Dan Simmons First Editions

• Carrion Comfort (novella, original appearance) — 1983 · Omni magazineThe original short-fiction 'Carrion Comfort' first appeared in the September/October 1983 issue of Omni magazine, before the expanded 1989 novel. This is a periodical appearance, not a book first edition. For the novel, the true first is the 1989 Dark Harvest book; the 1983 Omni appearance is the first appearance of the shorter text only, noted for completists rather than as the novel's first edition. Not applicable as a book; the magazine appearance is a periodical, not a book-club edition.
• Song of Kali — 1985 · Bluejay BooksBluejay Books hardcover, 1985, Simmons's first novel. The first printing states First Bluejay Printing: November, 1985 on the copyright page; black cloth with gilt spine titles, jacket priced as issued. Won the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel (presented 1986). The US Bluejay 1985 hardcover is the true first, Simmons's debut. It had a small run and is scarce. Bluejay also issued the title in paperback as a secondary state. No major book-club issue is recorded. Reprints by other publishers are not the first. Confirm the Bluejay imprint and the First Bluejay Printing: November, 1985 statement on the hardcover copyright page.
• Carrion Comfort — 1989 · Dark HarvestOversized 8vo, 636 pp, illustrated by Dan Simmons and Kathleen McNeil Sherman. Issued in three states: 26 lettered copies (signed), 450 numbered copies (signed by author and artist) plus a small number of publisher's copies marked P/C on the colophon leaf, and an unsigned trade issue (ISBN 0-913165-37-9). The limited states carry a limitation leaf; the trade does not. US Dark Harvest 1989 is the true first, preceding the UK Headline 1990 edition. The lettered and numbered signed states are the premium points; the trade hardcover is the affordable first. Won the Bram Stoker, Locus, and August Derleth awards. No standard book-club edition. Later printings and the UK edition are not the first. Distinguish the signed limited (limitation leaf present) from the trade (no limitation leaf).
• Hyperion — 1989 · DoubledayDoubleday first printing states 'First Edition' on the copyright page with a full number line ending in 1. Bound in publisher's pale pink paper-covered boards over dark blue spine cloth lettered in gilt, [viii] plus 482 pages. The first-state dust jacket carries cover art by Gary Ruddell and should retain its printed price on the flap (present, not clipped). The US Doubleday trade hardcover is the true first, preceding the UK Headline edition (1990); Hugo Award winner. Later Easton Press and Subterranean Press leather/press printings are 'first thus,' not the true first. The Doubleday/Science Fiction Book Club edition is a distinct printing: no price on the jacket flap, a blind-stamped code (dot or square) on the rear board, smaller and lighter than the trade first, and sometimes combining Hyperion with The Fall of Hyperion in an omnibus. Very common.
• Phases of Gravity — 1989 · Bantam SpectraBantam Spectra paperback original, April 1989, issued as A Bantam Spectra Special Edition (Bantam book number 27764). The true first printing carries a full descending number line ending in 1 on the copyright page. Simmons's third book, published between Carrion Comfort and Hyperion; no earlier hardcover exists, so the mass-market paperback is the genuine first appearance in print. The 1989 Bantam Spectra paperback original is the true first edition; the first hardcover appeared roughly a year later, so the paperback precedes all hardcover printings. Confirm the first printing by the full number line ending in 1. N/A. As a paperback original there is no book-club edition to confuse; the later hardcover is a separate, subsequent issue rather than a book club.
• Prayers to Broken Stones — 1990 · Dark HarvestDark Harvest first edition, Arlington Heights, Illinois, with an introduction by Harlan Ellison; issued as a trade edition plus a signed limited edition of 550 numbered copies signed by Simmons and illustrators Ron and Val Lakey Lindahn, and a 52-copy lettered issue. Story collection. Dark Harvest true first; the UK Headline edition followed. The signed limited is the collectible issue. No book club edition; specialty press publication.
• The Fall of Hyperion — 1990 · DoubledayDoubleday (Foundation imprint) first edition, 1990, with First Edition stated on the copyright page; issued simultaneously in hardcover and trade paperback, the hardcover in a small run. First printings show a printing error at pages 305 and 306 (page 305 unprinted, page 306 printed twice), corrected by an errata sheet laid in. US Doubleday, March 1990, is the true first; the UK Headline edition followed in 1991. Book club copies lack the stated First Edition and the printed jacket price.
• Summer of Night — 1991 · G.P. Putnam's SonsG.P. Putnam's Sons US first edition (published February 1991), identified by the full number line 1 through 10 on the copyright verso. Octavo, 555 pages, quarter-bound in black cloth with gilt lettering to the spine over grey paper boards. First-state color pictorial dust jacket is illustrated by Hector Garrido and carries a Stephen King blurb on the rear panel; the printed jacket price should be present and…. The US Putnam hardcover is the true first, published February 1991. Book club editions lack the 1-to-10 number line and carry no printed jacket price; the club issue is typically bound in cheaper boards with a blind gutter-code stamp to the rear cover.
