# Is "Breathless" by Dean Koontz a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Breathless by Dean Koontz (Bantam, 2009) is identified by: Bantam trade hardcover, published November 24, 2009. The Bantam US trade hardcover is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Bantam trade hardcover, published November 24, 2009
- The first printing states First Edition on the copyright page above a split number line reading 2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1, so the low number 1 is present in the odd-descending half
- ISBN 978-0-553-80715-8, 337 pages
- Issued in cloth-backed boards under a priced pictorial dust jacket; a first-issue jacket retains the original printed price on the front flap and is unclipped
- Publisher imprint reads Bantam
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Dean Koontz |
| Publisher | Bantam |
| Year | 2009 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Bantam trade hardcover, published November 24, 2009 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Bantam trade hardcover, published November 24, 2009. The first printing states First Edition on the copyright page above a split number line reading 2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1, so the low number 1 is present in the odd-descending half. ISBN 978-0-553-80715-8, 337 pages. Issued in cloth-backed boards under a priced pictorial dust jacket; a first-issue jacket retains the original printed price on the front flap and is unclipped.

## Is this the true first?
The Bantam US trade hardcover is the true first. The book itself announces "a signed, limited edition has been privately published by Charnel House," but Joe Stefko of Charnel House confirms no such edition was ever produced, so the Bantam trade stands alone as the first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
A Book Club Edition (Bantam, book club identifier 1279559) and a Large Print Book Club Edition (Random House Large Print, identifier 1283735) exist; both lack the 2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1 copyright-page number line and carry no printed price on the jacket. A 2010 Bantam mass-market paperback also carries the 2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1 line but is the paperback, not the hardcover first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Breathless* by Dean Koontz a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/breathless
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.