Critical Myth-Interpretations

This story is very similar to the first story in the current collection, in that it focuses on endless layers of treachery and action over depth in characterization.  This is not a novel about deeper motivations like “Sorrows of the Empire”.  That said, there are key differences.  This story connects directly with that earlier story by touching on Spock’s grand design and depicting the chess game between the Alliance, the Rebellion, and the secret Vulcan resistance.

“Age of the Empress” did little to change my opinion of the “Enterprise” characters; I was already of the opinion that the mirror universe versions were far more interesting.  I can’t say the same for the “Voyager” cast; as a whole, I found that series to be bland and disappointing.  Unlike “The Worst of Both Worlds”, the twist on familiar events made sense and fit within the larger context of what we’ve seen and read.

The author had a more difficult job in this story because it had to fit within established continuity from “Deep Space Nine” and the previous installments.  It’s a delicate balancing act, and falling short in either regard would have hurt the entire effort.  As I’ve mentioned before, too many of the mirror universe stories amount to a specific brand of cliché, where the whole point of the story is showing everyone as evil and scheming for the sake of being evil and scheming.  There’s plenty of that here, but also an underlying set of justifications, and that makes the difference.

Rating: 8/10