Jay Lake Books in Order
44 books are credited to Jay Lake, published between 2000 and 2022; 2 of them appeared after Jay Lake's death in 2014. The first book is The River Knows Its Own (2000) and the newest is Second Contact (2022). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 44
- Published
- 2000–2022
- Confirmed
- 1 of 44 titles
- Pages on record
- 4,053 in 17 of 44 books
Jay Lake, born Joseph Edward Lake Jr., was an American science fiction and fantasy writer who lived from June 6, 1964 to June 1, 2014. Lake placed first in a quarter of the Writers of the Future contest in 2003 and won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 2004. Based in Portland, Oregon, Lake worked as a product manager for a voice services company, and Lake's writing appeared in Interzone, Realms of Fantasy and Asimov's Science Fiction. The catalogue lists 44 books from 2000 to 2022, including Trial of Flowers (2006), Mainspring and Escapement (2007), and the series Clockwork Earth and Green Universe.
How many Jay Lake books are there?
Jay Lake has 44 books, released between 2000 and 2022. 2 of them were published after Jay Lake's death in 2014. They include 3 series and 31 titles listed outside any series.
Jay Lake Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 44 Jay Lake books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 1The River Knows Its Own2000 · 276 pages · confirmed 1/420002761/4
- 2Dogs in the Moonlight2000 · 188 pages · confirmed 1/420001881/4
- 3Greetings from Lake Wu2003 · 268 pages · confirmed 1/420032681/4
- 420042351/4
- 5Green Grow the Rushes-Oh2004 · 68 pages · confirmed 1/42004681/4
- 6American Sorrows2004 · 188 pages · confirmed 1/420041881/4
- 7Rocket Science2005 · confirmed 1/42005–1/4
- 82006–1/4
- 920073361/4
- 1020073831/4
- 1120083261/4
- 1220093681/4
- 13Death of a Starship2009 · confirmed 1/42009–1/4
- 142010–1/4
- 15Daddy's Caliban2010 · confirmed 1/42010–1/4
- 1620103521/4
- 17The Baby Killers2010 · 68 pages · confirmed 1/42010681/4
- 18The Specific Gravity of Grief2010 · 140 pages · confirmed 1/420101401/4
- 19The Sky That Wraps2010 · confirmed 1/42010–1/4
- 2020113191/4
- 21The Speed of Time2011 · confirmed 1/42011–1/4
- 22Two Stories2011 · confirmed 1/42011–1/4
- 23The Stars Do Not Lie2012 · 46 pages · confirmed 1/42012461/4
- 24Love In The Time Of Metal And Flesh2012 · confirmed 1/42012–1/4
- 25Jay Lake's Process of Writing2013 · confirmed 1/42013–1/4
- 262013–3/4
- 2720133041/4
- 28The Goat Cutter2013 · confirmed 1/42013–1/4
- 29Almost All the Way Home From the Stars2014 · 188 pages · confirmed 1/420141881/4
- 30On the Human Plan2014 · confirmed 1/42014–1/4
- 31Last Plane to Heaven2014 · confirmed 1/42014–1/4
- 32Looking for Truth in a Wild Blue Yonder2014 · confirmed 1/42014–1/4
- 33Mother Urban's Booke of Dayes2014 · confirmed 1/42014–1/4
- 34Hello, Said the Gun2014 · confirmed 1/42014–1/4
- 35Grindstone2014 · confirmed 1/42014–1/4
- 36A Feast of Angels2014 · confirmed 1/42014–1/4
- 37The Fall of the Moon2014 · confirmed 1/42014–1/4
- 38A Critical Examination of Stigmata's Print Taking the Rats to Riga2014 · confirmed 1/42014–1/4
- 39The Cancer Catechism2014 · confirmed 1/42014–1/4
- 40The Blade of His Plow2014 · confirmed 1/42014–1/4
- 41The Starship Mechanic2014 · confirmed 1/42014–1/4
- 42From the Countries of Her Dreams2014 · confirmed 1/42014–1/4
- 432022–1/4
- 442022–1/4
Jay Lake books grouped by series
Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.
Green Universe in order
4 books- 1. Green
- 2. A Water Matter
- 3. Endurance
- 4. Kalimpura
Clockwork Earth in order
3 books- 1. Mainspring
- 2. Escapement
- 3. Pinion
City in order
2 booksLost Colonies in order
2 booksLeviathan in order
1 bookMETAtropolis in order
1 book- 3. Green Space
Standalone books
31 books31 Jay Lake titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read Jay Lake books in order?
You only need to read Jay Lake books in order within each series: the books listed here span 3 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
Where to start with Jay Lake
Start with The River Knows Its Own (2000), the earliest published title.
What is the newest Jay Lake book?
Second Contact (2022) is the newest Jay Lake book released so far.
Is there a new Jay Lake book coming?
No next Jay Lake book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Awards Jay Lake has won
Wikidata records 2 awards and 32 nominations for Jay Lake. The most recent 12 are listed here. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Locus Award for Best Collection2015Wonfor Last Plane to Heaven: The Final Collection
- Astounding Award for Best New Writer2004Won
- Locus Award for Best Short Story2015Shortlistedfor West to East
- Locus Award for Best Novella2014Shortlistedfor Rock of Ages
- Hugo Award for Best Novella2013Shortlistedfor The Stars Do Not Lie
- Locus Award for Best Novella2013Shortlistedfor The Stars Do Not Lie
- Locus Award for Best Novella2013Shortlistedfor The Weight of History, the Lightness of the Future
- Nebula Award for Best Novella2013Shortlistedfor The Stars Do Not Lie
- Theodore Sturgeon Award2013Shortlistedfor The Weight of History, the Lightness of the Future
- Locus Award for Best Novelette2012Shortlistedfor A Long Walk Home
- Locus Award for Best Collection2011Shortlistedfor The Sky That Wraps
- Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel2010Shortlistedfor Green
Jay Lake at a glance
- Died
- Jay Lake died in 2014, according to Wikidata.
- After death
- Books credited to Jay Lake are still being published after Jay Lake's death in 2014; the newest appeared in 2022.
- Release pace
- Jay Lake books have appeared more than one a year on average.
- Length
- 4,053 pages across the 17 of 44 books with a recorded length, a median of 268 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Jay Lake books, 29 of 44, were published in the 2010s.
What the Jay Lake books are about
14 of the 44 Jay Lake books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: fantasy is tagged on 6 of 14. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Fantasy 6 of 14 books
- Short stories 4 of 14 books
- Fantasy, collections & anthologies 2 of 14 books
- Imaginary places 2 of 14 books
- Magic 2 of 14 books
- Murder 2 of 14 books
- Science fiction 2 of 14 books