Dark Passions: Bk. 1 (Star Trek) [Mass Market Paperback]

The two Dark Passions novels, (which are both short and should have been released in a single volume)have, like most novels, their good and bad points. Unfortunately the bad outnumber the good...however I give them three stars because Susan Wright is trying hard, in a way few Trek authors have done, to work on an incredibly broad canvas. The whole of the Alpha/Beta quadrant mirror universe is here with several interwoven plot lines....or at least that is what she would like you to think. The focus, in reality, is firmly on Annika Hansen (AKA 7o9 of Voyager)and it is clear that it is here that Wright's interests lie and particulary in her relations with Intendant Kira. Interesting initially due to both the fact that they never meet in the classic Trek reality and that it explores what Hansen might have been if not Borg (even if in the Mirror)this book also tackles Kira's mirror counterpart. But this only works for so long. Kira and Hansen are both "one trick ponies" and eventually you get a little tired of reading the same things in varied situations. The sapphic overtones are not as blatant as some critics would make them out, but this is not a book that parents of younger Trek fans might wish to answer questions about - particulary as a Trek novel is not the forum, at least not as written. You either do a subject or idea justice or you leave it alone whether writing about homosexuality in known characters or any other topic. Unfortunately this novel fails on too many levels to do justice to any. The author writes as if trying to titillate at some points and as if making a more serious comment about the charcaters at others. The two styles do not dovetail very well. The author would be better served looking at Margaret Wander Bonnano's Trek novel, Dwellers in the Crucible, to see how well this can be done within a Trek setting (though that novel allows a reader to make up their own minds about characters sexualities.) Again to be fair to Wright she had to combine the known tendancies of the mirror Kira with the needs of her story and (as mentioned above) attempts to do this ona broad canvas. Unfortunately it does not hang together quite right. It has the hallmarks of an excellent story, given a single volume and about three hundred pages more to construct characters slightly more than one dimensional and more varied scenes this could have been very good indeed as Wright demonstrates that she can write well and keep the reader engrossed....up until it gets repetitive that is. Diane Duane's Dark Mirror (written prior to the Deep Space Nine Mirror universe episodes and thus connected only to TNG) shows how well this subject can be done - though that works on a smaller scale than this ambitious story. And of course what mirror story would be complete without "guest" characters who we already know? Well the author is not the first to do this - she is simply following the pattern of the TV shows that have featured this reality. That said how can we expect to find so many known human characters together and still hold onto a suspension of disbelief? The last Trek novel I read before this was Andrew Robinson's wonderful "A Stitch in Time" and it was that that brought me back to Trek novels. This has dampened the enthusiasm, but perhaps that is unfair to Susan Wright. She has attempted something every bold, a novel unconnected with the classic Trek reality, working on a grand scale and having to tread a fine line regarding what would be approved.

I bought this book because of its reputation as a good mirror universe book. I was pleased that the book started off with Seven (who isn't borg but Terran) and then weaved its way to the other main characters. The book maybe in my opinion stayed on one stetting slightly too long as I wanted to know what was happening to other characters.

The book definately shows the difference between the mirror universe and the real one that we all know in Star Trek! Most of the characters are there and I always wondered which of the characters would appear next. The book does mostly feature on Kira and Troi and the Cardassians as they Alliance tries to sort out it's problems of a recent assassination.

The book was able to keep me addicted to it by having several twist in the characters as the continually changed their views on each other which definately makes for interesting reading and is mind boggling as you try and figure out what will happen next!

Loved the book and am currently reading the conclusion (book 2) and that is a great contunuation!
4/5

So, Imzadi refers to the Riker/Troi relationship, which is correct. One minor point the previous reviewers missed out was that in the episode "All Good Things" (the last TNG epsiode) the possibility of a Worf/Troi relationship is obvious. And this is the MIRROR UNIVERSE, where things are similar but not the same. Why would Troi favour a mere human (assuming Riker is even alive, of in fact exists) when she can have the Regent of the Alliance. You really need to remember that the United Federation of Planets or indeed the Terran Empire no longer exist in any form and that the human race is pretty much enslaved. Apart from all that, I enjoyed reading this book and despite it's shortcomings is an interesting and thought provoking novel.