization and dialogue are spot-on, and his prior work playing with the integration of real history and Trek history comes in handy here, especially his authorship of the KHAAAAAAAAAAAN!!! trilogy. The divided timeframes can be a bit confusing on the TOS side, given that Kirk is quarreling with a female Klingon captain in both. The 2024 segment is distinct from the rest, and has the fun premise of a modern-day podcaster named Melinda doing some investigatory journalism into the disappearance of Gillian Taylor: the investigation plays with a lot of the chaos of A Voyage Home, as the Enterprise crew were doing everything from giving people magic kidney pills to covering Golden Gate Park in Bird of Prey-shaped dents. While her investigation is turning up all kinds of weirdness and attracting attention from suspicious quarters, Kirk in two different eras is dealing with crises that will prove interrelated — as will Melinda’s search or the truth. Oddly, Cox doesn’t try to connect Melinda’s 2024 to the 2024 of Star Trek history: Melinda is living in our San Francisco, not the San Francisco of “Past Tense”, with the Sanctuary district and the Bell Riots. Still, I was impresssed by the story Cox created that could connect all the ’86 shenanigans to a full-scale drama centuries later. Cox knows what he’s doing with TOS characters, capturing the chemistry of the power trio especially, and I appreciated his little jokes like having one of the Klingons quote Shakespeare — which, after all, you cannot appreciate until you’ve experienced it in the original Klingon. Given that I signed on for Gillian Taylor, I was disappointed by how utterly marginal a role she plays, but the investigation was fun and I thought the villain of the piece was an interesting character who I could stand to see in more stories.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

four and half stars rounded up.
A clever story involving 3 eras: the present year; the period of the original series; and the period of the original movies. Three timelines enhanced this interesting read. I was continuously trying to figure out what was connecting these three stories and the convergence did not disappoint.

The 2024 timeline introduces the reader to Melinda Silver, the podcast journalist investigating the disappearance of Marine Biologist Gillian Taylor (from the fourth movie) forty years ago. Melinda is a well described and developed character with a sense of reason, audacity, and fire when she needs it. She jumps in where angels fear to tread.

The classic series timeline (2268?) includes an adventure as members of the crew go on a supposed rescue mission and things get wild.

The original cast movie timeline 2292, includes a diplomatic mission that goes sideways.

I enjoyed the ride of reading this book. I found myself trying to figure out how these stories would converge (and I did a third to half the way in). The stories are replete with allusions to episodes of Star Trek, classic literary references like the Epic of Gilgamesh and Frankenstein and others. The characters are true to themselves (the cast of Star Trek) and I think developed enough that anyone would get the characters. Melinda Silver and the 2024 story were so intriguing I found myself anxious to get to her story as other parts of the story were being told. Each story was interesting in its own right and the convergence was exciting.
The writing is excellent and I for one appreciate a good vocabulary which Cox displays here. I think some proof reading or better editing would be helpful. I noticed two name errors in the context of sentences, and two other errors that may be considered typos like using "world" when "word" was clearly intended. These were not a distraction though, more like bumps that made me re-read sentences.
The readers who will enjoy this the most are Trekkies because they will get all the allusions and references-like finding a kindred. That said, the three timelines have interesting stories that I believe any reader (especially of sci fi/fantasy) would enjoy. I highly recommend this book, especially if you like adventure and something a little different.

[Solitairerose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lost To Eternity should have been more confusing than it is, and the fact that it isn’t is a testament to the skill of author Greg Cox. The novel takes place in three time periods, 2024, during the Original Series and after the 4th Star Trek movie, and we bounce around between these time periods with story threads that slowly come together as the novel goes on.

In 2024, a podcaster is putting together how Gillian from Star Trek IV vanished. In the original series, a spaceship is hijacked and a hostage taken who is kidnapped and put into an escape pod and the Enterprise is called in to find the hostage. In the movies timeline, The Enterprise is involved in a diplomatic mission that goes awry. The story jumps between these three plots, and then in the portion with the diplomatic missing, the story further splinters into covering three different groups. This could very easily have been confusing and knock the reader out of the story, but Cox does a great job of giving strong characters created for the novel as well as other cues to keep everything easy to keep track of.

Telling much more will give away the central twist of the novel, but suffice it to say that Cox creates memorable characters, keeps the tension high from page one, and makes this a real page turner. In the three nights I read the book, I ended up staying up late because I just wanted to know what happens next.

