Customer Reviews

Star Trek: Mirror Universe: Glass Empires

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Many Trekkers are familiar with the Mirror Universe, which was first glimpsed on the classic Star Trek episode, "Mirror, Mirror", in which Kirk, McCoy, Uhura, and Scotty were beamed into a parallel universe, which was like an evil twin of their own. Humans in this universe were barbaric, evil, serving the Terran Empire, instead of the Federation. This universe's Spock also sported a goatee, giving him a very different look from the regular Spock. Kirk and his team managed to escape back to their own universe, though Kirk urged Spock to work for change in the Mirror Universe. Spock claimed he would "consider it." - Now we finally see what Spock 'considered doing'.

Over 25 years later, Trekkers saw a return to the Mirror Universe on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, when a malfunctioning runabout entered the wormhole and sent Major Kira and Dr. Bashir into the Mirror Universe. Kira met her alter ego, who can charitably be described as a homicidal, bisexual, emotionally unstable, nymphomaniac. She also learned that the Terran Empire had fallen to the rise of the Klingon/Cardassian Alliance, which had enslaved all humans, turning them into laborers. The Mirror Universe became a story-telling staple on DS9, right through the 7th season. In this book, we see what became of the Mirror Universe's Jean-Luc Picard.

But at the beginning of the book, back in the glory days of the Empire, set after the events seen on Star Trek: Enterprise's 2-part episode "In a Mirror, Darkly." This 2-parter had a unique position of being both a prequel, and a sequel - a prequel to TOS's "Mirror, Mirror", and a sequel to TOS's "The Tholian Web", in which the U.S.S. Defiant, same kind of ship as Kirk's Enterprise, disappeared into unknown regions. In the ENT 2-parter, it was learned that the Defiant ended up over 100 years in the past, in the Mirror Universe. Jonathan Archer led the I.S.S. Enterprise of this time period to the Tholian base that had captured the Defiant, and stole the ship, 100 years more advanced than anything that anyone had, planning to overthrow the Emperor. Things didn't exactly work out that way. This book details the subsequent events over the next year, which set the stage for TOS's "Mirror, Mirror" quite nicely.

You may ask why I'm not going into much detail on the stories themselves - I don't want to spoil anything for you!

This book is clearly intended for heavy duty Trekkers, such as me, but what a read! I read half of it in just 3 hours!

My only complaint is that the events of this book are incompatible with the Mirror Universe trilogy written by William Shatner, and J&G Reeves-Stevens. But then, there were numerous elements to the Shatner story I didn't care for. But I won't know until the second installment in this series, if these books are incompatible with the "Dark Passions" 2-parter book, which details events leading up to the first DS9 Mirror Universe episode.

Suffice to say, I've enjoyed this book immensely, and I don't want to wait another month until the second one comes out!

I've been looking forward to reading this two-part book series since it was first announced. The first volume includes stories that cover Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek, and Star Trek: The Next Generation. For the most part, I wasn't let down. The authors of this book really seemed to not only offer wonderful stories that covers Trek's interesting 'Mirror Universe' but they also offer something new and fresh, things that were not present in the episodes, creating a sort of definitive history of the Mirror Universe.

For me, the first two stories, Enterprise's 'Age of the Empress' and Star Trek's 'Sorrows of the Empire', were great. These stories compliment one another, continuing where respective episodes of the shows ended. The Enterprise story was so well written that I could easily get into the story and visualize the characters and see this playing out in the television series. The only part that let me down about the story was the last page that ends with a minor cliffhanger. Is this going to be followed up in another book in the future? If not, what was the point of it? It ends the story on a note that I hope gets addressed in the second volume of stories. If not, it's puzzling and awkward and weakens the story.

