Σκοτεινός καθρέφτης

Star Trek: The Next Generation

by Diane Duane, Χριστιάννα Σακελλαροπούλου (Translator)

Ο Σκοτεινός Καθρέφτης είναι το πρώτο μυθιστόρημα STAR TREK που εκδίδεται στην Ελλάδα.Και είναι ένα από τα καλύτερα.
Ο συναρπαστικός κόσμος της πολυαγαπημένης σειράς εκατομμυρίων ανθρώπων σ ολόκληρο τονκόσμο ξετυλίγεται ολοζώντανος μέσα από τις σελίδες του βιβλίου αυτού, με εικόνες μαγευτικήςομορφιάς και δράσης που κόβουν την ανάσα.
Το διαστημόπλοιο Enterprise περιπολεί στην άκρη του γνωστού Διαστήματος, στα τελικά σύνορατου Αγνώστου, όταν μια σκοτεινή απειλή εμφανίζεται από το πουθενά. Μια απρόσμενη εισβολή πουμπορεί ν ανατρέψει τη δομή του Σύμπαντος.
Ο κάπτεν Πικάρ με τους συντρόφους του, αυτοί μόνοι και πρώτοι απ όλους, η αιχμή του δόρατοςμιας ανθρωπότητας που αγωνιά, θα κληθούν ν αντιμετωπίσουν για άλλη μια φορά τη Μοίρα.
Μόνο που αυτή θα είναι η δυσκολότερη αποστολή τους. Γιατί, όταν έρχονται αντιμέτωποι με τουςεισβολείς, συνειδητοποιούν πως βλέπουν τους εαυτούς τους.
Η μάλλον τ αντεστραμμένα είδωλά τους, τα σκοτεινά εγώ τους σ έναν αντίστροφο κόσμο, που λειτουργεί σαν σκοτεινός καθρέφτης.
Θα σας καθηλώσει...

Genres: Star Trek, Science Fiction, Fiction, Star Trek The Next Generation, Media Tie In, Science Fiction Fantasy, Audiobook

439 pages, Paperback

First published January 15, 1993

About the author

Diane Duane has been a writer of science fiction, fantasy, TV and film for nearly fifty years.

Besides the 1980's creation of the Young Wizards fantasy series for which she's best known, the "Middle Kingdoms" epic fantasy series, and numerous stand-alone fantasy or science fiction novels, her career has included extensive work in the Star Trek TM universe, and many scripts for live-action and animated TV series on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as work in comics and computer games. She has spent a fair amount of time on the New York Times Bestseller List, and has picked up various awards and award nominations here and there.

She lives in Ireland's County Wicklow, in the house she long shared with her much-missed husband of forty years, the screenwriter and novelist Peter Morwood.

Her favorite color is blue, her favorite food is a weird kind of Swiss scrambled-potato dish called maluns, she was born in a Year of the Dragon, and her sign is "Runway 24 Left, Hold For Clearance."

(From her official website)

Reviews

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library)]

An interesting look at the alternate universe versions of the crew of the Enterprise.

[Alejandro]

I love this book! Easily it's one of my personal top ten of the best Star Trek novels that I ever read. Sadly, when on the TV Series, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, they developed episodes using the angle of the Mirror Universe, the way that they developed how the Mirror Universe was like then, it left this novel in a non-canonical status. The canonical value of any novel is questionable, but luckily almost any novel of any Star Trek series can fit into the canon of each one. There are some talking about that the "Mirror Universe" used here, it's yet another parallel universe, very similar to the known Mirror Universe but definitely another. I like that thinking and even now takes more strength taking into account the "Abramsverse" that it's a canon parallel universe of Star Trek, so if there can be two "good" Trek universes, why not two "evil" Mirror universes?
After so many years of having read this novel, some element that still strikes me was the fear that the "Mirror Deanna Troi" inspired me. I love the regular Deanna Troi, it's a wonderful character, and when I read in this novel about this twisted version of Deanna, I felt quite uneasy since the "Mirror Deanna Troi" is indeed an intimidant character. Obviously, there are another "mirror" versions of the rest of the crew (no Data by the way, he didn't exist in that mirror parallel universe) and indeed they were evil, each one on its own way, but with the one that I really felt uneasy and with real fear was the "Mirror Deanna Troi". Also, this novel has a really great guest character developed by the author, that it's an alien from a Dolphin-like species, and he is pivotal in the story. The novel is a truly great direct sequel to the events on "Mirror, Mirror" from the Original Series, set in the time of The Next Generation. So, canon or not, I highly recommend this novel.

