C.J. Cherryh First Editions

• Brothers of Earth — 1976 · Nelson Doubleday / Science Fiction Book ClubFirst published as a Science Fiction Book Club hardcover in June 1976: a club edition with a gutter code and no price on the jacket. The DAW paperback (DAW Collectors No. 212, catalog number UW1257) followed in October 1976 as the first mass-market edition. Cherryh's second published novel. Unusual precedence: the book club hardcover (June 1976) came before the DAW paperback (October 1976), so the SFBC hardcover is the true first edition; the DAW first printing is the first mass-market edition. The true first is itself a book club edition, so club traits such as the gutter code and unpriced jacket do not disqualify it here.
• Gate of Ivrel — 1976 · DAW BooksDAW Books paperback original, catalog number UY1226, DAW Collectors No. 188, with wraparound Michael Whelan cover art. The first printing is identified by the DAW catalog number and the absence of any later-printing statement rather than by a number line; a first-issue copy retains the printed cover price at the upper corner of the front wrap. Cherryh's debut novel and Morgaine volume 1, carrying an introduction…. The US DAW paperback original (1976) is the true first; there was no prior hardcover. The first hardcover appearance came in 1979 in the Nelson Doubleday Science Fiction Book Club omnibus The Book of Morgaine. None for the paperback; the later Book of Morgaine hardcover is itself a book-club omnibus and does not precede the DAW paperback.
• Hunter of Worlds — 1977 · Nelson Doubleday / SFBCThe true first edition is the Science Fiction Book Club hardcover issued by Nelson Doubleday in March 1977; the first printing carries Doubleday gutter code H 06 on page 213. The DAW paperback (UE1314, DAW No. 252) followed in August 1977 and is the first trade edition. The Nelson Doubleday SFBC hardcover (March 1977) precedes the DAW paperback (August 1977) and is the true first. The DAW paperback is not a paperback original. Unusually, the true first is itself a book club edition: an SFBC hardcover with a gutter code and no printed jacket price. Later SFBC printings lack the H 06 code.
• The Faded Sun: Kesrith — 1978 · Nelson Doubleday / SFBCThe true first edition is the Science Fiction Book Club hardcover issued by Nelson Doubleday in 1978; the first printing carries Doubleday gutter code I 06 on page 247. The DAW paperback (UJ1393) followed later in 1978. The novel was serialized in Galaxy Science Fiction, February to May 1978, before book publication. Faded Sun trilogy vol. 1. The Nelson Doubleday SFBC hardcover precedes the DAW paperback; the book club hardcover is the true first book edition. The true first is itself a book club edition: an SFBC hardcover with a gutter code and no printed jacket price. Copies without the I 06 code on page 247 are later SFBC printings.
• The Faded Sun: Shon'jir — 1978 · Nelson Doubleday / SFBCThe true first edition is the Science Fiction Book Club hardcover issued by Nelson Doubleday in 1978; the first printing is reported with Doubleday gutter code I 36 on page 242. The DAW paperback followed in 1979. Faded Sun trilogy vol. 2. The Nelson Doubleday SFBC hardcover (1978) precedes the DAW paperback (1979) and is the true first. The true first is itself a book club edition: an SFBC hardcover with a gutter code and no printed jacket price. Copies without the first-printing gutter code are later SFBC printings.
• Well of Shiuan — 1978 · DAW BooksDAW paperback original, catalogue number UJ1371, first printing April 1978, in pictorial wrappers with the yellow DAW emblem and the UJ1371 number on the cover. Michael Whelan cover art. Small octavo, 252 pages. First-printing copies show the printed cover price present and no later-printing statement on the copyright page; the DAW catalogue number stayed constant while later printings raised the price. Morgaine…. The US DAW paperback original (April 1978, UJ1371) is the true first edition of this individual title. Its first hardcover appearance came only later in the Nelson Doubleday SFBC omnibus The Book of Morgaine (1979). The Nelson Doubleday SFBC omnibus The Book of Morgaine (1979) is a book club edition containing this novel; it is not the first edition of the individual title. Later DAW paperbacks carry a higher printed price and reissue catalogue numbers rather than UJ1371.
