Is My Four Hundred Billion Stars a First Edition?

The points of issue

• US Del Rey (Ballantine) mass-market paperback original, first printing dated April 1988 (published April 12, 1988) and identified by a complete number line on the copyright page
• This is McAuley's debut novel and the true first edition
• The wraparound cover carries the Del Rey imprint; the first printing bears the April 1988 dating with no statement of a later printing

How Del Rey / Ballantine marked a first edition

• Number line on copyright page; first printing has the '1' present. Modern PRH-era Ballantine uses the full descending line '9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1' with no edition statement, OR with 'First Edition' stated.

Full Del Rey / Ballantine first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Read the number line — the lowest number is the printing. A line including 1 is a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2). Paste it into the decoder.
4. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
6. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

The US Del Rey paperback original was published April 12, 1988, ahead of the UK Victor Gollancz hardcover that appeared later the same year. Dealer cataloguing (L.W. Currey, John W. Knott) describes the Gollancz as the first British and first hardcover edition, which confirms the Del Rey paperback original holds precedence as the true first. It was a co-winner (a tie with Rudy Rucker's Wetware) of the 1989 Philip K. Dick Award for the best original science-fiction paperback of 1988.P-024302

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The UK Gollancz hardcover of 1988 is a distinct, separately collectible state and the first hardcover, but it follows the US Del Rey paperback. Later reissues are reprints.P-024303

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Four Hundred Billion Stars a first edition?

A first edition of Four Hundred Billion Stars by Paul J. McAuley (Del Rey / Ballantine) is identified by: US Del Rey (Ballantine) mass-market paperback original, first printing dated April 1988 (published April 12, 1988) and identified by a complete number line on the copyright page.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A number line whose lowest number is 1 marks a first printing (Random House ends at 2). The US Del Rey paperback original was published April 12, 1988, ahead of the UK Victor Gollancz hardcover that appeared later the same year.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

The UK Gollancz hardcover of 1988 is a distinct, separately collectible state and the first hardcover, but it follows the US Del Rey paperback. Later reissues are reprints.

I have a first edition of Four Hundred Billion Stars — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.