Dark Mirror (Star Trek: The Next Generation) (Hardcover)

by Diane Duane (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
A gripping Star Trek: The Next Generation tale hearkening back to the original TV series episode, "Mirror, Mirror." That was the one in which Captain Kirk encountered his brutal alter ego in a parallel universe, a place where only the alternative Spock showed any humanity. Here, the alternative Enterprise draws Captain Picard's vessel into its alternative space, bent on capturing it and staffing it with a look-alike crew--all to spearhead an invasion of the Federation. Deanna Troi, Geordi La Forge, and Captain Picard outwit the scheme by transporting aboard the other Enterprise and turning its technology against the would-be conquerors. Here's where Duane's novel turns clever, with Picard assuming his doppelg„nger's role and discovering--among other things--just how malicious and threatening a Betazed can be and how bitter the alternative Dr. Crusher can be in the role of the "captain's woman." There's also a particularly nasty alternative Riker and a noble alternative Worf. The true Picard maneuvers his ship back into Federation space, but the alien follows; there's some manipulation of hyperstrings (with the help of a spacegoing dolphin) to send the bad Enterprise back where it belongs. Another capable entry in this series that always seems to be better than one would expect. John Mort

From Kirkus Reviews
A Star Trek: The Next Generation yarn from the fantasist (The Door into Sunset, p. 28) and veteran of numerous Star Trek hardcovers. Duane's first stab at a Next Generation tale is based on an old Star Trek episode, ``Mirror, Mirror,'' in which Kirk, Scott, and Uhura were propelled into a parallel universe where the Federation was a ruthless empire; their personal counterparts, with whom they had exchanged places, turned out to be brutal barbarian warriors bent on conquest and loot. This time, the Enterprise--with Hwiii, a dolphin scientist, aboard--is switched into the same universe visited by Kirk, and finds itself confronted by a counterpart Enterprise, bristling with weapons, of superior speed and power. Now Captain Jean-Luc Picard must defeat his evil twin and prevent the invasion planned by the other, malign, Federation. Anyone who saw the original episode knows more or less what to expect. Given the large first print run, the publishers obviously expect demand to be brisk--but, workmanlike, unsurprising, and mediocre as it is, will it play in Peoria? (First printing of 200,000) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 337 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Books; F edition (December 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671793772
• ISBN-13: 978-0671793777
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.9 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #738,947 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A return to the mirror universe done right, October 26, 2003

By	Randall Norman Pick (Overland Park, Kansas United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dark Mirror (Star Trek: The Next Generation) (Paperback)

Easily one of the better entries into published Star Trek, the Next Generation fiction, Dark Mirror does a much better job, er, 'mirroring' the feel of the original Star Trek episode, by leaving enough familiar for us to be truly appalled at the different turns characters with the fundamental abilities of the crew could take. The characters, in both senses, are written very real and very strongly, with even Troi being an interesting character (on both sides of the mirror), and Duane shows her usual flair for creating societies, both in terms of the Mirror Empire, as well as a few new types from in and around the Federation. This book can't carry a higher recommendation, being a mix of action, discovery, and the old Star Trek hope for a better future.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Truly Dark Trek, July 12, 2003

By	jrmspnc (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dark Mirror (Star Trek: The Next Generation) (Paperback)

Way back when this book first came out I very nearly bought it, greatly intrigued by the idea of Picard grappling with the "evil Spock's" universe. But Diane Duane put me off; I thought her Romulan Way novel was overblown and she'd turned an amusing idea into garbage in Doctor's Orders.

My fears were unfounded however. True, Duane wrote this one with a dictionary (for example, Geordi uses the word "collimated" in casual conversation), but in between the spelling bee words we have an intense, powerful drama that makes Dark Mirror among the best Trek books ever written. Picard, Geordi, and Deanna must deal directly with the evil Enterprise while concealing their activities from their counterparts. Tension is high, emotions are powerful, and the evil Troi is incredibly, powerfully, evil. There are many moments here worth savoring, including the evil universe's versions of The Merchant of Venice and The Iliad, and Duane's theory of what became of evil Spock.

Duane's account of the mirror universe is, to my mind, much more compelling than the "official" take we got in DS9, which seemed to too often fall into parody rather than horror (Kira wanting to seduce herself? Yuck.). I have not read Shatner's version, so can't compare. I will say that Dark Mirror is a very powerful read, that rarest of Star Trek books that is an excellent novel in its own right.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An alternate alternate universe:, July 1, 2002

By	James Yanni (Bellefontaine Neighbors, Mo. USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Dark Mirror (Star Trek: The Next Generation) (Paperback)

Once again, as with her back-history of the Romulans, Diane Duane has the misfortune of writing an excellent book about a subject which subsequently is treated differently onscreen, thereby rendering her version of events non-canonical in retrospect. This book, written before the airing of the DS9 episode "Crossover", is a sequel to the original series episode "Mirror, Mirror". As such, it details what has happened in the mirror universe between Kirk's time and that of the later Trek series; unfortunately, her back-history is radically different from that in the canonical DS9 episode. So what we clearly have, is a DIFFERENT parallel universe. Different from the one in the DS9 series, and different from the one in later novels, notably William Shatner's trilogy, "Spectre", "Dark Victory", and "Preserver", as well as the "Dark Passions" duology by Susan Wright, all of which follow the canonical DS9 history. If one accepts this concept, then the story works just fine. It is well-written, well-concieved, and well-executed, and is excellent in its own right. Granted, I find the concept of a parallel universe extremely dubious; every time someone does something different, it would alter the path of history a little bit, and soon it would be so different that there would be no parallel. But granting the basic concept for the sake of a good story (and I'll admit that it's a fascinating concept, even while it is ridiculously implausable) the writing here is excellent.

Highly recommended.