• Children of the Night — 1992 · G.P. Putnam's SonsFirst US trade edition, G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1992. First printings carry the number line 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 on the copyright page. Bound in quarter black cloth over grey paper boards with gilt spine lettering, with maps printed on the endpapers and pastedowns. The dust jacket should retain its printed front-flap price unclipped. The Putnam trade edition is the standard US first. A slipcased signed limited edition from Lord John Press, issued without dust jacket, also appeared in 1992. Book club editions lack the number line and the printed jacket price.
• The Hollow Man — 1992 · BantamBantam (Spectra) US first edition hardcover, dated "A Bantam Book / October 1992" on the copyright page, with the first-printing key reading BVG 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1. Bound in quarter blue cloth over purple paper boards with silver spine lettering; the pictorial dust jacket is illustrated by John Jude Palencar and, in first-issue state, retains its printed price on the front flap. US Bantam first edition. A signed limited edition was issued by Lord John Press and is a separate issue from the Bantam trade first. Book-club editions lack the "October 1992" Bantam printing statement and the BVG number line, are typically smaller and lighter with a blindstamp on the rear board, and carry no printed price on the jacket.
• Lovedeath — 1993 · Warner BooksWarner Books US first edition, ISBN 0-446-51756-9, a collection of five novellas; the copyright page states 'First Printing: November 1993' above a full number line running 10 down to 1. Bound in quarter grey paper over red paper-covered boards with silver lettering to the spine, and issued in a printed, unclipped first-state dust jacket. The US Warner first is the true first; the UK Headline edition of 1993, titled 'Lovedeath: Five Tales of Love and Death,' is catalogued as the first British edition. Book club editions lack the dated first-printing statement and the number line and carry no printed jacket price; the boards and blind stamping also differ from the trade first.
• Fires of Eden — 1994 · G.P. Putnam's SonsG.P. Putnam's Sons US first edition (1994). The first printing carries the complete number line 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 on the copyright page. Bound in green paper-covered boards with a darker green cloth spine lettered in gilt. The first-issue dust jacket is illustrated by Hector Garrido and should retain the printed price on the front flap (unclipped preferred), with no book-club overprint. US Putnam hardcover is the true first edition of this Hawaii-set fantasy thriller featuring Samuel Clemens. Book club editions lack the 1-to-10 number line and the flap price, and typically show a blindstamped indent on the rear board; the boards and paper stock are also lighter and thinner than the Putnam trade printing.
• Endymion — 1996 · Bantam SpectraBantam Spectra US first edition, identified by the complete number line reading 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 on the copyright page. The book carries a 1995 copyright with trade publication at the start of 1996; the pictorial first-issue dust jacket bears art by Gary Ruddell and shows the printed price on the front flap. US Bantam Spectra first, published essentially simultaneously with the first British edition; the UK Headline printing states 'First published in Great Britain in 1996' and does not precede the American issue. Book-club editions lack the full number line and the printed jacket price; a book-club issue exists, so confirm the complete 10-to-1 number line and the priced Ruddell jacket.
• The Rise of Endymion — 1997 · Bantam SpectraBantam Spectra US first edition (ISBN 0-553-10652-X), identified by a complete number line descending to 1 on the copyright page. The volume is quarter-bound, with cloth-covered boards over a partial-paper case: blue boards and a grey spine stamped in copper foil. First-state pictorial dust jacket carries cover art by Gary Ruddell and the printed jacket price on the front flap, which should be present and…. The US Bantam Spectra hardcover is the true first, released in 1997; the Headline edition of the same year is the first British edition and follows the American issue. Book club editions lack the descending number line and carry no printed jacket price on the flap; they are also typically thinner-feeling with a blind-stamped or gutter-code impression to the rear board.
• The Crook Factory — 1999 · AvonAvon Books hardcover, New York, 1999 (ISBN 0-380-97368-4). The first printing carries the full number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 on the copyright page and has deckled fore-edges. The book is bound in boards, roughly one-quarter dark brown over mottered gray sides, with copper spine lettering; the priced jacket should retain its printed price. The US Avon edition is the true first. Book-club editions lack the number line and the printed jacket price.
• Darwin's Blade — 2000 · William MorrowFirst US edition, William Morrow, New York, 2000, stating 'First Edition' with a full number line ending in 1 on the copyright page. Bound in black boards with silver spine lettering. The dust jacket should retain its printed front-flap price unclipped. US Morrow edition is the true first. Book club editions lack the number line and jacket price.
• A Winter Haunting — 2002 · William MorrowWilliam Morrow, New York, 2002. The first edition is identified by the copyright-page 'First edition' statement together with a complete number line ending in 1. Hardcover measuring roughly 9.5 by 6.25 inches; cover/jacket art by Thomas Tafuri. ISBN 9780380978861 (0380978865). The first-state dust jacket carries the publisher's printed retail price (which should be present and unclipped). Sequel to Summer of…. US Morrow edition is the true first. Book-club editions lack the number line and the printed jacket price and are typically smaller and lighter than the trade first; identify the first by the full number line ending in 1 and the priced Tafuri jacket.
