Cover Image: Return to Glory

Return to Glory

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Member Reviews

I've really been enjoying Jack McDevitt's Alex Benedict series (I just recently read and reviewed book #9 in that series) and it's because of those book that when I saw he had a collection of short stories available, I really wanted to read it. I love the short story format.
Because I'm really only familiar with McDevitt through one series, I wasn't sure how much I'd enjoy his short stories but as it turns out, I didn't need to be too concerned. The stories are fantastic.

For no particular reason, I have mentally categorized McDevitt as a 'hard' science fiction author (which typically means [to me] an excess of scientific jargon explaining, or justifying, how life works in these worlds, or at the very least, stories where the science matters) and hard science is not my interest. What a surprise, then, to read a story like "Arcturean Nocturne" - a boy-meets-girl story. George just wants to go to space but on earth, Stephanie wants to compose a nocturne. The fall in love and of course the opportunity comes along for George (and Stephanie) to take the trip of a lifetime to the stars, and back. George books the passage but Stephanie wants to stay on earth to hear her dream of a nocturne realized. A bit of 'O. Henry' give-and-take and the end result is absolutely heart-wrenching. What a powerful story.

I really enjoyed "Tea Time With Aliens" - an AI, first contact story.

Possibly my favorite in the collection is the titular "Return to Glory." Imagine generations into the future and much of the 21st century (and early) history is lost when a discovery is made of an old television show. Except ... it's not the show ... it's a Star Trek fan film. That fan film becomes the genesis for a revival interest in those characters and new stories are developed for a new entertainment-starved generation. But not only is Star Trek revived, but there's a renewed interest in science as well.

The last of my favorites was "The Cassandra Project" in which we learn that the NASA Apollo missions included some business we've never been told, in which the astronauts were sent to destroy or cover up the existence of someone else having been on the moon before man ever got there. This might be the most science-involved story and it's hard to fathom I might like something that suggests the Apollo missions were faked in some way (though not in the way deniers claim), but this really was a powerful story.

All the stories in this collection are good (the four mentioned above just stood out to me) and I have a new respect for McDevitt as author. He really knows how to tell a story and keep the people interesting and important to the reader.

This book contains the following:

Dangerous Information: An Introduction by Tom Easton
Unlikely Gifts:
The Emerson Effect
The Jersey Rifle
Voice in the Dark
Tau Ceti Said What?
The Oppenheimer Club
What’s the Point of Being Alive If You’re a Tree?
Deep Space:
Tidal Effects
Standard Candles
The Cat’s Pajamas
Enjoy the Moment
Arcturean Nocturne
Tea Time with Aliens
Cosmic Harmony
The Gold Signal
High Hopes:
Crossing Over
Holding Pattern
The Big Downtown
Return to Glory
The Sunrise Club
Good News
Incoming Tech:
Variables
Eyes on the Prize
The Eagle Project
Riding with the Duke
The Wrong Way
Bring On the Night
Looking Back:
Leap of Faith
Lake Agassiz
The Cassandra Project
Dig Site
Excalibur
Timely Visitor
Looking for good book? If you enjoy the short story format and like a good scifi yarn, Jack McDevitt's collection Return to Glory is really top notch.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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This collection of Jack McDevitt's newer works is an example of science fiction done right. As with most scifi that's done well, you'll find stories of aliens and AI but really it's always about the human condition, and the consequences humans face for their actions and feelings. Each story is thought-provoking and has something philosophical to offer.

Thank you to NetGalley and Subterranean Press for the opportunity to read and review this fantastic book.

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Thank you Netgalley and Subterranean Press for access to this arc.

The cover attracted my attention and the part of the blurb that mentioned a cat got me to request it because anyone who puts saving a cat in a SF story has to be worth reading. I’m sticking to that. I was also looking to try something different and other reviewers mentioned how McDevitt tends to hard SF. With that in mind, I began reading.

As with any anthology of short and (a few) longer stories, there will be some that are great and some that are good, and some that I either didn’t like or felt were a let down. But even the stories that didn’t work for me were still well crafted and written. The thumbnail descriptions were honed yet also brought images to mind even with those few words. A book isn’t merely old.

"He balanced the volume in his hand. It had the heft and texture that suggested walnut paneling and oak furniture."

The stories range from totally Earthbound to far out in space. Some are about people still yearning and watching for contact with aliens to casual mentions of AI and colonies on Mars. Many are set just decades into our future while others take place centuries from now. Asteroids and what they might do to Earth are frequent subjects. Marriages are often troubled and for some reason most of the female characters are described in terms of their attractiveness (although to be fair these same women are often brilliant and in one case might offer hope for Earthly salvation due to her quick actions with a cellphone). “Moon River” might also save the planet? Well, I do like the song, too.

My favorite explores the agonizing choice that could face scientists who decode an alien transmission and realize the knowledge might be a bounty or enough to destroy us. Another scientist comes to regret discovering an asteroid that she gets to name but which is on a path that will affect all humankind. A female PhD helps perfect a means to allow faster than light space travel but, with all the space junk circling Earth, will it be put into use? In other stories, the protagonists face the idea that we might never have the practical means to leave our planet, much less the solar system. Two lovers discover that they are literally star crossed when they have a failure to communicate.

Are we, as one character thinks, safer if we’re alone in the Universe? What is behind our passion to find “someone” else? If we’re the advanced tech, can we stick to the Prime Directive? And if we’re like the South Sea islanders facing Captain Cook, what are the implications for us? Should we turn over our lives to AI or are they worthy of citizenship? If the world was going to end, do we want to know ahead of time? Would you risk your life trying to save someone knowing that if you (in all likelihood) failed, you’d miss seeing the results of scientific studies? But I’ve got to love a story that acknowledges the importance of Kirk and Mr. Spock.

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McDevitt has been around a while and knows how to create a good story. I've read a few of his books and liked them. His books are a safe bet, including this one, which is a collection of short stories. There's a nice variety, and it shows off his talent nicely.

I really appreciate the free ARC for review!!

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A fine collection of Jack McDevitt’s more recent short fiction. McDevitt explores interesting ideas - on Earth, in space, in the present, and the future. He tends toward the rational and the ‘“hard sf” explanation but can use rationality to effectively touch emotional chords, as he does in the effective ‘The Holding Pattern’. I particularly enjoyed ‘The Big Downtown’, a hard-boiled mystery in his futuristic Academy universe but set wholly on Earth. McDevitt makes his characters and settings approachable, which may sometimes rob his stories of punch, but always leaves them very readable.

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