# Is "Brothers in Arms" by Lois McMaster Bujold a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Brothers in Arms by Lois McMaster Bujold (Baen Books, 1989) is identified by: Baen Books mass-market paperback original, January 1989, with cover art by Alan Gutierrez. The US Baen paperback original (January 1989) is the true first; the book was never issued in hardcover at first publication, so no earlier hardcover exists.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Baen Books mass-market paperback original, January 1989, with cover art by Alan Gutierrez
- The copyright page carries Baen's stated first-printing line (First printing, January 1989) and lists no later printings; there is no separate number line, so the printing statement itself is the point
- A fifth Miles Vorkosigan novel issued directly into paperback in the standard Baen rack format
- Publisher imprint reads Baen Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Lois McMaster Bujold |
| Publisher | Baen Books |
| Year | 1989 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Baen Books mass-market paperback original, January 1989, with cover art by Alan Gutierrez |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Baen Books mass-market paperback original, January 1989, with cover art by Alan Gutierrez. The copyright page carries Baen's stated first-printing line (First printing, January 1989) and lists no later printings; there is no separate number line, so the printing statement itself is the point. A fifth Miles Vorkosigan novel issued directly into paperback in the standard Baen rack format.

## Is this the true first?
The US Baen paperback original (January 1989) is the true first; the book was never issued in hardcover at first publication, so no earlier hardcover exists.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition of the first paperback is known. Later appearances, including the NESFA Press hardcover and the various Miles Vorkosigan omnibus volumes, are distinct later editions rather than states of this first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Brothers in Arms* by Lois McMaster Bujold a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/brothers-in-arms
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.