Matthew Hughes’ novels include the To Hell and Back trilogy (Damned Busters, Costume Not Included, and Hell to Pay), Gullible’s Travels, The Other, and his Tales of Henghis Hapthorn (Majestrum, The Spiral Labyrinth, and Hespira). He also writes crime fiction as Matt Hughes, and media tie-in novels as Hugh Matthews.

I’ve been extremely impressed with his short fiction, which has been collected in The Gist Hunter and Other Stories (2005), The Meaning of Luff (2013), and Tales of Henghis Hapthorn (2013). His newest self-published collection, Devil or Angel and Other Stories, is subtitled “Old-Style Science Fiction and Fantasy Tales.” It includes 16 stories that originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Asimov’s, and a smattering of anthologies. One story, “Ant Lion,” appears here for the first time. Hughes is one of the best short fiction writers working in fantasy today, especially if you’re a fan of the classic space-opera style of Jack Vance.

Devil or Angel and Other Stories was self-published by Matthew Hughes on July 30, 2015. It is 264 pages, priced at $12.99 in paperback and $3.99 for the digital edition. The cover is by Bradley W. Schenck.