6 Kim Stanley Robinson first editions are documented on this shelf, from The Wild Shore (1984) to 2312 (2012) across 6 different publishers. Each linked guide gives the points of issue that separate a true first printing of that Kim Stanley Robinson title from later printings and book-club copies — the publisher and year to expect, the number-line or edition-statement conventions, and the tells that show up in online listings.
Identification only, per the house rule: no prices and no appraisals here. Checking a Kim Stanley Robinson copy in hand? Type the title into the First-Edition Checker or photograph the copyright page with Snap & Sort.
- The Wild Shore — 1984 · Ace Books, New YorkFirst edition is the Ace Science Fiction Specials paperback original (1984), Robinson's first novel and the first title in the revived Ace Specials line edited by Terry Carr. Identified by the first-printing copyright statement and number line complete to 1, in pictorial wrappers; there was no prior hardcover. Won the 1985 Locus Award for Best First Novel. The true first is the Ace Special paperback original (1984). A Tor hardcover appeared later (1990); the paperback original has priority. Signed copies of the Ace PBO are the collectible first. Not a book club title in its first form. Distinguish the 1984 Ace Special paperback original from later Ace reprintings whose number lines no longer reach 1.
- Red Mars — 1992 · HarperCollins/Voyager, LondonThe UK HarperCollins/Voyager hardcover (September 1992) is the true first: red cloth boards, priced jacket, no later-printing indicators. The first US edition is the Bantam Spectra hardcover (1993), identified by the number line 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 — it is a hardcover, not a paperback original, and is a year later than the UK first. The UK HarperCollins/Voyager edition (1992) is the true first, preceding the US Bantam Spectra edition (1993) by roughly a year. The precedence is the key point; collectors seeking the true first must obtain the UK edition. No prominent book club edition is the trap here. The real trap is national precedence: the UK 1992 hardcover precedes the US 1993 hardcover.
- Green Mars — 1993 · HarperCollinsUK HarperCollins hardcover, London, 1993, ISBN 0-246-13882-3, with the 'First published' statement and priced front flap and no number line. The first-state dust jacket is a black and colour pictorial design with the title lettered in green and silver to the spine, and the printed price should be present on the flap. The US Bantam Spectra hardcover (1994) is a separate first, stating 'First Edition' with a number…. The UK HarperCollins edition (1993, ISBN 0-246-13882-3) is the true first, preceding the US Bantam Spectra edition (1994). Confirm by the 1993 imprint, the 'First published' statement, and the green-and-silver spine lettering on the pictorial jacket. The US Science Fiction Book Club edition carries a rear-board blind-stamp, lacks the 'First Edition' statement, and has a club/unpriced jacket. The UK 1993 HarperCollins first is the collected first.
- Blue Mars — 1996 · HarperCollins / VoyagerUK HarperCollins/Voyager hardcover, London 1996, the true first. The copyright page reads 'Published by Voyager 1996' above a number line printed in the Voyager style '1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2' (the '1' present marking the first printing); there is no 'First Edition' statement, that number line being the sole point. Bound in blue heavy boards with silver lettering to the spine, 616 pages, in a priced pictorial jacket…. The UK HarperCollins/Voyager edition (1996) precedes the US Bantam Spectra edition (also 1996) and is the true first. Both are dated 1996, so confirm by imprint and jacket: the Voyager copy carries the '1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2' number line and no 'First Edition' line, whereas the Bantam Spectra copy states 'First Edition' with a full descending number line. The US Science Fiction Book Club edition lacks the 'First Edition' statement, carries a blind-stamp (typically to the rear board), is on cheaper bulked paper, and comes in a club jacket without a printed price on the flap.
- The Years of Rice and Salt — 2002 · Bantam Books, New YorkFirst US edition (Bantam Books, March 2002; ISBN 0553109200). The true first printing is identified by a complete number line ending in 1 (10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1, typically prefixed 'BVG') together with the 'A Bantam Book / March 2002' line on the copyright page. The jacket carries the printed price. The number line to 1 is the point of issue — there is no printed 'First Edition' statement. The US Bantam and UK HarperCollins editions are near-simultaneous (both 2002); for the US trade first, rely on the number line complete to 1 and the 'March 2002' date line. The Science Fiction Book Club edition is smaller in trim, unpriced ('Book Club Edition'), carries a rear-board gutter dot, and omits the full number line.
- 2312 — 2012 · OrbitOrbit (Hachette Book Group) hardcover, published May 22, 2012. First printing has the full number line ending in 1 on the copyright page and a dust jacket with its printed price present. Publisher's boards. The US Orbit hardcover (released May 22, 2012) is the true first; the UK Orbit hardcover followed two days later (May 24, 2012), making it effectively near-simultaneous but slightly later. For the true first seek the US Orbit hardcover, first printing, with the number line ending in 1. Watch for any later book club printing: typically lacks a printed jacket price and may show a blind-stamp on the rear board and an incomplete number line. The trade first printing carries the full number line ending in 1.
More Science Fiction shelves: Marion Zimmer Bradley, Mary Shelley, N. K. Jemisin, Robert J. Sawyer, Sarah Pinsker, Susanna Clarke.
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