[Jeffrey Caston]

This was pretty decent. I loved having John De Lancie. He does a pretty good job doing subtle impressions of the characters without losing his own absolutely charismatic voice. Except O'Brien. That one was not as good.

But the real issue was that even though the story clipped along, the whole premise -- sigh... the mirror universe tries to take over the prime universe because ... they've run out of space? They've taken over the available universe? Really? So they wiped out the Borg, the Dominion, EVERYONE in the mirror universe? Okay... Plus, This was in the time of TNG and DS9. In DS9, the Earth Empire had fallen, hadn't it? I checked the book's publication date and the air date of the DS9 episodes. The book came later -- or at least that is what it seems. So, it goes against canon, which was a bit irritating.

[Mary JL]

Captain Picard and the Next Generation crew find themselves stranded in the Mirror Universe. In this alternate world, the Federation does not exist. Earth is head of an evil Empire. The society is totally totalitarian--thought police, assasinations,cruelty, survival of the fittest in its worst form.

This had happened once before by accident--the episode "Mirror, Mirror" from the original Star Trek series. Now the Empire's scientists are trying to creat the transfers between universes--deliberately.

After a bit more physics about "hyperstrings" than I cared for, Diane Duane gets to the meat of the story. Geori LaForge, Counselor Troi and Captain Picard must infiltrate the duplicate enterprise. They need the data which the Empire use to bring them to the Mirror Universe--so they can reverse the effect and get home.

Atypical Star Trek adventure in some ways. But the author really does an excellent job of describing the pyschological difficulties "our" characters have on the alternate Enterprise.

Picard is chilled when he pulls up the record of his other self and finds a record of brutality and murder. He cannot imagine a system where instead of depending on your second in commad, you have to watch out that he does not murder you--that's how you advance in rank in the Empire! And in this universe, 'their' Couselor Troi is the chief security officer--using her mental powers to coerce and terrify the crew. Geordi and the real Troi have similar, disturbing experiences. These scenes are the better parts of the book. Once they escape with the data it is the usual ST chase and escape rountine.

Recommended mainly for Star Trek fans, of course. But non-fans, if they like science fiction, might also enjoy it.

[Benji's Books]

A surprisingly good entry in the Mirror Universe that admittedly had a bit too much technical mumbo jumbo that I did not care for and also did not impact the story in any way.

Unfortunately, this novel was made non-canon, thanks to some Mirror Universe episodes of Deep Space Nine.

The book was very reminiscent of a Quantum Leap episode, as Captain Picard goes undercover on the Mirror Universe's Picard's ship to try and find a way home, after his Enterprise was transported to this universe.

The writing was really well-done and it earns its spot as one of the best Trek novels out there.

[Jamie]

ST TNG gets the evil mirror universe treatment, with evil Picard and evil Troi taking the spotlight. Meh.

[Stephen]

3.5 to 4.0 stars. I am a fan of Star trek the Next Generation and always liked the concept of the "Mirror Universe" since it first was depicted on the the original series. Here the STNG crew gets the "evil" treatment and it is a lot of fun. Not great literature, but a good read.

[G]

In this book, the Enterprise crew encounters the Enterprise of an alternate universe, except that crew is twisted, dark, self-serving, and backstabbing. I listened to the story on audiobook. The audiobook also adds in Star Trek sounds, like doors, communicators, etc., which I enjoyed. The story centers on Picard, Geordie, and Deanna.