• Ilium — 2003 · Eos / HarperCollinsEos, an imprint of HarperCollins, New York, 2003. The first printing shows a complete number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 on the copyright page, terminating in 1. The first-issue dust jacket carries art by Gary Ruddell and should retain its printed price on the front flap; it is unclipped when original. ISBN 0-380-97893-8. The US Eos trade hardcover is the true first; the UK Gollancz edition followed. A separate Subterranean Press signed limited edition of numbered copies also exists and should not be confused with the trade first. Book-club editions lack the full number line ending in 1 and omit the printed jacket price; the Gary Ruddell jacket art is shared, so rely on the copyright-page number line and the presence of the flap price to distinguish the trade first.
• Olympos — 2005 · Eos / HarperCollinsEos, an imprint of HarperCollins, New York, 2005. The first printing shows a complete number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 on the copyright page, terminating in 1. The book runs to roughly 690 pages. The first-issue dust jacket carries art by Gary Ruddell and should retain its printed front-flap price when original and unclipped. ISBN 0-380-97894-6. The US Eos trade hardcover is the true first. A separate Subterranean Press signed limited edition, matching the Ilium limited, also exists and should not be confused with the trade first. Book-club editions lack the full number line ending in 1 and omit the printed jacket price; the shared Ruddell jacket art is not by itself a distinguishing point, so rely on the copyright-page number line and the presence of the flap price.
• The Terror — 2007 · Little, BrownLittle, Brown and Company, New York, January 2007. First printing has a number line ending in 1. Black quarter cloth over gray boards with map endpapers showing the Franklin Expedition route. Arctic horror epic. US Little, Brown edition is the true first; the UK Bantam Press edition followed. Book club editions lack the number line and jacket price.
• Drood — 2009 · Little, BrownLittle, Brown and Company, Boston, 2009 (published February 9, 2009). The copyright page states 'First Edition: February 2009' accompanied by a complete number line ending in 1. Quarter-bound with a black cloth spine (titled in gilt) over red paper-covered boards; collation approximately [vi], 777, [1] pages, in a color pictorial dust wrapper carrying the publisher's printed price, which should be present and…. US Little, Brown true first; the UK Quercus edition followed. Book-club editions lack the 'First Edition: February 2009' statement, the number line, and the printed jacket price; identify the first by that dated statement plus the number line ending in 1.
• Black Hills — 2010 · Reagan Arthur / Little, BrownReagan Arthur Books / Little, Brown and Company, New York, first edition, published February 2010; ISBN 0-316-00698-X (9780316006989). Identified by the words 'First Edition' stated on the copyright page together with a complete number line descending to 1. Collates [vi], 487, [3] pages. The first-issue dust jacket should retain its printed price on the front flap (price-clipping does not by itself change the…. The US Reagan Arthur / Little, Brown trade hardcover first is the true first. The Subterranean Press signed limited edition followed in July 2010 and is a separate, later issue. Book club editions lack the stated 'First Edition' with descending number line and are printed on lighter bulk with a jacket bearing no printed price on the front flap.
• Flashback — 2011 · Reagan Arthur / Little, BrownReagan Arthur Books / Little, Brown US first edition, published July 2011, stated 'First Edition' on the copyright page with a complete descending number line ending in 1. Bound in quarter black cloth over black paper-covered boards with silver spine lettering; collation [8], 3-554 pages. The first-state dust jacket was designed by Allison J. Warner and retains the printed price on the front flap. US Reagan Arthur / Little, Brown trade first is the true first. A Subterranean Press signed limited edition (2011), with a Vincent Chong dust jacket, also appeared and is catalogued by dealers as a first edition thus rather than the trade first. Book club editions lack the stated 'First Edition' line and number line and carry no printed price on the jacket flap; later printings advance the number line so the terminal 1 is absent.
• The Abominable — 2013 · Little, BrownLittle, Brown US first edition, published October 22, 2013 (663 pages); stated 'First Edition' on the copyright page with a full number line ending in 1. The first-issue dust jacket should retain its printed price and be unclipped. US Little, Brown true first; the UK edition (Sphere/Little, Brown) followed. Book club editions lack the number line and the printed jacket price.
• The Fifth Heart — 2015 · Little, BrownLittle, Brown and Company US first edition, published March 2015 (ISBN 9780316198820). The copyright page states 'First Edition' with a complete descending number line ending in 1 (10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). First-state jacket carries the printed price at the top of the front flap and should not be price-clipped on a collector's copy; the wraparound art depicts a Victorian street scene and the rear panel carries the…. The Little, Brown trade hardcover (March 2015) is the true first edition and first printing. A separately produced Subterranean Press signed limited edition also appeared in 2015; it is a distinct deluxe issue and does not precede the Little, Brown trade first. Book club editions lack the 'First Edition' statement and full number line, are printed on lighter bulked stock, and carry a jacket with no printed price and often a blind-stamped code to the rear board.

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