'Sorrows of the Empire' picks up where 'Mirror, Mirror' left off and follows the rise and fall of Emperor Spock from the Star Trek series through the era of Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country. This is by far a must read. It was worthy of being its own stand-alone novel, epic, moving, well written. It plays to the fan's fancy; you get a rather Original Series story; and examination of morals and an individual's sense of duty and obligation that goes beyond his or herself, cameos from the main original series crew (with the exception of Chekov, Rand and Chapel) through characters who played a major role in the movies (Dr. Carol Marcus, David Marcus, Colonel West, Admiral Cartwright, Sarek, Amanda, Saavik, Valeris, the list goes on). It was gripping from the first page to the shocking (even if expected) ending. This would be one of those stories I'd recommend any true Trek fan to read and dare not to get into and appreciate and like.

Then, this is where this first volume takes a dissapointing turn for me. We go from two great stories that have some continuity between them and feature the casts and characters of both shows ... to a rather predictable, ill-thought out, dull, fan-fic-ish 'amateur' feeling 'Next Generation'. You can gather from the title, 'Worst of Both Worlds' what it deals with; the Borg of the Mirror Universe. Sounds interesting but it was a let down. After reading the first two stories, I expected more from this. It feels as if this story takes a great detour from the previous stories, not adding much at all to the 'history' the first two stories seemed to build up and instead offering a story that was bland and packed with average writing and every predictable line and outcome you can imagine. By the end, I found myself rolling my eyes and hardly able to get through the story. Unlike the other stories, this one features just Mirror Picard and offers a few cameos of recurring TNG characters. No Worf, Riker, La Forge, Troi, Crusher, Guinan or anything. Even with the inclusion of Vash and Gul Madred, this story couldn't be saved and seems like a waste of pages and space. I'm sure a better story, featuring a few more regular characters, could have been throught out.

Besides the dissapointing 'The Next Generation' story, this was a great start to the Mirror Universe books. I'd like to think (though I know it's not the case probably) that TNG's story lacked a pressence of other stories out of respect of Mirror Worf, Troi and Crusher and others having larger roles in the older Mirror Universe series 'Dark Passions.' In all, the first two stories play out like great television shows if not movies. They're great, worth the read, easy to get through, will leave you wanting more. TNG's story doesn't add anything to the mix; the Picard character, even if being of another universe, seemed dull and poorly written, and the Borg of this story are simply jokes. I'd still recommend you picking up this book to get exposed to the rather sorted and epic history of the Mirror Universe.

Okay, it's a rare occasion I enjoy a Star Trek book and even more rare when I get to the point where I can't put it down.

This book: Star Trek Mirror Universe - Glass Empire is such a book. The premise is simple: It tells three different stories that take place in the mirror universe of each Star Trek series.

The most interesting aspect of the entire book, all three stories told by different writers, is that they joyfully mine Star Trek history, each with a little overlapping among the generations. More than once I had to consult Star TreK to figure out where I remembered specific characters from.

Let me break it down and discuss each part:

Star Trek Enterprise: This story picks up directly after the Enterprise episode "In A Mirror Darkly" where the U.S.S. Defiant has been commandeered by Hoshi Sato, declaring herself empress of the Terran Empire. I have to admit, this story did not go in the direction I thought it would and that's unusual in the world of Star Trek where, thanks to so many hours of Trek, plots are rehashed over and over. The beautiful thing about the mirror universe stories are that anything can happen to anyone at any time. This story was a great story but for me, it was the weakest of the three which is far from a bad thing. The conclusion was extremely satisfying with the resolution of how the rebellion against the Terran Empire was quelled. Nowhere near a bad story and it holds up very well against most other Trek books I have read.

Star Trek (The Original Series): This story surprised me the most. I was ready to skip it as I already knew from episodes of Deep Space Nine that Spock taking over the Empire is what caused it to fall, however, something told me to read through and I did. This installment is clearly the strongest and most thought out of the three. It follows Spock's rise to emperor and picking up from the end of the original "Mirror, Mirror" episode of the classic series up until the time of the movies, all the way to paralleling Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Saavik and Valeris show up in the book as well as lots of other fascinating (pun intended) Trek historical characters. All I will say about this one is that the fall of the Empire isn't because Spock made a mistake. Far from it.

