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tigercrossin's review against another edition
3.0
I’m a bit torn on this one honestly. I absolutely loved the tng mirror universe comics and what they decided to do with that universe. They expanded on it in such a cool way, it felt like a natural progression from the original mirror universe episodes. This kind of feels like it’s trying to replicate the original feeling of the tos “mirror mirror” episode very specifically, which isn’t always bad but I feel like it holds it back in a lot of ways. The action scenes are still really fun to read, especially that Wesley and Picard one, I really liked that, but overall it’s kind of drowned out by a little too much technobabble for me (which I understand is a huge part of trek but I just couldn’t get into it here). I will always enjoy seeing the mirror universe, it’s one of my favourite parts of trek, so overall I would say I had fun with it, but I’m glad to be moving on to a new trek book after this.
On a personal note I guess, Data is my favourite character and I LOVE his mirror universe counterpart from the comics, so I was really mad at his dismissal in this book. He only has a few scenes and is relegated to a very minor side character, being completely removed from the mirror universe all together. He is written off about halfway through the book in a very nonchalant (kind of lazy tbh) way, and after that I kind of lost my drive to read it. I understand that this is super subjective though so don’t take this too seriously, it was just kind of clear to me that the author has a few specific favourite characters that she wanted to write about.
On a personal note I guess, Data is my favourite character and I LOVE his mirror universe counterpart from the comics, so I was really mad at his dismissal in this book. He only has a few scenes and is relegated to a very minor side character, being completely removed from the mirror universe all together. He is written off about halfway through the book in a very nonchalant (kind of lazy tbh) way, and after that I kind of lost my drive to read it. I understand that this is super subjective though so don’t take this too seriously, it was just kind of clear to me that the author has a few specific favourite characters that she wanted to write about.
emchovy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
I think it's easy for people to write tie-in novels off. They're derivative, by nature, and also by nature, none of them are essential to an understanding of the main work. As the amount of them I read might tell you, I don't necessarily agree with that one. Tie-in novels, in my opinion, are a subtle art.
Dark Mirror by Diane Duane is fantastic. This book keeps true to the characters in the show, and showcases them at their best. The mirror universe, in contrast, the darkness in contains, that's affecting too. The scene where Picard reads Shakespeare in his own mirrorverse's study, and realizes that the stories are subtly different, subtly more violent and cruel, is something I still think about. These characters are formed by their environment, and they cannot help the way it shapes them.
Dark Mirror by Diane Duane is fantastic. This book keeps true to the characters in the show, and showcases them at their best. The mirror universe, in contrast, the darkness in contains, that's affecting too. The scene where Picard reads Shakespeare in his own mirrorverse's study, and realizes that the stories are subtly different, subtly more violent and cruel, is something I still think about. These characters are formed by their environment, and they cannot help the way it shapes them.
madisonreadsbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
books_with_style's review against another edition
3.0
I didn’t much enjoy this. If it wasn’t for the Mirror Universe novels I may have enjoyed this more. The mirror universe in this novel was too ‘dark’ I guess. Having the empire conquer everyone is just too far fetched
bev_reads_mysteries's review against another edition
4.0
Diane Duane is my favorite Star Trek author. Hands down.
whaleofabook's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
"He closed the book and looked over at the painting again. The little scrap of light fluttered there among the trees, against the shadow. It needed the darkness to make that tiny bit of life look so bright: it would not have shown otherwise."
The Star Trek: The Next Genration mirrorverse episode we never got
So, this is the first ST: TNG novel I've read (except for the Autobiography of Picard) and it did not dissapoint. This book truly felt like another TNG episode but longer, not rushed and not limited by cgi and budget. Diane Duane made sure to keep true to the TV characters and made the mirror counterparts feel very convincing. One of the main characters in focus was Troi and her Betazoid abilities in particular, which were depicted really well. The balance between the philosophical aspects of TNG and the hard/tech sci-fi was kept as well (plus there was some humour and romance). The book also explored the mirrorverse in great detail and there was clear continuity with the TOS "Mirror, Mirror" episode and many references to it.
In general, this was a fun and fresh read, there was a lot of things I loved about this book, though some paragraphs felt a bit lengthy with all the technobabble but not that hard to get through. I definitely will be coming back to it.
The Star Trek: The Next Genration mirrorverse episode we never got
So, this is the first ST: TNG novel I've read (except for the Autobiography of Picard) and it did not dissapoint. This book truly felt like another TNG episode but longer, not rushed and not limited by cgi and budget. Diane Duane made sure to keep true to the TV characters and made the mirror counterparts feel very convincing. One of the main characters in focus was Troi and her Betazoid abilities in particular, which were depicted really well. The balance between the philosophical aspects of TNG and the hard/tech sci-fi was kept as well (plus there was some humour and romance). The book also explored the mirrorverse in great detail and there was clear continuity with the TOS "Mirror, Mirror" episode and many references to it.
In general, this was a fun and fresh read, there was a lot of things I loved about this book, though some paragraphs felt a bit lengthy with all the technobabble but not that hard to get through. I definitely will be coming back to it.
refusetoshine's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
birdmanseven's review against another edition
3.0
This was a lot fun, though a touch odd to have John De Lancie read a non-Q story.
Anyway, it was interesting to see the Next Gen crew tackle the Mirror Universe. I loved Evil Deanna. My main criticism is that it was often hard to know if you were dealing with the real characters or their mirror counterparts.
For more on this book check out the All the Books Show! https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/episode-260-dark-mirror
Anyway, it was interesting to see the Next Gen crew tackle the Mirror Universe. I loved Evil Deanna. My main criticism is that it was often hard to know if you were dealing with the real characters or their mirror counterparts.
For more on this book check out the All the Books Show! https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/episode-260-dark-mirror