# Is "Ethan of Athos" by Lois McMaster Bujold a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold (Baen Books, 1986) is identified by: Baen mass-market paperback original, December 1986; 256 pages; cover art by Alan Gutierrez. The US Baen paperback original (December 1986) is the true first; there is no earlier hardcover.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Baen mass-market paperback original, December 1986
- 256 pages; cover art by Alan Gutierrez
- The copyright page carries Baen's stated first-printing line (First printing, December 1986) with no later printings listed below it
- Publisher imprint reads Baen Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Lois McMaster Bujold |
| Publisher | Baen Books |
| Year | 1986 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Baen mass-market paperback original, December 1986 |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Baen mass-market paperback original, December 1986; 256 pages; cover art by Alan Gutierrez. The copyright page carries Baen's stated first-printing line (First printing, December 1986) with no later printings listed below it.

## Is this the true first?
The US Baen paperback original (December 1986) is the true first; there is no earlier hardcover.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition of the first is known; the NESFA Press hardcover is a much later edition. Later Baen printings add subsequent printing statements beneath the first-printing line.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Ethan of Athos* by Lois McMaster Bujold a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/ethan-of-athos
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.