• Fires of Azeroth — 1979 · DAW BooksDAW paperback original, DAW Collectors' No. 341, catalogue number UJ1466, first printing June 1979, with the DAW emblem and number on the cover, Michael Whelan cover art, and the original printed cover price on the front cover; the first printing carries no later-printing statement. Morgaine vol. 3, small octavo, 236 pages. The US DAW paperback original (June 1979, DAW No. 341, UJ1466) is the true first; it preceded the Nelson Doubleday SFBC omnibus The Book of Morgaine, whose first printing carries a gutter code and is described by dealers as the first hardcover edition. The Nelson Doubleday SFBC omnibus The Book of Morgaine (1979) is a book club edition containing this novel; it followed the DAW paperback and is not the first edition.
• The Faded Sun: Kutath — 1979 · Nelson Doubleday / SFBCThe true first edition is the Science Fiction Book Club hardcover issued by Nelson Doubleday in 1979; the first printing carries Doubleday gutter code J 39 on page 279. The DAW paperback (UE1516, DAW No. 372) did not appear until 1980. Faded Sun trilogy vol. 3. The Nelson Doubleday SFBC hardcover (1979) precedes the DAW paperback (1980) and is the true first. This is not a DAW paperback original. The true first is itself a book club edition: an SFBC hardcover with a gutter code and no printed jacket price. Copies without the J 39 code on page 279 are later SFBC printings.
• Serpent's Reach — 1980 · DAW BooksDAW paperback original, DAW Collectors No. 396 (catalog code UE1554, ISBN 0-87997-554-8), stated First Printing, August 1980, on the copyright page; David B. Mattingly cover art. The US DAW paperback (August 1980) is the first trade edition and the true first as collected; a Nelson Doubleday Science Fiction Book Club hardcover actually preceded it in May 1980 but is a book-club edition, not a trade first. An SFBC hardcover exists (Nelson Doubleday, May 1980); it lacks a cover price and carries a gutter code, marking it as a book-club edition.
• Downbelow Station — 1981 · DAW BooksPaperback original, DAW Books, February 1981, carrying both the DAW Book Collectors number 420 and the order code UE1594 with the printed cover price; first printing dated 1981 with no later-printing statement. Cover art by David B. Mattingly; ISBN 0-87997-594-6, about 432 pages. The US DAW 1981 mass-market paperback original is the true first; it won the 1982 Hugo Award for Best Novel. There was no simultaneous US hardcover, so later US hardcover and book-club editions are 'first thus.' A separate first British hardcover edition (Methuen) followed and does not precede the DAW paperback. No early US hardcover precedes the DAW paperback. Later DAW printings change the Collectors number and printing line, and the later Easton Press leather-bound and other hardcover editions are subsequent issues.
• Wave Without a Shore — 1981 · DAW BooksDAW paperback original, DAW Collectors No. 444, with 'First Printing, August, 1981' stated on the copyright page. Wraparound cover art by Don Maitz, with the DAW logo and collector's number on the spine and front cover. As a mass-market paperback original the priced cover is integral; the true first has no later-printing statement added below the first-printing line. US DAW paperback original (August 1981) is the true first; there was no preceding hardcover. Later reissues under different pagination/ISBN are subsequent editions. None known; not a Science Fiction Book Club title in this first form.
• Merchanter's Luck — 1982 · DAW BooksUS DAW Books mass-market paperback original, DAW Collectors No. 488, July 1982 (ISBN 0-87997-745-0), roughly 208 pages, with cover art by Barclay Shaw. The first printing states First printing on the copyright page and carries the DAW collector number 488. An Alliance-Union / Company Wars novel. A first-issue copy retains its printed cover price. The US DAW paperback original (July 1982) is the true first. No Phantasia Press or trade hardcover first exists for this title; the only period hardcover is the SFBC book-club edition. The Science Fiction Book Club hardcover is a later, separate club issue: it lacks any printed cover price and carries a blind gutter code on a rear leaf, unlike the priced DAW No. 488 paperback.
