The first stories by McDevitt that I read appeared in Science fiction magazines in the 80's and 90's, primarily Asimov's science fiction magazine where he was featured often. This 1996 collection pulls together some very good to excellent stories from that era, some of which I read all those years ago. They could certainly have put more of his stories in here, but there are 16, and they are all worth the read. I can't say that I remembered reading any one of these stories very well, since short stories, being short, tend to fade from memory pretty easily. What I did remember is looking forward to and liking his stories when they appeared. McDevitt has some big ideas to wrap his stories around, but what makes these stories good is that they are well written character studies, almost without exception. McDevitt has become a well regarded novelist, but this is where he started. Just some excellent stuff here.

'Time Travelers Never Die' is probably my favorite story here among a very good collection. 4+ stars

This really put me in the mood to have a go with some of McDevitt's novels. Haven't read one in many years.

Included in this collection are the following:

Introduction by Charles Sheffield
Standard Candles • (1994) • short story
Tidal Effects • (1985) • short story
Translations from the Colosian • (1984) • short story
Black to Move • (1982) • short story
The Fort Moxie Branch • (1988) • short story
Promises to Keep • (1984) • novelette
Gus • (1991) • novelette
To Hell with the Stars • (1987) • short story
Ellie • (1995) • novelette
The Jersey Rifle • (1988) • short story
Cruising Through Deuteronomy • (1995) • short story
Tyger • (1991) • short story
Auld Lang Boom • (1992) • short story
Dutchman • (1987) • novelette
Cryptic • (1983) • short story
Time Travelers Never Die • (1996) • novella ( )