Standard Candles (1996, ISBN 0-9648320-4-6) is a compilation of
short storiesA short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format or medium tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels or books...
by American
science fictionScience fiction is a genre of fiction. It differs from fantasy in that, within the context of the story, its imaginary elements are largely possible within scientifically-established or scientifically-postulated laws of nature...
authorAn author is defined both as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created...
Jack McDevittJack McDevitt is an American science fiction author whose novels frequently deal with attempts to make contact with alien races, and with archaeology or xenoarchaeology....
. The sixteen stories in the anthology were originally published in various
magazineMagazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles, generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
s from 1982 to 1996. The
introductionA foreword is a piece of writing often found at the beginning of a book or other piece of literature, before the introduction, and written by someone other than the author of the book. A preface, by contrast, is written by the author of the book, although sometimes the two terms are used...
is provided by
Charles SheffieldCharles Sheffield , was an English-born mathematician, physicist and science fiction author. He had been a President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and of the American Astronautical Society....
.
Like many of the author's works, the title story is set at an
astronomicalAstronomy is the scientific study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the Earth's atmosphere...
observatoryAn observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial and/or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geology, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed...
and refers to a
starA star is a massive, luminous ball of plasma that is held together by gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth. Other stars are visible in the night sky, when they are not outshone by the Sun...
's absolute brightness, connecting that phenomenon with the relationship between two individuals in the story.
Standard Candles (1996, ISBN 0-9648320-4-6) is a compilation of
short storiesA short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format or medium tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels or books...
by American
science fictionScience fiction is a genre of fiction. It differs from fantasy in that, within the context of the story, its imaginary elements are largely possible within scientifically-established or scientifically-postulated laws of nature...
authorAn author is defined both as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created...
Jack McDevittJack McDevitt is an American science fiction author whose novels frequently deal with attempts to make contact with alien races, and with archaeology or xenoarchaeology....
. The sixteen stories in the anthology were originally published in various
magazineMagazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles, generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
s from 1982 to 1996. The
introductionA foreword is a piece of writing often found at the beginning of a book or other piece of literature, before the introduction, and written by someone other than the author of the book. A preface, by contrast, is written by the author of the book, although sometimes the two terms are used...
is provided by
Charles SheffieldCharles Sheffield , was an English-born mathematician, physicist and science fiction author. He had been a President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and of the American Astronautical Society....
.
Like many of the author's works, the title story is set at an
astronomicalAstronomy is the scientific study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the Earth's atmosphere...
observatoryAn observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial and/or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geology, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed...
and refers to a
starA star is a massive, luminous ball of plasma that is held together by gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth. Other stars are visible in the night sky, when they are not outshone by the Sun...
's absolute brightness, connecting that phenomenon with the relationship between two individuals in the story. No matter where one stands, the
lightLight is electromagnetic radiation, particularly radiation of a wavelength that is visible to the human eye ....
radiates at the same level of intensity. ("Standard Candles", "Ellie", and "Cryptic")
Other stories in the collection deal with
chessChess is a board game played between two players. The current form of the game emerged in Southern Europe during the second half of the 15th century after evolving from a similar, much older game of Indian origin...
("Black to Move" and "The
JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, and to the east by the Hudson River, Upper New York Bay, the Kill Van Kull, Newark Bay, the Arthur Kill, Raritan Bay, Sandy Hook Bay, Westchester County, New York City, Long Island, and...
Rifle"),
time travelTime travel is the concept of moving between different moments in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space, either sending objects backwards in time to a moment before the present, or sending objects forward from the present to the future without the need to...
with
unintended consequenceUnintended consequences are outcomes that are not the results originally intended by a particular action. The unintended results may be foreseen or unforeseen, but they should be the logical or likely results of the action...
s ("Cruising Through
DeuteronomyDeuteronomy or Devarim is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible and of the Old Testament, and the fifth of five books of the Jewish Torah or Pentateuch....
" and "Time Travelers Never Die"), and the beginnings of
interplanetary explorationSpace exploration is the use of astronomy and space technology to explore outer space. Physical exploration of space is conducted both by human spaceflights and by robotic spacecraft....
("Translations from the Colosian", "Promises to Keep", and "To Hell with the Stars", the last an exposition of what may happen if humanity chooses to
not enter
spaceSpace is the boundless, three-dimensional extent in which objects and events occur and have relative position and direction. Physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of the boundless four-dimensional...
).
The stories are arranged:
- "Standard Candles"
- "Tidal Effects"
- "Translations from the Colosian"
- "Black to Move"
- "The Fort Moxie Branch"
- "Promises to Keep"
- "Gus"
- "To Hell with the Stars"
- "Ellie"
- "The Jersey Rifle"
- "Cruising Through Deuteronomy"
- "Tyger"
- "Auld Lang Boom"
- "Dutchman"
- "Cryptic"
- "Time Travelers Never Die"