# Is "Apex" by Ramez Naam a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Apex by Ramez Naam (Angry Robot, 2015) is identified by: Angry Robot paperback original, May 2015; third and final volume of the Nexus trilogy (Nexus Arc). The Angry Robot 2015 paperback original is the true first edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Angry Robot paperback original, May 2015; third and final volume of the Nexus trilogy (Nexus Arc)
- First printing identified by the Angry Robot number line
- US and UK editions appeared under the Angry Robot imprint
- Publisher imprint reads Angry Robot
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Ramez Naam |
| Publisher | Angry Robot |
| Year | 2015 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Angry Robot paperback original, May 2015; third and final volume of the Nexus trilogy (Nexus Arc) |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Angry Robot paperback original, May 2015; third and final volume of the Nexus trilogy (Nexus Arc). First printing identified by the Angry Robot number line; US and UK editions appeared under the Angry Robot imprint.

## Is this the true first?
The Angry Robot 2015 paperback original is the true first edition. The title is a paperback original with no preceding hardcover. It won the Philip K. Dick Award announced in 2016.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings and any reissues are reprints, not the first edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Apex* by Ramez Naam a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/apex
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.