Where would the Mirror Universe anthologies best fit in?

[bfollowell]

I mentioned a week or two ago that I was loving the DS9 relaunch. I'd started Christmas Day right after opening my new Kindle and haven't stopped since. I just wrapped up Rising Son and had mentioned I was thinking of taking a break after Unity. I thought I'd read the Mirror Universe trilogy of anthologies and then come back to the relaunch. I had a couple of people mention that this was a fairly decent place to stop for a break. Several others mentioned that it might be better to read through Warpath before reading the Mirror Universe anthologies since the Mirror Universe factors heavily into Fearful Symmetry and The Soul Key.

I was under the impression that most of these stories were pretty much stand-alone but it sounds like the DS9 MU related stories tie in with the DS9 relaunch to some degree.

What do you guys think? Where would be a good place to stop for a break and read through the MU anthologies?

Thanks for any advice.

- Byron

[DonIago]

I read all of the MU stories before thoroughly reading WP or FS and I don't think my experience suffered. The MU stories are all set before the events in WP and FS, so whichever way you do it you're going to be backtracking at some point.

Hell, parts of FS backtrack to the Occupation days.

Honestly, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

[bfollowell]

DonIago wrote:

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I read all of the MU stories before thoroughly reading WP or FS and I don't think my experience suffered. The MU stories are all set before the events in WP and FS, so whichever way you do it you're going to be backtracking at some point.

Hell, parts of FS backtrack to the Occupation days.

Honestly, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

I was sort of thinking the same thing. The MU series didn't start getting released until after WP anyway.

I see the MirU & MyrU series books as a very enjoyable sideline anyway. I just didn't want to get any spoilers from these back to the main DS9 relaunch. Spoilers for the main novels were the main thing I was mostly concerned with.

Thanks.

- Byron

[DigificWriter]

If you're only reading the DS9 Relaunch, I wonder why you would read the MU anthologies in their entirety rather than simply reading "Saturn's Children", the DS9 MU story found in the second MU anthology "Obsidian Alliances", since it ties directly in with David Mack's DS9 Relaunch novel "Warpath".

As for where to place "Saturn's Children" within a 'reading order' for the DS9 Relaunch, I would personally use the following reading order: "The Dominion: Olympus Rising" - "Saturn's Children" - "Warpath".

I hope that answers your question.

[Thrawn]

^ Yeah; that. You won't get any spoilers if you read the MU anthologies early, though; none at all. Even the DS9 short story from Shards & Shadows takes place before Warpath.

One thing, though - you want to read David Mack's full, novel-sized The Sorrows Of Empire, instead of the short novel in the Glass Empires anthology. It's so so much better.

[bfollowell]

DigificWriter wrote:

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If you're only reading the DS9 Relaunch, I wonder why you would read the MU anthologies in their entirety rather than simply reading "Saturn's Children", the DS9 MU story found in the second MU anthology "Obsidian Alliances", since it ties directly in with David Mack's DS9 Relaunch novel "Warpath".

Mainly because I've been reading nothing but DS9 relaunch since Christmas, twelve novels if I stop after Unity, and I just decided I needed a little break. As much as I'm loving the relaunch, I'm starting to get a little DS9 burnout and I love the idea of the MU and thought they'd be a nice diversion. You know, sort of cleanse the pallet so to speak. When I first thought of reading these during my break, I didn't even realize there was a DS9 story in them. Once I did and heard that it might tie in with the latter relaunch novels, I started to rethink my plan. Basically I still wanted to take a break and read them, just at the right point so as not to give too much away early.

I'll plan on reading a little further on and reading them when you and Thrawn suggested.

Thanks guys.

- Byron

[Christopher]

Don't worry about it. In some other timeline, you've already read them.

[bfollowell]

Christopher wrote:

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Don't worry about it. In some other timeline, you've already read them.

Excellent point!

I wonder if I enjoyed them?

[DigificWriter]

bfollowell wrote:

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Mainly because I've been reading nothing but DS9 relaunch since Christmas, twelve novels if I stop after Unity, and I just decided I needed a little break. As much as I'm loving the relaunch, I'm starting to get a little DS9 burnout and I love the idea of the MU and thought they'd be a nice diversion. You know, sort of cleanse the pallet so to speak. When I first thought of reading these during my break, I didn't even realize there was a DS9 story in them. Once I did and heard that it might tie in with the latter relaunch novels, I started to rethink my plan. Basically I still wanted to take a break and read them, just at the right point so as not to give too much away early.

I'll plan on reading a little further on and reading them when you and Thrawn suggested.

Thanks guys.

- Byron

If you're looking for a break from DS9 to avoid suffering 'burnout', I've got a few alternate recommendations as opposed to going with the MU anthologies:
* Star Trek: Vanguard (sort of the 23rd Century equivalent to DS9, but different enough so as not to feel repetitive)

* Star Trek: New Frontier (This series takes the humor, cheesiness, and fun of TNG and combines it with the serialized storytelling of DS9)

* The Voyager and TNG 'relaunches' (even though I haven't read the latter in its entirety yet)

* David Mack's Star Trek Destiny trilogy

* The Typhon Pact miniseries

* The TNG-based 'Double Helix' miniseries (which features 'crossovers' involving DS9, Voyager, and New Frontier, as well as Michael Jan Friedman's Stargazer novel series)

BTW, when you eventually do get back to finishing the DS9 relaunch, I'd read "A Terrible Beauty" immediately following "Saturn's Children", because the portions of that story (ATB) that take place in 2376 are set just two weeks after the events of SC.

[bfollowell]

Thanks for the suggestions but:

DigificWriter wrote:

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* Star Trek: Vanguard (sort of the 23rd Century equivalent to DS9, but different enough so as not to feel repetitive)

Already read them all and anxiously awaiting the next installment this summer.

DigificWriter wrote:

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* Star Trek: New Frontier (This series takes the humor, cheesiness, and fun of TNG and combines it with the serialized storytelling of DS9)

Same as above.

DigificWriter wrote:

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* The Voyager and TNG 'relaunches' (even though I haven't read the latter in its entirety yet)

I plan to read all the relaunches but I have a chronolgical reading order already established so I won't get to Voyager/TNG relaunches until after I finish The Never-Ending Story.

DigificWriter wrote:

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* David Mack's Star Trek Destiny trilogy

Same as previous.

DigificWriter wrote:

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* The Typhon Pact miniseries

Same as previous.

DigificWriter wrote:

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* The TNG-based 'Double Helix' miniseries (which features 'crossovers' involving DS9, Voyager, and New Frontier, as well as Michael Jan Friedman's Stargazer novel series)

I'll probably save these until my next unscheduled burn-out break from whcihever relaunch I happen to reading through at the time.

DigificWriter wrote:

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BTW, when you eventually do get back to finishing the DS9 relaunch, I'd read "A Terrible Beauty" immediately following "Saturn's Children", because the portions of that story (ATB) that take place in 2376 are set just two weeks after the events of SC.

Thanks for the advice. I'll make note of that.

Otherwise, there's absolutely nothing out there right now that interests me as much as the MirU anthologies. I've been looking forward to starting them for quite some time.

Thanks again for all the advice.

- Byron

[Cybersnark]

The Mirrorverse anthologies can be read pretty much anytime --the only real "crossover" is that this is "the" Mirror Universe (meaning that the DS9 novels don't contradict anything, and that any characters who turn up in both can be assumed to be the same people).