Glass Empires by Mike SussmanMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a collection of two short stories and one novel length work packaged together and set in the Star Trek Mirror Universe (as in, the one seen in various episodes throughout the various Star Trek series in which characters would pop over to an alternate universe, meet a version of themselves, and be shocked, shocked!, at what they found - finding a Terran Empire instead of a Federation).
Mirror Universe stories tend to go four ways:
1) Federation personnel end up in Mirror universe, and react to it, are shocked by it, return to Federation space (more the television episodes);
2) Mirror universe people (who never leave the Mirror universe), after encountering Federation people or learning of Federation people, react to the concept of the Federation and attempt to take what learned and apply it to themselves; this goes one of two ways: 1) they attempt to redirect their own universe to try to lead it to Federation like situation; 2) use the knowledge gained to better themselves, and take over stuff (more the short stories/books);
3) rarer - Mirror universe people end up in Federation space and react. Rare as most of the time the Mirror universe people seem to die almost instantly when they end up in Federation space, weird, eh? So this one involves Mirror universe people reacting and living in Federation space. As noted, rare. (as seen in one television series);
4) ultra rare - Mirror universe people living their lives . . . . with no contact what-so-ever with Federation space or any other alternate reality. I've only seen this one in one fanfiction.
Well, this specific book, as noted, contains three stories. All by different authors and/or author teams. One story really is not a sequel of the prior story, but whatever occurred in that prior story provides changes the next story has to live with (as in, first story shows an individual taking over the Terran Empire; next story has descendants of that empress).
The first story in the book is an Star Trek Enterprise Mirror Universe story. Before the start of the story, the I.S.S. Enterprise encountered the U.S.S. Defiant - a ship from the future, an alternate future. Federation people are never seen in the story, though Federation technology is - since the Enterprise crew takes over the much more advanced Defiant ship (empty, again pre-story, by the Defiant crew going insane and killing each other). One of the Enterprise crew, Hoshi, kills, takes over ship, flies to Earth, takes over Empire. The end. There's much more to it than that, but . . ..
I gave that first story a rating of 3.8-something. 3.83.
Second story is an Star Trek The Original Series Mirror Universe story. It builds upon prior story, but also builds on an episode on the original series. Another pre-story issue. No Federation people seen in the story, though several of the Federation Enterprise crew, pre-story, were encountered by Mirror Universe Enterprise crew members. From a mind meld MU Spock did on FU McCoy, Spock leans the truth of Federation Universe. Uses knowledge to go about taking over ship/empire/leading/redirecting/etc.etc.
I gave this book length work a rating of something like . . . I don't remember. Ah, there. 4.03.
Third Mirror Universe story is set in Star Trek TNG time period. Again builds on prior stories, though this time there is no pre-story Federation Unvierse encounter by TNG people. Stars Picard as an archaeologist working for a Cardassian (there's reasons). He's wandering the universe in a tiny little ship called 'Stargazer. Somewhere along the line, the 'Resistance', decides that the best course of action would be to search out and contact the Borg. Things do not go well for this plan. Story kind of ends abruptly.
I hadn't rated this story before coming here to write something. Hmm. I rate it . . . 3.73.
So:
Age of Empires by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore (story by Mike Sussman): 3.83
The Sowrrows of Empire by David Mack: 4.03
The Worst of Both Worlds by Greg Cox: 3.73
----- 3.86333
April 12 2018
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