Reviews

Dark Mirror by Diane Duane

madisonreadsbooks's review against another edition

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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

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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

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4.0

Diane Duane is my favorite Star Trek author. Hands down.

whaleofabook's review

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  • 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.

refusetoshine's review

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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

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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

bdplume's review

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5.0

Another take on the mirror universe, worth checking out.

libraryofrick180107's review

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4.0

Book Review - Star Trek The Next Generation 35 Dark Mirror by Diane Duane.

This was a very strange book. Despite the fact that the story was very well linked to the mirror universe episode of Star Trek The Original Series, in some places this book felt very rushed, especially towards the end of the book when the author was wrapping the story up.
It was still a very good story, but definitely not one of my favourite books of this year.
4*
****

terynce's review

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2.0

Not the least bit impressed. I don't believe the characters matched their depictions from the show (or movies) and when that is the most strongly established canon, that's an issue. And throwing in technobabble without adequately explaining it was never a mark of Star Trek. Simplicity, or at least familiarity, in explanation trumps plausibility.

blizz's review

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4.0

I listened to the audio book version. It was enjoyable, typical alternate reality stuff but held my attention and kept true to star trek.