# Is "A Column of Fire" by Ken Follett a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of A Column of Fire by Ken Follett (Viking, 2017) is identified by: The US Viking (Viking, an imprint of Penguin) first printing carries a complete number line ending in 1 on the copyright page. Published September 12, 2017.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The US Viking (Viking, an imprint of Penguin) first printing carries a complete number line ending in 1 on the copyright page
- The octavo volume of roughly 916 pages is bound in original half cloth with pictorial (illustrated) endpapers, and is issued in a pictorial dust jacket whose front flap bears the printed price (present and unclipped on an unaltered first-issue jacket)
- A Kingsbridge (Pillars of the Earth) novel and third in that sequence
- Publisher imprint reads Viking
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Ken Follett |
| Publisher | Viking |
| Year | 2017 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The US Viking (Viking, an imprint of Penguin) first printing carries a complete number… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
The US Viking (Viking, an imprint of Penguin) first printing carries a complete number line ending in 1 on the copyright page. The octavo volume of roughly 916 pages is bound in original half cloth with pictorial (illustrated) endpapers, and is issued in a pictorial dust jacket whose front flap bears the printed price (present and unclipped on an unaltered first-issue jacket). A Kingsbridge (Pillars of the Earth) novel and third in that sequence.

## Is this the true first?
Published September 12, 2017. The US Viking edition and the UK Macmillan edition both appeared in 2017 as first editions; the Viking printing with a complete number line ending in 1 is the standard US first. Collectors treat the UK Macmillan and US Viking issues as parallel firsts of their respective markets rather than one preceding the other outright.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings lack the complete descending number line ending in 1; confirm the terminal 1 on the copyright page to distinguish the first printing from subsequent Viking printings.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *A Column of Fire* by Ken Follett a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/a-column-of-fire
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.