This was a casual read, and I liked that the book overall felt like a potential Star Trek: The Next Generation episode/movie. It did get dark in places, which was kind of the whole premise of the "other" Enterprise. It got a bit wearisome reading about all these horrible people, and there were scenes I didn't enjoy. I did like that one character from the alternate Enterprise showed a moment of hope. I also felt like the plot lost tension and got more difficult to follow towards the end, even though it remained fast paced.

As mentioned above though, it overall felt like a potential Star Trek: The Next Generation episode/movie, which is what I wanted, and I liked that the good Picard, Geordie, and Deanna got some moments to shine.

[TheInsaneRobin]

This was much better than I expected and honestly a great stand-in for the TNG Mirror Universe episode we never got. Focusing on Picard, Troi, and Geordi as a team was a nice change of pace and gave the story a fresh feel. The pacing was tight, and the tone fit the darker world really well.

That said, the ending leans way too hard into Star Trek technobabble. It pulls you out of the story, and the solution feels like it could’ve been anything. Still, a strong read overall and a must for TNG fans.

[Leila Anani]

TNG along with Voyager are the only two Star Trek incarnations that never had a Mirror Universe episode. Its one of the biggest missed opportunities of TNG, and something I've always longed to see. So I was absolutely thrilled to find Dark Mirror, and penned by one of the best Trek authors at that, Diane Duane.

It doesn't disappoint either. The Enterprise gets sucked into the Mirror Universe at the hands of the evil alternate crew - who having few worlds left to conquer have decided to venture into parallel universes. They plan to kill their real world counterparts, then return into our space, masquerading as as them, then subtly begin galactic domination this side of the mirror.... Geordi, Troi and Picard infiltrate the Mirror Enterprise and have to foil their plans.

This is an exceptionally focused novel with a very meaty story - If this was televised it would have almost certainly been a two parter. Unlike most Trek novels, there are no sub-plots or multiple strands/character focus - we sometimes jump over to Riker on the Enterprise proper but for the most part this is very linear as we follow the main action of our Away Team trying to survive their evil counterparts. I particularly loved the Sadistic evil Troi who is nasty indeed. And the fact that Picard wishes The Borg on this lot tells you just how evil they are.....

Episode wise the main reference point is TOS: Mirror Mirror, which it helps to have seen before reading this. It's also got some nice literary references from Xenophon to Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice - Anyone who dismisses Trek fiction for being 'fluff' needs to read this one, its well written, intelligent, giving both fan service and an excellent story.

Characterisation is good but I also like the new alien Hwiii - basically a dolphin. Visually that's really nice, to have a non-humanoid alien scientist aboard, if gives this some added colour.

Needless to say I adored this one. It's one of the best Trek novels I've read in ages. TNG Mirror Universe was something we really needed to see, so there was a real point to this having been written, and I thought Diane Duane did an excellent job with it. Wesley trying to assassinate Picard, Troi torturing Geordi, Picard psychologically abusing Beverley... Its a brilliant rendition of What if....

[Juushika]

At the edge of the galaxy, the Enterprise is pulled into the mirror universe by its predatory counterpart. This is my first time reading a spin-off novel for any franchise, which can't help but color my experience; seeing a franchise adapted to text is as interesting as the story itself. A novel allows for significantly more interiority and infodumping. Of the latter there's plenty, not delivered with exceptional grace but building a more thorough view of the mirror universe, particularly its history; it feels somewhat reductionist, but given context perhaps it has to be, and it does satisfy the itch for more information. The interiority is welcome, and is most robust in Picard but especially Troi, whose double is the best developed and most compelling; this is where the concept graduates from the broad fear of one's own worst tendencies and develops into a conflicted admiration/jealousy/fear of the selves one might have been--especially interesting in a character so association with emotions as is Troi. I wish this pushed further, but it's a strong attempt.

