New Star Trek novel brings back Dr. Gillian Taylor

Dr. Gillian Taylor disappeared from San Francisco when she left on a Klingon Bird of Prey with Admiral James T. Kirk and his crew.

Dr. Taylor was there to witness Admiral Kirk’s demotion to Captain in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, and then she left on a science vessel because she had years of science to catch up on. From that point forward, Dr. Taylor (Catherine Hicks) was never heard from again, which isn’t surprising considering that’s happened to many Star Trek guests over the years.

But, according to Trekmovie, a new Star Trek novel from Pocket Books, Lost to Eternity, written by Greg Cox will bring back Dr. Taylor in what sounds like a complicated maze of time periods. Lost to Eternity will release on July 23, 2024, but it is already available for pre-order at Amazon in paperback, Kindle, and audio.

Dr. Gillian Taylor is set to be featured in Lost to Eternity.

The book starts out in 2024, almost forty years after Dr. Taylor has gone missing. Her 1986 disappearance has never been solved, and a new true crime podcast reopens the search. That search catches the attention of a ruthless obsessive with his own secret agenda. The book’s full synopsis is below.

"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…"

Many fans of The Voyage Home have wondered what happened to Dr. Taylor and if she ever saw Captain Kirk again. Hopefully, this new novel will answer some questions about more than just the whale biologist’s current whereabouts.