Yet another 90's SFBC selection I could not muscle through ( )

Diane Duane’s Star Trek: The Next Generation – Dark Mirror tells the first story of the Enterprise-D crew traveling to the Mirror Universe that first appeared in The Original Series episode “Mirror, Mirror.” The Enterprise, on an exploratory mission to a remote part of the galaxy in order to scan for particles that would reveal hyperstring structures, a subspace structure that could revolutionize galactic navigation and nicely builds on the then-recent superstring theory at the time Duane wrote. In the course of their work, the universe appears to attenuate. A mission specialist provides the first clue that they may no longer be in their own universe, but the sudden appearance of a döppelganger character provides further proof. Counselor Deanna Troi, Dr. Beverly Crusher, and Lt. Geordi La Forge realize that their alternate universe selves aboard the I.S.S. Enterprise-D managed to transport the Federation ship across the universal barrier. At Captain Picard’s direction, the Enterprise crew must infiltrate the alternate vessel to learn how they can return home before the universes are no longer in alignment. Picard himself must go to the alternate ship, where he impersonates his other and finds, to his amusement, that the Empire solved the issue of his tunic riding up (pg. 144). Duane builds on the psychologically disturbing nature of running into one’s evil döppelganger in a way that works far more effectively in a novel than in broadcast, crafting a story worthy of the TNG crew.

Ever a master of connecting to previous elements of Star Trek canon and trivia, Duane gives the reader their first explanation of Cetacean Ops through the character Commander Hwii. The Next Generation episodes “We’ll Always Have Paris,” “Yesterday’s Enterprise,” and “The Perfect Mate” from seasons 1, 3, and 5 all included references to Cetacean Ops while two Next Generation reference guides from the 1990s featured diagrams of the facilities, but they first appeared on-screen in the Lower Decks episode, “First First Contact.” Linking to the Mirror Universe, Captain Picard, Lt. Commander Data, Lt. Geordi La Forge, and Chief Miles O’Brien discuss the events that transpired for Kirk (pgs. 63-68). While they discuss Starfleet having classified these events, subsequent television appearances of the Mirror Universe would have similarly appeared in their files, specifically those from Star Trek: Discovery, which predate The Original Series. This novel also predates the Deep Space Nine episodes “Crossover” and “Through the Looking Glass,” which state that the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance overthrew the Terran Empire and worked to prevent crossover events. The continuity of the novel works in predating those episodes as Picard discovers that the Spock of this novel failed to change the Empire (pgs. 246-247). Finally, Duane’s discussion of how humanity spread outward and created the United Empire of Planets (pgs. 124-126, 179) differs from that which later appeared in the fourth season of Enterprise.

Interestingly, the idea of the Mirror Universe being darker, as the world attenuated during the shift of the Prime Universe Enterprise, foreshadows the concept introduced in Discovery that the Mirror Universe is not only darker in tone but literally not as brightly-lit as the Prime Universe. Similarly, Duane portrays Picard musing about a means of travel through dimensions that would seem to foreshadow the spore drive from Discovery. Finally, Duane links to the theme of a doomed empire from “Mirror, Mirror,” positioning another alien as the one who might bring about its transformative end (pg. 291). Though TNG never encountered the Mirror Universe on-screen, later comics from IDW portrayed a Mirror Universe version of The Next Generation as did William Shatner’s Mirror Universe trilogy of novels with each published work tells its own story without limiting itself to events from preceding novels and comics. ( )

Another great one from Diane Duane - especially striking that nobody had followed up on the Mirror Universe beforehand! I'm glad to be reading it close to Season 4 in TNG, too - since that's when it's set. Really gives it a nice feel.

Like many Star Trek fans I find the concept of the alternate “Mirror Universe” fascinating and generally enjoy any story that gives us a glimpse of the darker reflections of our favorite characters.

Unfortunately this story recounting the first encounter between our Enterprise-D under the command of Jean Luc Picard and their Imperial doppelgängers falls flat.

I’m sure at the time of publication it was an interesting look into the psychology of the Enterprise crew, but it hasn’t aged while. We’ve had numerous visits to this universe in various TV episodes, novels, and comics since this story was first published in 1993 so that this take now seems somewhat superficial. ( )

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. ( )