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Editorial Review:
The Mirror Universe is a dark and twisted reflection of our own, where all that is noble and compassionate is instead cruel and barbaric. Now our universe has been invaded by that other reality's most feared tyrant: the dreaded Emperor Tiberius, the Mirror Universe counterpart of James T. Kirk. Just as Kirk survived his own era to live into the 24th century, so has Tiberius returned from the past to menace a new generation of Starfleet heroes.
And only Kirk can stop him.
With Spock, McCoy, and Spotty at his side, and teamed Jean-Luc Picard and the valiant crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise™ NCC-1701-E, Kirk is propelled into his most personal and dangerous mission yet as he fights to uncover the secret of Tiberius' return and learn the terrible truth behind the madman's nightmarish plans for the Federation.
But how can he defeat an enemy who knows Kirk's mind as well as he knows his own?
Dark Victory (Star Trek) Reviews:
Better than Spectre... 
2009-03-23 - This novel is the 2nd in William Shatner's Mirror universe trilogy. And I must say that it was better than the first. Dark Victory doesn't have as much action as Spectre but the story is a lot better. Kirk is now chasing Tiberius all over two universes. Tiberius who you find out has cheated death in his universe at the end of Spectre (sorry if I ruined the end for you) is not happy with his universe so tries to take over Kirk's. Kirk not only is trying to stop him but he is also trying to save the life of the woman that he loves. Meanwhile, Dr. M'Benga has made an interesting discover as well. It is this discovery that actually makes the book so good. The 3rd book in the trilogy is The Preservers, and this novel gets you set up for that novel. Shatner uses the next generation episode "The Chase" from season six and from the first season of the original series "The Corbomite Maneuver" to create a very interesting story that he will continue in his next novel.
A lot of critics don't like how Shatner writes "the Shatnerverse". If that is a problem that you have had with Shatner's books in the past then you will probably have the same problem with this book. This universe revolves around Kirk just like the mirror universe revolves around Tiberius. That is just the way that it is. Kirk is overall my favorite character of the Star Trek universe and even I sometimes think that Shatner's ego gets in the way of his novels. However, great story telling with all of your favorite characters which are written brilliantly what more could you want?
Grade: A
Part V of the Kirk Saga. Twists and turns are an understatement. 
2006-10-13 - Up to this point William Shatner has thrilled us with new adventures of Captain James T. Kirk that we have all thirsted for for so long. Dark Victory continues that with exactly what the title says...A darker and grittier Star Trek story.
The Evil Tiberious' plan begins to take great shape in this the second novel of the mirror universe trilogy, and as you read along it looks as if he might even win.
William Shatner does an excellent job making Tiberious (Kirk's mirror self from the mirror universe) everything Kirk is not. He is clearly his polar opposite and down right evil to the core.
One of the highlights of the story is how Tiberious steels the Enterprise NCC-1701-E and plans to rule the mirror universe with it. Exciting! Again, a must read for all Star Trek fans and a definite must read for Kirk Saga fans. The ending is gribbing and pulse pounding. I recommend purchasing this book and Preserver (the third and concluding chapter to the mirror saga) because if you don't you'll be making a second trip back to the book store to pick it up. It's that good! 10/10
Contrived and pedestrian 
2006-05-10 - Clearly the middle book in a series, this book seemed more than a little contrived on many levels. Is it really necessary to combine characters from four different Star Trek series (the original, TNG, DS9, and Voyager)? Kate Janeway, especially, seems to be present merely to lend her name to the book. Her presence doesn't seem to impact the story in any way, and it her role really isn't well defined. Its almost like she's included merely to tie Voyager into the mixture. Maybe some of this disjointedness results from the location in the series, as the book really doesn't stand well on its own.
The writing is pedestrian, and the characters feel a bit flat and predictable. While some of the dialog does recall the amusing banter of the original crew, that really is about the only highlight in an otherwise mediocre work. This certainly hasn't inspire me to go out an find the other books in the series.
Good but Agreed, this is just a filler
2005-08-17 - Eh. This book in itself is good, but a little less exciting than the previous "Spectre". It's pretty much a continuation in the trilogy but only serves to connect the first and last in this trilogy. So it's ok, not as good as Spectre, but in my opinion a lot better than "Preserver".
I would still recommend reading this book, Shatner's Mirror Universe trilogy is a very great story and a must read. It just seems that all of the good stuff in this trilogy was put into the first book.
Entertaining - But Essentially A Filler 
2004-09-26 - This story, the second of the "Mirror Universe Trilogy", continues right where "Spectre" (the first book in the series) left off. The story takes place in 2374 initially and then jumps forward about eight months later into 2375, placing it at least after the events of the movie "Star Trek: Insurrection".
Here we have Kirk, Spock, Scotty, Picard (and his crew), and the "Mirror Universe" counterparts setting off to save the day. And this highlights some of my issues with this book: there are a lot of characters and a lot going on. You have secretive Starfleet organizations in this universe and two fighting factions in the "Mirror Universe" plus various members of both the Original Series and the Next Generation showing up (not to mention a few Deep Space Nine and Voyager personnel) and I just get this feeling of not really caring about the plot, per se - just letting the story carry me forward.
And that brings up another point for me which is that a lot is happening here from a human angle. Dealing with counterparts from another universe; the possible death of loved ones; the loss of limbs and abilities; the chain of command and when it should and should not be followed; different command styles for different time periods; being out of place in a new time period; bitter regret at apparent betrayal after services rendered in the line of duty. All these things are alluded to, in passing, but none are really explored. They are subsumed under the general plot. Whole areas where human angst would come into play are usually glossed over in a page or even just a paragraph. I know that in-depth exploration of these issues is not the point of the story: but then the brief focusing on each of them is, to me, more distracting than engaging.
"Spectre", in my opinion, was saved from avoiding many of these same kinds of issues by the pace of the action *and* by the continuity of the action. To be sure the same sense of pace is in "Dark Victory" and that pace is just as fast in some ways, but, for me, not as continuous. Too much of the action struck me as episodic to the point of being a bit too fragmented. Certain events just seemed to happen without a lot of context behind them, the idea being just to keep the pace going. Characters would just turn up or say things or know things and, again, sometimes a context seemed to be lacking. What saved the book for me is that it is the second of a series. So if you are reading it you are (presumably) already curious about how the story continues and thus a little more forgiving than you might be with a stand-alone story. Overall, "Dark Victory" was a moderately interesting story for me in the Star Trek mythos but I really only found myself plodding through it to make sure I would have a context for the third in the series ("Preserver"). I would prefer a story that is not trying so hard to interweave so much Star Trek history and instead explores the characters in a given setting that allows us to come to understand them and their motivations better.
I gave this three stars because it kept me reading - but only by rote. It was not a boring read by any means but a lot of characterization was subsumed under the plot as the mysteries and secrets kept piling on leading to the inevitable cliff-hanger that would take us to the final book of the series.