Novel length also allows for subplots, and they're well-intended (especially the non-humanoid alien) but rarely complement the larger narrative. The best minor addition is the downtime, the anxious waiting, the technical difficulties which would kill the pacing of an episode but here make the setting feel enjoyably realistic. It helps that I didn't have high expectations and that the sheer novelty is a selling point, because the quality here is just so-so--but the experience is engaging and gratifying; I'm surprised by how much I liked this.

[Dan]

One of the rare instances that something I loved in my childhood holds up as well as I remember! Dark Mirror was a page-turner then, and it was just as compelling now. Diane Duane has a way of crafting a fascinating story that often has high stakes as well as great character moments, examining an important facet of the human condition along the way. Although the conclusion of the story relies heavily on technobabble (and stars... Duane often uses ship maneuvers involving stars in the climaxes of her novels! Why is that?), Dark Mirror is still a great read.

Both disturbing and entertaining, Dark Mirror will always have a reserved place on my bookshelf.

Full review: http://treklit.blogspot.com/2015/01/D...

[Steve]

While I found the start of this book enjoyable, I found the meat of the it a little too mired in pseudo-technical jargon that made little to no sense, as well as the nagging feeling that the story directly conflicts with the mirror universe episodes from DS9. The climax did not endear itself to me, since it took the earlier issues and squared them, but I did enjoy the resolution.

[Andrew Beet]

Another brilliant book by Diane Duane she knows the characters very well absolutely spot on even the mirror universe counterparts as well it was good to see the evil Troi and geordi and Picard great at the end when our enterprise d is being chased by the mirror universe enterprise d very enjoyable couldn't believe this book is 25 years old and it's still a great read

[Michael Cresci]

It's great to get a TNG mirror universe story since the show never went there, but what I like best here is that the novel doesn't try to be anything more than a good episode of the show. the tone is just right, and it's best read in Mass Market Paperback form, bent pages and ripped covers welcome.

[Melissa]

Thanks to the Amazon class action suit about ebook price fixing, and a lovely $60 payout, I’m catching up on many, many Star Trek novels that I missed during the years when I wasn’t reading them for whatever reason.

One such acquisition was the Star Trek: The Next Generation novel Dark Mirror, by Diane Duane. It’s TNG’s chance to experience the “mirror universe” we got to see on-screen in both TOS and DS9, and, as I expected it to be, it was well written, with a few moments that really delighted me.

One was the introduction of the dolphin, Hwiii, a hyperstring researcher who ‘swims’ through the ship in a sort of water skin. Another was when Data, meeting Hwiii, tilts his head for a moment and then ‘speaks dolphin,’ because, of course he does.

I liked that Geordi and Deanna were the initial away team to the mirror Enterprise, and that they both got to use the knowledge they gleaned both from study and experience. Some of my favorite episodes were when Troi actually got to be a psychologist, and in this novel, she uses that training as much as she uses her innate empathetic abilities.

Similarly, Geordi’s incredible depth of knowledge is highlighted in this book, as he works, sometimes with colleagues, and sometimes alone, to figure out a way to save, not just the ship, but the universe itself.

I’m not sure when this was originally written but it felt like early TNG-fic. Data is very ‘sciency’ but doesn’t have as much depth as he does in later novels – even in later pre-emotion-chip ones. It’s obviously before the contemporary push for continuity within the novels, but it’s still an entertaining read.

Trek fiction is my crack. This was a delightful fix.

Goes well with Sashimi and tempura and Kirin beer.

[Joseph Masiello]

Dark Mirror was a very fun book to read. It reads as an episode would air: major plot twists and cliffhangers at every commercial (chapter) break! I have always been a fan of the Mirror Universe episodes on Star Trek. And this made me pick up this book the moment I saw it at the used book store. Having watched the DS9 Mirror episodes before reading this book, and realizing that this book was written before those episodes aired, was a shock to see how different the cannon can be.

