Dark Mirror (1993)

While on a mission at the edges of inhabited space for the project of a researcher named Hwii (a member of a dolphin-like species who are particularly attuned to navigation in space), the Enterprise and its crew are inexplicably pulled into an alternate universe. When they discover the doppelganger of one of their crew members trying to access sensitive information, they realize they have been intentionally brought to this place. And getting home will require facing the darkest side of themselves. Literally.

A novel I read multiple times as a tween as I was transitioning from the children's section to the adult collection at the library. I was delighted when I found it in a secondhand shop (on Maui of all places) and was pleased that it holds up to a reread. While Diane Duane's prose doesn't sparkle quite as much as some of my other favourite TNG novels, she crafts a compelling tale set in an alternate universe established in the original series. The last section of the novel in particular is very intense on the action front and makes for fun reading. Recommended for fans of the series. ( )

I have read this novel several times and I have enjoyed it every time. It captures the uncanny valley feeling of the Mirror Universe in a believable way and the characters react to their mirror universe counterparts in believable ways. Overall I think this is my favorite portrayal of the Mirror Universe event including canon appearances in the various series.

The Good:

• Characterization is well done
• Plot pacing is very good with the stakes becoming more urgent as the characters learn what brought them to the Mirror Universe
• The author takes advantage of the inherent creepiness of a universe that is both very similar to our own and yest very different
• The Mirror Universe characters behave in believable ways instead of acting as caricatures of the main cast
• In my opinion the technobabble was kept plausible and didn't come of like a random selection of technical terms
• The dolphin-like character had some really good interactions with Geordi LaForge

The Bad:

• The dolphin-like character feels somewhat out of place and I'm honestly not sure why. Might be because he is part of the beginning and plays almost no part until the very end

( )

The uniquenessof Diane Duane's take on the characters from the TNG franchise is not as great as with her TOS stories but this story plays on another interesting episode from the original series; the Imperial Earth altHist universe.

The USS Enterprise is dragged into the universe belonging to the ISS Enterprise where they find that their alternatives have come up with a deadly plan to take over the USS Enterprise and use her as a cuckoo in order to act as the spearhead of an invasion of a whole new universe.

I loved the way the characteristics of the bridge crew had been twisted, not beyond recognitiion, but just out of our version of true and the way it followed on in a fairly logical way from from the TOS episode. This alternative universe has become a favourite with the Star Trek producers as well, with DSN and Enterprise having stories set in the same background as well. ( )