Mirror Universe books, which ones??

[Mage]

So, what are all the MU books out there? And is there a continuing storyline in them?
I was mostly wondering since Rise Like Lions is a MU novell, and I've only read the Warpath/Fearfull Symmetry/Soul Key 'trilogy'. I understood that some of the novell tell more stories set in the DS9 MU, while others are set in different Mirror Universe? Or am I mistaken?

 

[bfollowell]

So, what are all the MU books out there? And is there a continuing storyline in them?
I was mostly wondering since Rise Like Lions is a MU novell, and I've only read the Warpath/Fearfull Symmetry/Soul Key 'trilogy'. I understood that some of the novell tell more stories set in the DS9 MU, while others are set in different Mirror Universe? Or am I mistaken?

No, I'm fairly certain they all take place in the same Mirror Universe. Actually, as I understand it, there's only one "Mirror Universe" and all the others are just alternate universes in the general sense, though many of them may be close enough to be considered mirror universes in their own right. The Mirror Universe was the term used to reference the alternate universe that the original Enterprise crew crossed over to in the original series episode Mirror, Mirror. I think it's pretty much understood that, when you see that term, that one particular universe is what is being referred to.

Anyway, all the story's are just various stories from different locations and different eras of the Mirror Universe. Some of them just use what we traditionally think of as DS9 characters. Many different Trek characters from varying series and eras play a role however.

Some stories are more stand-alone than others but they all tend to build together into a larger arc. I read them all and enjoyed them all. If it were me, I'd read through all three anthologies and then the novel version of The Sorrows of Empire. Technically they fit in before Warpath but, since you've already read that arc, you should be fine and then you'll be in good shape for Rise Like Lions.

The three anthologies are Glass Empires, Obsidian Alliances & Shards and Shadows. Then there is the fleshed out, full-novel version of The Sorrows of Empire and finally, the upcoming Rise Like Lions. The first two anthologies each have three shorter novels in them while the final anthology has 12 stories. I'm not sure if you'd consider them short stories or novellas. Anyway, most of those 12 expand to some degree on the six short novels from the first two anthologies.

I hope this helps you. Take the plunge and read them all. They're quick reads and I don't think you'll be disappointed.

- Byron

 

[F. King Daniel]

I highly recommend Dark Mirror by Diane Duane. It's a TNG mirror universe in the vein of the original "Mirror, Mirror". With an evil Starfleet, evil Enterprise-D etc.

The way the multiverse supposedly works, the various conflicting mirror universes in the novels, comics and TV could all have a shared past - that being the TOS episode "Mirror, Mirror" which is common to all. The histories diverge after that. In the DS9 MU, Mirror Spock succeeded. In Dark Mirror, he failed.

I also really enjoyed the Shatnerverse mirror universe trilogy, where the evil Emperor Tiberius also survived to the 24th century.

 

[Mage]

Thanks for the tips guys, will be looking for these novels.

 

[Christopher]

So, what are all the MU books out there? And is there a continuing storyline in them?
I was mostly wondering since Rise Like Lions is a MU novell, and I've only read the Warpath/Fearfull Symmetry/Soul Key 'trilogy'. I understood that some of the novell tell more stories set in the DS9 MU, while others are set in different Mirror Universe? Or am I mistaken?

The books published by Pocket under the Mirror Universe banner since 2007 -- Glass Empires, Obsidian Alliances, Shards and Shadows, The Sorrows of Empire, and the upcoming Rise Like Lions -- share a single continuity, along with the three DS9 novels you mention and the Mirror Universe story in Seven Deadly Sins. Earlier Mirror Universe tales are in separate, incompatible continuities. To quote an earlier post of mine:

Other mutually incompatible versions of the MU include:

DC's The Mirror Universe Saga

TNG: Dark Mirror by Diane Duane

1995 "Enemies and Allies" backup story in Wildstorm's DS9 series

1997 "Fragile Glass" one-shot by Marvel Comics

Spectre/Dark Victory/Preserver by William Shatner and Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens

Dark Passions by Susan Wright

Mirror Images miniseries by IDW Comics

These are all incompatible with the post-2007 Pocket version, although some of them are probably reconcilable with each other.

The way the multiverse supposedly works, the various conflicting mirror universes in the novels, comics and TV could all have a shared past - that being the TOS episode "Mirror, Mirror" which is common to all. The histories diverge after that. In the DS9 MU, Mirror Spock succeeded. In Dark Mirror, he failed.

Not necessarily. There are some works that offer incompatible versions of what happened before "Mirror, Mirror" -- for instance, the Mirror Images comic and "The Greater Good" in Shards and Shadows tell incompatible versions of how Kirk took command from Pike and came into possession of the Tantalus Device. And several MU tales offer incompatible explanations for how the MU got started in the first place. DC's Mirror Universe Saga says it was started when Earth lost the Earth-Romulan War. The Shatnerverse version is that Cochrane warned Earth about the Borg and they became a militaristic state in response to the threat. Dark Mirror postulates that the MU has always been a more evil place, that its universe just fundamentally has a weaker "ethical constant" (to borrow a term from Duane's later non-Trek novel Stealing the Elf-King's Roses, which develops the principle more fully). "In a Mirror, Darkly" postulates something similar to Duane's approach, yet they disagree on the specifics; Duane has Shakespeare rewritten to be far more cruel and brutal, while IaMD claims that Shakespeare's plays are essentially the same in both universes.

 

[Mage]

I also realize now, that the books I ment set in other Mirror Universes, are the Myriad Universe books, set in alternet realities.

 

[Christopher]

As stated above, the term "Mirror Universe" is not a generic term for alternate timelines, but is used only for the universe introduced in "Mirror, Mirror," the one featuring the Terran Empire and Spock in a goatee.

But yes, each of the tales in Myriad Universes is set in a separate alternate timeline.

 

[Mage]

As stated above, the term "Mirror Universe" is not a generic term for alternate timelines, but is used only for the universe introduced in "Mirror, Mirror," the one featuring the Terran Empire and Spock in a goatee.

But yes, each of the tales in Myriad Universes is set in a separate alternate timeline.

I know. That's why I was confused initially, since I seemed to recall the Myriad Universe tales to be published under the Mirror Universe title but the Myriad Universe tales having nothing to do with the Mirror Universe. Again, that was my confusion.

 

[Christopher]

^Uhh, no, they were published under the Myriad Universes title, although they did use virtually the same title logo design as the Mirror Universe anthologies in order to capitalize on their success.

 

[Mage]

^Uhh, no, they were published under the Myriad Universes title, although they did use virtually the same title logo design as the Mirror Universe anthologies in order to capitalize on their success.

Yeah, I realize that now. And that's why I probably mistakingly thought they were the same thing.