• Port Eternity — 1982 · DAW BooksDAW paperback original, DAW Collectors No. 500 (catalog code UE1769, ISBN 0-87997-769-8), stated First Printing, October 1982, on the copyright page; Ken W. Kelly wraparound cover art. As a mass-market paperback original there is no dust jacket; the identification rests on the stated first-printing line and the UE1769 code printed on the spine and cover. US DAW paperback original (October 1982) is the true first. None. Later DAW reissues carry different catalog codes (e.g. the 1987 printing), so confirm the UE1769 code and the stated First Printing, October 1982.
• The Pride of Chanur — 1982 · DAW BooksUS DAW paperback original, DAW Book Collectors No. 464, catalogue number UE1694, first printing dated 1/82 (January 1982); copyright page reads 1981, 1982 by C.J. Cherryh. Mass-market wrappers roughly 7 by 4.25 inches with the printed cover price present; first of the Chanur novels. The US DAW paperback (January 1982, UE1694, DAW No. 464) is the true first trade edition; an SFBC book-club hardcover appeared essentially simultaneously (printed December 1981 as the January 1982 club selection), and Phantasia Press issued the first trade hardcover in March 1987 (1,200 copies, the first 300 signed and numbered). SFBC book-club hardcovers exist (1982 and a 1985 reprint); these lack a printed cover price and show a gutter code, and lack the DAW UE1694 / No. 464 designation of the trade paperback.
• Forty Thousand in Gehenna — 1983 · Phantasia PressPhantasia Press hardcover, single printing, issued in two states: a trade issue and a signed/numbered limited issue of 350 copies signed by Cherryh on the limitation page. Both carry a wraparound dust jacket illustrated by Phil Parks, with interior illustrations and maps. The jacket should carry its printed price. US Phantasia Press hardcover (October 1983, ISBN 0932096263) is the true first; the DAW Books paperback followed in 1984. An Alliance-Union universe novel, one of the few told from the Union side. None.
• The Dreamstone — 1983 · DAW BooksDAW paperback original, DAW Collectors No. 521 (catalog number UE1808), March 1983, the copyright page stating "First Printing, March 1983"; 192 pages, cover art by the author's brother David A. Cherry. The first-issue wrapper should retain its printed cover price. The US DAW paperback (First Printing, March 1983) is the true first of the novel. It incorporates substantially revised versions of Cherryh's earlier Ealdwood material, including the Hugo-nominated 1981 novelette "Ealdwood" (first issued by Donald M. Grant in a 1981 illustrated limited edition of 1,050 copies) and a related short story first published in 1979. None known; as a paperback original there is no separate book-club printing.
• The Tree of Swords and Jewels — 1983 · DAW BooksDAW mass-market paperback original, DAW Book No. 540, with the copyright page stating First Printing, August 1983 and carrying a complete number line; cover art by Michael Whelan. As a DAW paperback original the collector's tell is the intact First Printing statement together with the low DAW catalog number 540; later DAW printings update the number line and printing statement while retaining the same DAW number. US DAW paperback original (August 1983) is the true first; second of the two Ealdwood novels, following The Dreamstone. None. No hardcover or book-club edition preceded the DAW paperback; the DAW No. 540 first printing is the true first.
• Chanur's Venture — 1984 · Phantasia PressPhantasia Press hardcover, October 1984, in a single printing issued in two states: an unsigned trade hardcover of 1,500 copies, and a signed limited issue of 350 copies numbered and signed by the author and housed in a slipcase. Chanur volume 2. Signed copies bear the author's signature on a limitation or title leaf. The US Phantasia Press hardcover (October 1984) is the true first edition; the DAW mass-market paperback followed in 1985. A Science Fiction Book Club hardcover was issued (February 1985), set from the DAW text; it is a later, reduced-size book-club printing distinguished by a gutter code and lacks the Phantasia Press limitation and slipcase.