A media tie-in novel has a delicate dance in that it needs to have a strong story, has to dance around established continuity, and yet can’t have changes that affect the licensed characters. Cox does a great job here in creating a story that will grip fans and has the new characters carry the burden of chaging to drive the story forward. One of the better tie-in novels I have read and a fun read that doesn’t try to be more than it is.

[Nathan Worthington · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book, at least to me, seems to be a good attempt at bridging three eras of time into a cohesive storyline. The novel takes place in the following years and eras: 2024 (Modern Era), 2268 (The Original Series Era), and 2292 (The TOS Movie Era). I have noticed one or two other newer Star Trek books attempting a similar strategy. At first, I was very skeptical about how this process would unfold across the three different eras. Overall, I think the author, Greg Cox, did a good job of creating a cohesive storyline that was wrapped up satisfactorily.

Without going into spoiler territory, the 2024 story features a missing persons podcast that investigates the plot of ST IV: The Voyage Home and the loose threads behind that story. For the 2268 story, Kirk and crew are trying to find a missing scientist who seems to have been abducted in a space jacking. The 2292 story concerns an advanced species trying to conduct a conclave with three groups, on equal terms: the Federation, the Klingons, and the Romulans. It is quite a feat, but Cox does a good job of weaving all the storylines together by the end of the novel.

I recently read a Star Trek: The Next Generation novel (Reunion by Michael Jan Friedman) that felt like a "bottle episode" of the TV show. However, this novel feels much more like a Star Trek: The Original Series movie. I like the tonal differences between the storylines.

For my tastes, I generally prefer Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: The Next Generation storylines, as they have proven, at least in my experience, to be fertile ground for expanded stories. Though I admit, I am also a huge fan of Star Trek: Voyager's relaunch series, Homecoming. I just love how the authors, in each of these different eras, can tell compelling stories with crews that I have grown to care for deeply.

[Bruce Stephenson · Rating 3 out of 5]

What makes this Star Trek novel interesting is how it ties together events from the Original Series and the movies. The Federation, Klingon Empire, and Romulan Empire are hosting Osori representatives and bringing them to a meeting on Nimbus III in a quest to establish relations with this knowledgeable and ancient race. The plans are scuttled by an augmented human (known by several names through about 300 years of history) who abducts an Osori (Cyloo), a Romulan (Taleb), and Saavik by making it appear as though they have died in an exploding escape pod. This augmented human has been pursuing the key to eternal life (once again, the Fountain of Youth). The story also involves Melinda Silver and her podcasting partner Dennis as they investigate the disappearance of Dr. Gillian Taylor. Ultimately, Melinda plays an important roll in resolving the conflict and does discover Gillian's fate. While a light and at times entertaining read, unfortunately, in the end, the characters have no depth and simply move through a series of events that bring them from start to finish without providing any sense that they are ever in real jeopardy. Particularly jarring are those instances in which certain characters face a situation that requires them to act in uncharacteristic ways to get out of it. An example of this would be when the Captain of Klingon ship BortaS not only runs from battle against the Enterprise but also abandons a fairly large contingent of Klingons on the planet Atraz simply because he believes other Federation ships are on their way. This book has some good moments, but overall, there were also parts that made me want to put it in the DNF pile. My quess is that most TOS Trekkies will get some enjoyment from this book.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

"This is an absolutely irresistible book for a Star Trek IV fan. It wasn’t the best Star Trek book I ever read, but it was not disappointing. It is difficult to review without spoilers so I will designate as such right now. Early on it seems the book will take place in the three different eras and not connect. Ultimately though it is only the middle section of the book that doesn’t connect, while the beginning and the end connect in a somewhat clumsy way. The middle original series Star Trek story is consistent with the Original Series novel form of the 1980’s and for me, it isn’t very good. A gladiator fight is foreshadowed and then executed which is an overused trope from the original series. I thought the better story would have been not to connect the three stories, but I can’t say I was disappointed in the end in the way the author connected them, I just was kind of hoping they didn’t connect.

The book has an insane number of cookies, referencing almost every nuance of the original Star Trek IV movie and many tropes from original episodes, movies, and even early 2000’s Enterprise. Thus, the appearance of Klingon’s in Star Trek: The Original Series is distinguished from past and future iterations of the show as the Klingon’s experimentation in augmentation and eugenics. Nearly every minor character and concept from the movie is addressed, though trans-parent aluminum is imported without its inventor or mysterious professor from Edenborough, which is one trope I really would have enjoyed as an engineer.

There were a few editing error which were puzzling, a reference to a saucer section where there was never a separation and a few incorrect character references. Obviously draft concepts that just got missed, but nothing horrible. This was a very nice book to get written and to read.
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