Robert Jordan First Editions

• The Eye of the World — 1990 · Tor BooksUS Tor hardcover released 15 January 1990, issued simultaneously with a trade paperback. First printing states 'First edition: February 1990' on the copyright page (despite the January release) with a full number line ending in 1, and lists both the hardcover and paperback ISBNs, a pairing dropped from later printings. Darrell K. Sweet jacket art. The first hardcover printing was small, aimed largely at libraries. The Tor US hardcover is the collected true first of The Wheel of Time. A trade paperback was issued essentially simultaneously, but the hardcover is the collected first. UK Orbit followed. The book club edition (SFBC) is physically smaller, carries a blind-stamped gutter code on the rear board and an unpriced jacket, and lacks the full number line. Note that the copyright page on the trade hardcover lists both hardcover and paperback ISBNs — confirm the full number line and the stated 'First edition.'.
• The Great Hunt — 1990 · Tor BooksTor first hardcover with the copyright page stating "First edition: November 1990" and a complete number line ending in 1; jacket carries the printed retail price. Blue paper-covered boards lettered in gilt, cartographic endpapers. The Tor US hardcover is the true first of Wheel of Time Book 2; the UK Orbit edition followed. The Science Fiction Book Club edition is smaller and lighter, carries a blind-stamped gutter code, has an unpriced jacket, and lacks the complete number line.
• The Dragon Reborn (WoT 3) — 1991 · Tor BooksUS Tor Books hardcover, 1991, the true first. First printing carries a stated first edition with month and year and the full number line 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 (including the terminal 1) on the copyright page. Bound in blue cloth boards with gilt spine lettering and illustrated front endpapers; octavo, roughly 624 pages. The dust jacket bears cover art by Darrell K. Sweet and should retain its printed price; the…. US Tor is the true first; the UK Orbit edition followed. SFBC book-club copies are smaller, lack the number line, and have no printed jacket price; later Tor printings drop numbers from the line so the terminal 1 is absent.
• The Shadow Rising (WoT 4) — 1992 · Tor BooksUS Tor hardcover, 1992. Copyright page reads 'First trade edition: November 1992' with a full number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1. Bound in blue paper boards with copper spine lettering; the embossed pictorial dust jacket carries art by Darrell K. Sweet (jacket design by Carol Russo) and the book has color pictorial endpaper maps. The unclipped first-issue jacket retains its printed price. US Tor is the true first; the UK Orbit edition followed. SFBC book-club copies are smaller, lack the number line, and have no printed jacket price; later Tor printings drop numbers from the line.
• The Fires of Heaven (WoT 5) — 1993 · Tor BooksUS Tor hardcover, published 15 October 1993; the copyright page states 'First Edition' above a complete Tor number line 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10, the 1 at the left marking the first printing. Bound in blue cloth boards with gilt spine lettering and issued in a pictorial dust jacket. The hardcover first printing was comparatively small, as the series' print runs expanded sharply after this volume. A first-issue jacket…. US Tor is the true first (15 October 1993); the UK Orbit edition followed. SFBC book-club copies are smaller, lack the stated first edition and complete number line, carry a blind-stamped gutter code, and have no printed jacket price; later Tor printings drop the 1 (and lower numbers) from the line.
• Lord of Chaos (WoT 6) — 1994 · Tor BooksUS Tor hardcover, 1994 (716 pp, ISBN 0-312-85428-9). The copyright page carries a stated First Edition and, characteristic of Tor of this era, a number line that begins with a zero: 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1. The first-issue dust jacket shows the Darrell K. Sweet cover art and carries the printed retail price on the front flap. Boards are cloth-backed over paper-covered boards in Tor's standard trade format. US Tor is the true first, published October 1994; the UK Orbit hardcover followed in November 1994. Science Fiction Book Club copies are printed on cheaper bulk stock, run smaller, lack the Tor number line, and have no printed price on the jacket flap (often with a blind-stamp or dot on the rear board). Later Tor printings drop the leading digits from the line so it no longer begins 0 9 8 7.
• A Crown of Swords (WoT 7) — 1996 · Tor BooksUS Tor hardcover. The copyright page reads "First Edition: June 1996" and carries a full number line still including the 1, even though the book actually reached shelves in mid-May 1996 (release date 15 May 1996); the stated June date together with the intact number line marks the first printing. Issued in a priced dust jacket with Darrell K. Sweet cover art. US Tor is the true first; the UK Orbit hardcover appeared at essentially the same time and does not precede it. SFBC book-club copies are physically smaller, printed on cheaper paper, lack the number line, and carry no printed price on the jacket. Later Tor printings drop numbers from the line so the 1 no longer appears.
• The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time (with Teresa Patterson) — 1997 · Tor BooksIllustrated large-format companion volume, nicknamed 'The Big White Book' for its predominantly white cover. US Tor hardcover, published November 1997, with color art by Todd Cameron Hamilton. First printing has 'First edition' stated with a full number line to 1. US Tor true first. A revised, redesigned Tor reissue appeared decades later and is easily distinguished. Later printings and the later reissue differ.