Star Trek: The Next Generation: After I finished the Spock story, I truly expected this installment to suck. Picard is an archaeologist working for the Gul who tortured him in the season six TNG two parter. I feared that they were going to do "Indiana Jones" in space but I was beyond pleasantly surprised. Within the first few pages, we see some supporting characters show up who were welcome indeed (Dr. Soong, for example) and once the storyline became clear, I was hooked. I won't spoil it for you but let's just say archaeology is not the focus of this story. This story had me riveted so much where they set up such a huge premise and with only about 20 pages left, I had no idea how they were going to resolve it quickly. I truly thought it would be continued in the sequel book (Obsidian Alliance) however, the clever bastard who wrote the book resolved the whole thing, and much to the reader's satisfaction.

Overall, this book has been a great read for helping me pass the time on the subway. I have even gotten on the train going two stops in the opposite direction so I can get a seat on the train (at the point of origination) and read more.

I just picked up the sequel today and within 4 hours of buying it, I am 84 pages into it. Well worth the prowling Barnes and Noble looking for it.

The idea of counterparts, whether through cloning or alternate universes, has always been an intriguing and disturbing one. We like to think of ourselves as unique, but also that we were somehow meant to be the person that we are, regardless of circumstances. To meet a counterpart is to come face to face with what we could have become. Philosophy aside, the Mirror Universe is an entertaining one. We get to see the regular cast as enemies constrained only by power, free to manipulate and betray and even kill each other, or to work together in totally unexpected combinations. And, annoying as it is, there is just something sexy about evil.

I am going to start with the last story in this book, as that was the first one I read. It is titled The Worst of Both Worlds - which unfortunately tells you the plot and main events right there. Since one can guess the main events, the entertainment value of the story has to be higher to compensate. Picard is a tomb raider, and the story begins with a wonderful Indiana Jones-style vignette. After that, it shows us what life is like for the Terrans under conquest, how Picard has managed to make a life for himself, and only himself, and how he gets involved with the resistance, to the extent that he does. The rest of the bridge crew does not appear, which I consider a missed opportunity. Also, there is a secondary story about the resistance mission that just isn't that interesting. It seemed more a chance to show the existence of a resistance than to do anything useful with. On the flip side, any meeting between a Picard and a Borg is a horror story, and this is no exception. That section was excellent. Then the story moves on to the big, doomed fleet battle. Considering the author, the combat scenes did not seem all that good. Also, perhaps I have role-playing games and ongoing campaigns too much on my mind right now, but when the author eliminated so many known characters, my main feeling was that he was limiting the possibilities for future Mirror writers. In addition, killing off established characters works well as a sudden shock, but not in a mass. All in all, this story was good, but not great, and not the equal of the other two.

The book's first story, Age of the Empress, begins right after the conclusion of In A Mirror Darkly. It is a fast-paced action story. The situation is fluid, even chaotic. Whenever two of the main characters meet, you can never be sure if they are going to try and kill each other or become allies. It is very well written in all aspects, and does a great job showing how, in this dark setting, people that want to kill each other can cooperate in the long term. It is a very entertaining story and really establishes the setting of the Terran Empire.

The second story needed that establishment, as that is one of the few things the story lacked. The author, despite all the details he gives, also seems to assume that readers have seen the original Mirror, Mirror episode. David Mack was given the awesome task of telling us exactly how Mirror Spock reformed the Terran Empire and caused its downfall, and he has achieved it spectacularly. Spock immediately and publicly begins to establish his Imperial policy of diplomacy and the renunciation of aggression, while amassing personal power through ruthless disposal of opposition and the resulting terror. The story is told in episodic format. The general writing is excellent, as is the choice of which events to summarise, and which events to show us as they happen. Throughout, the author sustains that feeling of very dark means in the name of a good end. To my mind, the Empire is changed a little too radically over too short a time, and Spock becomes too utterly certain that events a century in the future will unfold exactly as he has calculated, especially since events nearly go off his course in the present. Those are very minor points about a terrific story.

It feels like a long time since I read a new Trek book that I could recommend without hesitation. If you're a fan of the Mirror Universe, or just quality Trek in general, the only reason not to buy this is imminent bankruptcy - or living by the Mirror Universe's ideals and suckering someone else into paying for it, of course.