• Angel with the Sword — 1985 · DAW BooksDAW hardcover original, one of DAW's earliest hardcovers, ISBN 0-809-90001-7; 293 pages, collating the novel with an appendix history of the canal city Merovin, an index of buildings, and eight pages of maps. First printing carries the number line on the copyright page. The dust jacket bears wraparound art by Tim Hildebrandt; a correct first-issue jacket retains its printed cover price on the front flap. US DAW hardcover (September 1985) is the true first; the DAW mass-market paperback followed in 1986. First book of the Merovingen Nights sequence in the Alliance-Union universe. None.
• Cuckoo's Egg — 1985 · Phantasia PressPhantasia Press hardcover, a single print run of about 2,400 copies bound in cloth with gilt spine titling and issued in a dust jacket bearing cover art by Randall Asplund. The first 350 copies are the signed/numbered deluxe issue: numbered and signed by Cherryh on a rear limitation page and housed in a publisher's slipcase; the remaining copies form the unnumbered trade issue in jacket without slipcase. US Phantasia Press hardcover (1985) is the true first; the DAW paperback followed later in 1985. Presence of a numbered, signed rear limitation page (numbered within 350) plus slipcase distinguishes the deluxe issue from the trade issue, which lacks the limitation and slipcase. A later book-club hardcover exists; it lacks the Phantasia limitation page, colophon and Asplund-jacketed slipcase and is smaller and cheaply bound. It should not be confused with the Phantasia first.
• The Kif Strike Back — 1985 · Phantasia PressPhantasia Press first edition (Huntington Woods, Michigan), 1985, ISBN 0-932096-35-2, in a wraparound dust jacket with full-color frontispiece and map by David Cherry; single printing. Issued in two simultaneous states: an ordinary trade hardcover and a signed, numbered limited issue slipcased and signed by the author on a colophon/limitation leaf. Third book of the Chanur series; approximately 294 pages plus…. The US Phantasia Press hardcover of 1985 is the true first edition; the DAW paperback (ISBN 0-88677-104-8) followed. None. Distinguish the signed/numbered limited issue (with limitation leaf) from the unsigned trade hardcover; the later DAW paperback is a mass-market reprint, not a first.
• Chanur's Homecoming — 1986 · Phantasia PressPhantasia Press hardcover, August 1986, an edition of 1,850 copies, of which 350 are signed by Cherryh, numbered, and slipcased; limitation stated in the book. The DAW mass-market paperback (DAW Book No. 695) followed in January 1987. The Phantasia Press hardcover (August 1986) precedes the DAW paperback (January 1987) and is the true first; earlier Chanur volumes followed the same Phantasia-before-DAW pattern. The record's claim of a 1986 DAW paperback original was wrong. None known; the DAW paperback is a later trade printing, not a book club edition.
• Cyteen — 1988 · Warner Books / QuestarFirst hardcover, Warner Books / Questar 1988; full number line ending in 1 on the copyright page; priced dust jacket with Don Maitz cover art; quarter blue cloth over grey boards. No later-printing statement. The US Warner hardcover of 1988 is the true first. UK editions are later. Treat any claimed signed/limited issue with caution. The Science Fiction Book Club edition carries the rear-board blindstamp, lacks the priced jacket, and uses cheaper boards.
• Rimrunners — 1989 · Warner/QuestarWarner hardcover under the Questar imprint (New York, 1989), issued in cloth-backed boards. The copyright page states "First Printing: June 1989" above a complete descending number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1. Priced dust jacket with Don Maitz cover art (the jacket painting went on to win the 1990 Hugo Award for Best Original Artwork); the printed jacket price should be present. US Warner/Questar hardcover (First Printing: June 1989) is the true first; the UK New English Library hardcover did not appear until 1992. A Science Fiction Book Club edition exists; the SFBC printing lacks the "First Printing: June 1989" statement and the full 10-to-1 number line and is typically identified by a blind-stamped gutter code on the rear board rather than a stated price.
