# Is "Dark Gods" by T. E. D. Klein a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Dark Gods by T. E. D. Klein (Viking, 1985) is identified by: The first printing is identified by the Viking copyright-page statement "First published in 1985 by Viking Penguin Inc." with no later-printing notice. The census claim is confirmed: Viking, New York, 1985 (published July 1985) is the true first, and it precedes all British issues.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The first printing is identified by the Viking copyright-page statement "First published in 1985 by Viking Penguin Inc." with no later-printing notice
- Per the standard publisher guide, Viking states "First published by Viking in [year]" on firsts and, in the 1980s, added a number row to later printings only — so on this title the presence of a number row is a reprint tell rather than a first-printing point
- The book is a hardcover of 259 pages in a pictorial dust jacket with cover art by Neil Stewart and the price present at the front flap
- ISBN 0-670-80590-4, LCCN 85-3190
- Contents are the four novellas "Children of the Kingdom," "Petey," "Black Man with a Horn" and "Nadelman's God."
- Publisher imprint reads Viking
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | T. E. D. Klein |
| Publisher | Viking |
| Year | 1985 |
| True first | British edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The first printing is identified by the Viking copyright-page statement "First published in 1985 by Viking Penguin Inc." with no… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
The first printing is identified by the Viking copyright-page statement "First published in 1985 by Viking Penguin Inc." with no later-printing notice. Per the standard publisher guide, Viking states "First published by Viking in [year]" on firsts and, in the 1980s, added a number row to later printings only — so on this title the presence of a number row is a reprint tell rather than a first-printing point. The book is a hardcover of 259 pages in a pictorial dust jacket with cover art by Neil Stewart and the price present at the front flap; ISBN 0-670-80590-4, LCCN 85-3190. Contents are the four novellas "Children of the Kingdom," "Petey," "Black Man with a Horn" and "Nadelman's God."

## Is this the true first?
The census claim is confirmed: Viking, New York, 1985 (published July 1985) is the true first, and it precedes all British issues. The first US paperback was Bantam, July 1986, and the first British edition was a Pan Books paperback dated 1986–87 in the sources consulted — no UK hardcover first is documented, so the Viking hardcover is the only first hardcover state. Later small-press issues, including the Chiroptera Press edition, are "first thus."

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club printing of Dark Gods is documented in the sources consulted; the general period tells apply if one is encountered — blind stamp impressed on the rear board near the spine, a jacket with no price at the front flap, and a smaller trim on thinner paper. The commoner confusion is format rather than club: the 1986 Bantam paperback and the Pan UK paperback are routinely offered as "first editions" of their format and are reprints of the Viking text.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Dark Gods* by T. E. D. Klein a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/dark-gods
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.