# Is "Dragon Tears" by Dean Koontz a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Dragon Tears by Dean Koontz (G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1993) is identified by: Putnam's Sons, New York, 1993; first edition, first printing, identified by the full number line 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 on the copyright page. Putnam US true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1993; first edition, first printing, identified by the full number line 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 on the copyright page
- Quarter-bound in cloth over blue boards with gilt spine and upper-cover lettering, with blue endpapers, and issued in a glossy blue pictorial dust jacket; the first-issue jacket carries the printed price at the top of the front flap (ISBN 0399137734)
- Publisher imprint reads G.P. Putnam's Sons
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Dean Koontz |
| Publisher | G.P. Putnam's Sons |
| Year | 1993 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1993; first edition, first printing, identified by the full number line 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 on the… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1993; first edition, first printing, identified by the full number line 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 on the copyright page. Quarter-bound in cloth over blue boards with gilt spine and upper-cover lettering, with blue endpapers, and issued in a glossy blue pictorial dust jacket; the first-issue jacket carries the printed price at the top of the front flap (ISBN 0399137734).

## Is this the true first?
Putnam US true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The Doubleday book club reprint lacks the number line, is a lighter and cheaply bound volume, and its jacket is price-clipped or unpriced with a blind gutter-code dot on the rear board.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Dragon Tears* by Dean Koontz a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/dragon-tears
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.