• Rusalka — 1989 · Del Rey/BallantineDel Rey hardcover (a Del Rey Book, Ballantine Books), published October 1989. The copyright page of the first printing carries the statement First Edition: October 1989 followed by a full descending number line reading 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1. Issued in a pictorial dust jacket bearing the printed price at the top of the front flap; a price-present jacket is the expected first-state, though later trade printings…. The US Del Rey hardcover (October 1989) is the true first edition; the UK Methuen hardcover followed in 1990 and does not carry the Del Rey first-printing statement. A Science Fiction Book Club edition exists and is the common confusion: it is a smaller, lighter-weight volume with no printed price on the jacket flap, lacks the First Edition: October 1989 line and descending number line of the Del Rey trade issue, and often shows a blind-stamp to the rear board.
• Heavy Time — 1991 · Warner/QuestarWarner hardcover under the Questar Science Fiction imprint; the copyright page states First Printing: June 1991 with the number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1. Octavo in boards, 330 pages, with cover art by Don Maitz; the priced first-state jacket should retain its printed price on the flap. First book of the Company Wars (Devil to the Belt) sequence. The US Warner hardcover (June 1991) is the true first; L.W. Currey lists the Warner printing as the first edition. An Easton Press signed leather limited was issued at about the same time as a separate collector's issue, and a UK New English Library edition also appeared in 1991 but does not precede the Warner printing. A Science Fiction Book Club edition exists; SFBC copies are typically smaller, lack the stated First Printing line, and carry a jacket without a printed price.
• Foreigner — 1994 · DAW BooksDAW hardcover, February 1994, subtitled on the title page as a novel of first contact and carrying DAW Book Collectors No. 941 on the copyright page; first printing, with the priced dust jacket bearing Michael Whelan's cover art. First volume of the long Foreigner sequence. US DAW hardcover (early 1994) is the true first; DAW hardcovers of this period carry number lines, and the paperback followed in 1995. A Science Fiction Book Club edition exists; the SFBC issue typically lacks the printed jacket price and shows the usual club tells (blind stamp to the rear board, gutter code), distinguishing it from the DAW trade first.
• Fortress in the Eye of Time — 1995 · HarperPrismHarperPrism hardcover, 'First Edition' stated on the copyright page with 'First printing: May 1995' and a full number line ending in 1 (ISBN 9780061092954). Roughly 568 pages; volume one of the Fortress series. The pictorial dust jacket carries a color castle-and-landscape illustration wrapping front, spine and back, and the first-issue jacket should show the printed price on the front flap. US HarperPrism hardcover (May 1995) is the true first; UK editions followed later. A book-club hardcover edition exists; club copies typically lack the printed price on the jacket flap and are often physically smaller and lighter than the trade first.
• Invader — 1995 · DAW BooksDAW hardcover, first printing, dated May 1995 and carrying the yellow DAW spine 'DAW Collectors No. 984' designation, with the number line falling to 1 on the copyright page and the full printed price present on the jacket (ISBN 0-88677-638-4). Second of the Foreigner novels, following 'Foreigner' and preceding 'Inheritor'. The US DAW hardcover (May 1995, Collectors No. 984) is the true first edition. A Science Fiction Book Club edition was issued in 1995; it is a distinct printing lacking the DAW number line and printed jacket price, and is not the DAW first.
• Inheritor — 1996 · DAW BooksDAW Books (New York) hardcover, 1996, DAW Collectors number 1018, ISBN 0-88677-689-9. First printing carries a full number line ending in 1 on the copyright page. Third volume of the Foreigner sequence. The first-state dust jacket should retain its printed price on the front flap (a price-clipped flap does not by itself unmake a first). US DAW hardcover (1996) is the true first; the DAW mass-market paperback (ISBN 0-88677-728-3) did not follow until February 1997. A Science Fiction Book Club hardcover exists; club copies are identifiable by the blind stamp / gutter code and the absence of a printed price on the jacket flap, and lack the DAW number line ending in 1.

More Literary Fiction (US) & Award Winners shelves: Clyde Edgerton, Colleen Hoover, Colm Toibin, Colson Whitehead, Cormac McCarthy, Dan Brown.

← All authors · All genres · part of the First-Edition Identification resource.