I really enjoyed this book, in fact the entire series. However, I am very unhappy with the pricing of the Kindle edition ($19.38). Amazon tells us that the price is set by the publisher - however that is a blatant lie. Go to Simon & Shuster, and you will find this ebook available for $13.99. Not a Kindle version, of course, but available for reading on iPads and all other non-Kindle devices. Makes me really question Amazon's marketing philosophy. There is absolutely no reason the ebook should ever cost more than the paperback. I would even argue it should be under $5 for a mass-market book such as this one.

This anthology covers lots of ground. The first one is a direct sequel to the Enterprise episode in the mirror universe. We get to see what happens after Hoshi declares herself empress. Mike Sussman along with Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore constructed a story that would easily fit into the proposed season five. I only wish that the entire book could have been devoted to this tale.

The second story, "Sorrows of the Empire" was a direct sequel to the original series episode. In it we see Spock team up with Marlena. The former "captain's woman" aids Spock in his vision to turn the Empire into a democratic society. It brings in so many orignal series chacacters that it's worthy of it's current expanded story as a novel. The short story works so well that I didn't want it to end. What made the story so compelling was the evil versions the crew. Dr.McCoy,Scotty and Uhuara were scheming to finish off Captain Spock. The story took so many unexpected turns that were very uncommon for a Trek book.

The third story by Greg Cox has Picard as relic hunter working for the Cardassian Gul Madred. That's the Cardassian who captured Picard in "Chain of Command"! What really made this an interesting story was his relationship with Vash. A mirror version of Wesley turns out to be a street urchin who has lots of engineering experience. It was sad to see that Wesley was Picard's helper aboard his shuttle,"The Stargazer". Picard makes a shocking discovery to destroy the empire. His plans don't go as expected after he meets Dr. Noonian Soon, Data's creator. Our favorite android doesn't exist in this universe.

In general, I find the "Mirror Universe" books to be somewhat depressing, given that they are set in a world that is so different from the normal Star Trek universe, one in which characters that we respect and admire in the usual Star Trek universe are vile and despicable. But two of the three stories in this book actually manage to be somewhat upbeat, quite a trick for this universe. Given that the stories were well-written, that managed to make the book a fairly enjoyable experience.

As a Star Trek fan, I've also been intrigued with the Mirror Universe episodes that I've watched in both Classic Trek and Deep Space Nine. Part One is a very enjoyable "history" of how the "Terran Empire" began. I don't want to give too much away and "spoil" it for other readers and, at the same time, I encourage you to begin with this book. You will enjoy it.

This collection isn't meant to replace other novels that have dealt with the Mirror Universe over the years. It takes its stories from two episodes of Trek and builds from there. If you've read the other reviews, you know the three eras and plots - I like to classify them as a Fun Romp (Age of the Empress), Epic (Sorrows of Empire), and Supplemental (The Worst of Both Worlds) type stories.

Age of the Empress is action from beginning to end and very fast paced but sets the stage nicely for future installments. It borders on fan fiction but doesn't quite fall over the edge thankfully. Nice little surprise at the end...hope to see this era again in future books.

Sorrows of Empire is a great story, best of the bunch by far. Told in epic fashion with widespread consequences as a result of Mirror Spock's rise to power. Very original tale and not what I expected to happen along the way. Fills in a major gap without seeming contrived. Excellent.

The Worst of Both Worlds could have been left off but it serves as a nice peek into what is happening years later as a result of Mirror Spock's changes. We get to see some of our TNG characters in very different places in their lives. Of course a familiar enemy shows up and Luc Picard is forced into action. A nice supplemental tale but not as grand as the Spock story.

A nice anthology overall though, with each story sharing some common threads with the one following. Recommeded, especially if you like the Mirror Universe!

This book integrated wonderfully with the origional shows except for the last "book" which was new but great material. Mirror universe gives this series new life and lots of opportunities for diversity. A wonderful read and I couldn't put it down. Looking forward to more "Mirror Universe" ST books.