This second volume of Mirror Universe novellas maintains the format of the first book. We are presented with three stories, this time for Voyager, New Frontier and Deep Space Nine.

DeCandido starts the set of with his Voyager tale. It's a little bit of a reverse of the Voyager pilot, this tale. The Delta Quadrant members of the Voyager cast are instead transported to our part of the Universe popping up in the Badlands. Chakotay and the crew of the rebel ship Geronimo rescue Neelix. Kes is not so lucky.

She managed to escape from torture at the hands of the Kazon in the Delta Quadrant only to be captured by Gul Evek and delivered to the Alliance research facility on Ardana, commanded by B'Elenna Torres.

Peter David's New Frontier story is next. We join the tale in the immediate aftermath of a struggle between the Xenexians and the Danteri. The Danteri had won thanks to a little help from their Romulan Allies, killing D'ndai, the eldest son of the Xenexian leader, Gr'zy. The Romulan Praetor decides to take Gr'zy's second son M'k'n'zy as hostage against further hostility. The only problem for M'k'n'zy though is that his father thinks absolutely nothing of him and is more than glad to see him go.

The book finished with Sarah Shaw's Deep Space Nine tale. The rebellion has an incredible opportunity to defeat the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance. They control the Terok Nor station, have built a Defiant-class ship based on the plans from our version of Deep Space Nine and have more under construction. The only thing going against them is each other. In fighting between the various leaders is threatening to tear the rebellion apart.

These tales are fun and easy to read, just don't try to analyse the logic. The Mirror Universe works because of familiarity with the characters. It's interesting to see how the same characters evolved in this alternate version of the Star Trek Universe. Harry Kim as a cold-blooded, ruthless, vengeance-seeking killer is a revelation.

But familiarity, or the lack thereof, is the downfall of the New Frontiers story. It is a good story, but with Peter David writing it that is a given. The problem is that New Frontiers is a book series only, and unless you have read the books the Mirror Universe version is not so comparable. You'll enjoy it even if you come to these worlds fresh, but prior knowledge is an advantage.

The Deep Space Nine ending the set is the strongest in the book, and one that kept me up at night to finish. It's one of the benchmarks I have for a story, if I decide just one more chapter before sleep then the author got something right.

Synopsis
A radically different take on STAR TREK is revealed in this collection of novels that focus on the struggle of a freedom-hungry rebellion against an oppressive alien regime. VOYAGER: In a reversal of events from VOYAGER's first episode, two lost travelers from the other side of the galaxy are flung into the middle of the Alliance, the alien empire that oppresses humans, Vulcans, and countless other races. One of these travelers has the potential to completely alter the balance of power, and as both sides struggle to get to the stranger first, treachery throws everything into a tailspin. NEW FRONTIER: Almost a century after the fall of the Terran Empire, its long-time rivals, the Romulans, have absorbed many of the fringe civilizations spread across that part of the galaxy. One of its slaves, M'k'nzy of Calhoun - who in this universe will never become Captain MacKenzie Calhoun of the Starship EXCALIBUR - learns courage and the value of freedom from an unlikely teacher, a Romulan named Soleta. DEEP SPACE NINE: One fallen dictator's struggle to regain her power and her position leads to the discovery of a bold rebel plan for a decisive military strike that will bring down the Alliance, once and for all. But while Kira Nerys navigates the tangle of politics, sex, and military intrigue that she believes will allow her reclaim her station, cracks form in the rebel leadership, leading to a showdown that will change the course of the Mirror Universe.