• The Path of Daggers (WoT 8) — 1998 · Tor BooksUS Tor hardcover, published October 20, 1998 (Wheel of Time, Book 8). The copyright page carries a stated first edition together with a full number line running down to and including the 1 (10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The book is bound in navy cloth over boards with red lettering on the spine and runs 604 pages, roughly nine to ten inches tall. The first-issue dust jacket bears Darrell K. Sweet's color illustration,…. US Tor is the true first; the UK Orbit edition followed. Science Fiction Book Club copies are physically smaller, lack the number line, and carry no printed jacket price (a blind stamp or gutter code often appears on the rear board). Later Tor printings drop lower numbers from the line, and the later-printing jacket carries a higher printed price than the first.
• Winter's Heart (WoT 9) — 2000 · Tor BooksUS Tor hardcover, 2000, ninth novel in The Wheel of Time. The copyright page states 'First Edition: November 2000' with a full number line ending in 1. The Darrell K. Sweet cover art appears on the first-state dust jacket, which carries the printed price on the front flap. Interior illustrations are by Matthew C. Nielsen and Ellisa Mitchell, with color map endpapers, all present in the first printing. US Tor is the true first; the UK Orbit edition follows. The Science Fiction Book Club edition and later Tor printings differ; the SFBC copy typically lacks the stated 'First Edition: November 2000' line and the printed jacket price, and later printings advance the number line so it no longer ends in 1.
• Crossroads of Twilight (WoT 10) — 2003 · Tor BooksUS Tor hardcover, published January 2003; 'First Edition' is stated on the copyright page above a complete Tor number line 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10, the presence of the 1 confirming the first printing (later printings drop the low number). Bound in blue cloth boards with gilt spine lettering. The dust jacket art is credited to Ellisa Mitchell with lettering/design by Matthew C. Nielson; a first-issue jacket should…. US Tor is the true first (January 2003); the UK Orbit edition followed. Science Fiction Book Club printings and later Tor printings differ: SFBC copies are typically bound differently and carry no printed jacket price and a gutter-code blind stamp, while later Tor printings remove the 1 from the number line.
• New Spring (WoT prequel) — 2004 · Tor BooksUS Tor hardcover, January 2004, 334 pages, with 'First Edition' stated on the copyright page and a full number line reading 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 (ending in 1). Bound in dark blue paper-covered boards with gilt spine lettering and illustrated map endpapers; first-issue jacket retains its printed price on the front flap. The novel expands the earlier novella to roughly three times its original length. The US Tor edition is the true first of the novel. The original, shorter 'New Spring' novella first appeared in the anthology Legends: Short Novels by the Masters of Modern Fantasy, edited by Robert Silverberg (Tor, August 1998) — a separate, distinct work rather than a printing of this book. SFBC and later Tor printings differ from the first: the SFBC issue lacks a printed jacket price and carries a gutter/blind-stamp code, while later trade printings will not show the complete number line ending in 1. The shorter 1998 novella in the Legends anthology is a separate publication.
• Knife of Dreams (WoT 11) — 2005 · Tor BooksUS Tor hardcover, published October 11, 2005, ISBN 9780312873073; 'First Edition' stated on the copyright page with a full number line ending in 1. A first-state jacket retains the printed Tor price on the front flap (an unclipped flap is preferred). Last volume of The Wheel of Time that Jordan completed before his death. The US Tor hardcover is the true first; the UK Orbit edition followed in 2005. An SFBC edition and later Tor printings exist; the book-club copy is lighter, carries a blindstamped gutter code on the rear board and no printed jacket price, and lacks the Tor number line ending in 1.
• The Gathering Storm (WoT 12, with Brandon Sanderson) — 2009 · Tor BooksUS Tor hardcover, published October 27, 2009. First printing states 'First Edition' with the number line reading 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 on the copyright page. Bound in blue cloth lettered in gilt on the spine, with decorated endpapers and pastedowns, a double-page map, and in-text designs; a facsimile of Robert Jordan's signature is printed on the title page. First-issue dust jacket (Darrell K. Sweet art) should…. US Tor is the true first; UK Orbit follows. Both Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson are credited. The announced first printing was very large (about one million copies), so first-printing copies are common. Science Fiction Book Club and later printings differ: the SFBC edition is a smaller, lighter volume, typically carries a blind-stamp to the rear board, and lacks the stated 'First Edition' with the number line to 1.
• Towers of Midnight (WoT 13, with Brandon Sanderson) — 2010 · Tor BooksUS Tor hardcover, first published November 2, 2010; 'First Edition' with a full number line on the copyright page ending in 1. The title page carries a printed facsimile signature of Robert Jordan, who died in 2007 before the book was written; that facsimile is a design element of the first printing, not a hand signature. First-issue jackets carry the series artwork with the printed price present on the flap;…. US Tor is the true first; the UK Orbit edition follows. Any genuine autograph would be Sanderson or Harriet McDougal, since Jordan's title-page signature is a printed facsimile. SFBC and later Tor printings differ; the number line will not end in 1 on later printings, and book-club copies carry the usual club markings rather than the stated first-edition line.
• A Memory of Light (WoT 14, with Brandon Sanderson) — 2013 · Tor BooksUS Tor hardcover, published January 8, 2013. Copyright page states 'First Edition: January 2013' with a full number line down to 1 (0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). Blue boards with red spine lettering; facsimile Jordan signature on the title page. Series finale, completed by Brandon Sanderson. US Tor is the true first; the UK Orbit edition follows. SFBC and later printings differ; later printings drop the 1 from the number line.

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