One of the best ideas in terms of entertainment in all of Star Trek is the Mirror Universe. The introduction of the Mirror Universe in Original Series Trek was one of the shows best episodes. Deep Space Nine used an updated version of the universe to good effect - and Enterprise played out a quite wonderful two-part story that even went as far as redesigned titles and a martial theme tune.

Logically these series make little sense, after all if this Mirror Universe is so different to the regular Star Trek Universe then there is simply no way that the same people would have come into existence in both parallel Universes throughout such a lengthy period.

But logic aside, in sheer entertainment values these stories were great. This book (the first of a two-volume set) gives us another chance to visit this universe and encounter its analogues of the characters we know so well from the various TV series.

The first of the three tales takes us to the time of Jonathan Archer and the first Enterprise. Hoshi Sato takes advantage of a temporally displaced U.S.S. Defiant, its armaments and the information stored in the ship's database to seize the Imperial Throne. But as you might well imagine, taking power is just the first step – keeping it will prove far harder.

Moving forward in time to the age of the Original Series and we are treated to a tale from the period shortly after the first Mirror Universe tale. The alternate Spock has learned from his encounters with the regular Universe characters and sees the faults inherent in the imperial system of his dimension, and its inevitable disaster. Seeing the problems, though, is one thing, solving them is going to take drastic action. So Spock resolves to take control of the Empire and set in motion its downfall.

Onto the Next Generation period - the Empire is long gone, and the human race is reduced to a slave race serving their Cardassian and Klingon masters. Picard is not a star ship captain, but a treasure hunter seeking ancient artefacts for the collection of Gul Madred, a Cardasian who cares little for the items beyond possessing.

These are fun tales, very easy to read and highly entertaining.

The Spock tale is the stand out of the set for me. It answers one query I have always had about the Mirror Universe on TV – that is exactly how a human dominated Empire fell to the extent that humans were persecuted and oppressed by other races.

But this is not to say the other two are bad by any means, they are both strong entertaining tales. Its interesting to see how the various character traits survive from the regular Universe characters to their Mirror counterparts. Sato is considerably different, much more belligerent. Tucker is less changed than Sato, but much more empty – a very hollow man with no remaining sense of optimism. T'Pol though is still a Vulcan, with logic still governing her being, and Andorian Shran is pretty much unchanged from the regular character - this universe just suits him.

Picard's tale initially seems to be a fairly inconsequential tale, a nice chance to explore the other interests of the Enterprise-D's captain but little more than that. But the author did something interesting in the second half the piece by introducing a foe fully familiar to viewers of the TV series but totally unknown to he inhabitants of this series.

I'm not going to jump up and down and say that if you don't read this book your life will be all the poorer. It's a Star Trek book; it's not going to change your life. But if you watched the various incarnations of the series, and enjoyed the occasional interactions with this alternate Universe then you will probably find this a very pleasant distraction.

Synopsis
There are moments glimpsed only in shadow, where darkness rules and evil incarnate thrives. You hope against hope that in your lifetime, evil is relegated to the shadows. But what if it wasn't?

What if you lived in a universe where your life was measured only by what you could do for the Empire? What would you do to survive? Would you sell your soul to free yourself? If you were offered the chance to rule, would you seize it? If you could free your universe from the darkness but only at the cost of your life, would you pay that price?

Star Trek: Enterprise She seized power in a heartbeat, daring to place herself against all the overlords of the Empire. Empress Hoshi Sato knows the future that could be; now all she has to do is make sure it never happens. For her to rule, she must hold sway not only over the starship from the future but also over her warlords, the resistance, and her Andorian husband. As quickly and brutally as Hoshi seized power, imperial rule is taken from her. Her only chance to rule again is to ally herself with a lifelong foe, and an alien.

Star Trek One man can change the future, but does he dare? Spock, intrigued by the vision of another universe's Federation, does what no Vulcan, no emperor, has ever done: seize power in one blinding stroke of mass murder. And at the same instant he gains imperial power, Spock sows the seeds for the Empire's downfall. Is this a form of Vulcan madness, or is it the coolly logical plan of a man who knows the price his universe must pay for its freedom?

Star Trek: The Next Generation Humanity is a pitiful collection of enslaved, indentured, and abused peoples. No one dares to question the order, except at peril of their lives. One man survives by blinding himself to the misery around him. However, Jean-Luc Picard resists, just once. And in that one instant he unlocks a horror beyond the tyranny of the Alliance. Can a man so beaten down by a lifetime of oppression stop the destruction?