Long before he was a novelist, SF writer Jay Lake was an acclaimed short story writer. In his all-too-brief career, he published more than 300 works of short fiction. In Last Plane to Heaven, we have winnowed that down to thirty-two of the best of them. Aliens and angels fill these pages, from the title story, a hard-edged and breathtaking look at how a real alien visitor might be received, to the savage truth of The Cancer Catechisms. In between there are stops for love and laughter, serious terror, and lighthearted stunt-writing with his friend and sometimes collaborator, Ken Scholes. There’s plenty of wonder here, on board space ships, on distant worlds, in the cracks of time.

Here is a feast of short stories written by a master of the form, science fiction and fantasy both. Take the Last Plane to Heaven along with Jay Lake.