I enjoyed how each character was paralleled with their own traits and flaws, then magnified and twisted to be complete polar opposites of themselves. Seeing each thrown into, and having to act and react, to situations that were completely alien to them was wonderfully written.

The story was paced very well. There was no sense of "downtime" to me between the action. The action was always being twisted and turned around to keep me interested. The techno speak was also well done. Having watched pretty much every episode of Star Trek myself, and hearing hundreds of crazy scientific terms that would make your head spin, I was not put off by them in this novel.

With all that I must say, if you enjoy Star Trek, then you should give this book a read, you will not be disappointed.

[Alyssa Guerrero]

This was more intellectual than a couple other Star Trek novels I've read and the author captured quite a bit of technical babble that sounded very convincing. This book highlights Picard, Troi, and La Forge but I'm looking for a book that incorporates more of the full crew.

[Jody Mena]

The first Star Trek book I ever read (when I was in third grade!) It took me two years to finish it. After that, all things Star Trek became my drug of choice. Still addicted! Yay!

[Stephen]

Note: Re-reading this for the first time since the 1990s.

The classic ST TOS episode “Mirror, Mirror” saw members of Captain Kirk’s crew accidentally swap places with their counterparts in the so-called Mirror Universe, a place where the Federation was rather different than the humanist paradise we know and love. Its officers were arrogant, mean, and avaricious; promotions were effected Klingon-style, and the women showed off their middriffs as well as their legs. Dark Mirror revisited the Mirror Universe long before Deep Space Nine did, and presented a darker and far more serious version of it. DS9 and ENT’s version of the Mirror Universe seemed loosely predicated on alternate history with random funhouse elements; the opening credits of the ENT episode in particular appeared to imply that the Terran Empire rose because the Nazis won World War 2. Dark Mirror, however, sees a mirror universe where reality and character are fundamentally altered: foul is fair. Human nature is mirrored, flipped; the noblest of characters in our universe is the most sinister and depraved: Picard is so shaken by his review of their literature (Achilles executes Priam in their Illiad) that he refuses to continue their version of Shakespeare or even open their Bible. But, I’m getting ahead of myself.

The Enterprise is operating at the far reaches of space, there to facilitate a Cetacean scientist researching ‘hyperstrings’; they receive a message from another ship in the sector that is incomprehensible but strongly suggests bad things are in the offing, and then — a sudden dimming of reality, and a deep sense of unease among the crew. Nothing appears to have changed, but the Enterprise is no longer in its own universe. It has been sucked into the Mirror Universe by the triumphant Terran Empire, which has run out of worlds to conquer and is interested in seeing how it can project power into the ‘other’ universe — hours — and take it, as well. (Mind you, it hasn’t conquered the entire Milky Way, just the local ‘arm’ we’re in: given the scales involved, though, it’s evidently easier to invade another universe than travel to another arm of the galaxy.) This leads to some “Mirror, Mirror” style stealth and deceit, and is something of a psychological thriller as Picard and others realize how disturbing their counterparts are and work to foil their plans without being exposed and then tortured. There’s a strong undercurrent of sexual malice here, something the DS9 mirror universe stories played with in the person of The Intendant.

This was just as good as I remember, even more so because I’ve actually seen “Mirror, Mirror” and particularly enjoyed Duane’s writing — especially the time we spent in Picard’s head. Because I wasn’t able to watch a lot of TOS as a kid, this was my introduction to the Mirror Universe, and I found the premise completely thrilling. Duane’s worldbuilding, developing these Terrans’ history and culture, made the story even more effective. Duane actually tries to recreate what their alter-Shakespeare might have read like, but I was so unfamiliar with the plays discussed (“The Merchant of Venice” was one I recognized purely for the Shylock character) that I didn’t fully get the darkness there. Although this Mirror Universe is definitely un-canon, it’s more psychologically if not historically interesting than the one DS9 developed, and I say that as someone who loves DS9.

[Em]

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.