Is My Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, Book 1) a First Edition?

The points of issue

• True first is the US trade hardcover, Entangled: Red Tower Books, 2 May 2023 (ISBN 9781649374042), black paper-covered boards in a pictorial dust jacket
• The decisive point is the copyright-page number line: a first printing runs complete to 1
• This title reprinted hard and fast, and the trade is full of later printings correctly catalogued off the line — dealers list "first edition, 4th printing as indicated by the sequence 10 9 8 7 6 5 4," plus 10th, 11th and 14th printings, all of them 2023 and all of them not firsts
• Two census claims must be corrected
• Sprayed edges are NOT decisive
• First-printing copies are documented with black sprayed edges stenciled with white dragons to the fore-edge, and later printings are reported with plain white edges, so spraying is an early-printing indicator only — it does not by itself establish the first printing, and the number line governs

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

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?

US precedes: Red Tower Books (Entangled) is the originating publisher and the 2 May 2023 US hardcover is the true first. There is no original-language or foreign precedence question — the book is American and English-language. Piatkus (Little, Brown UK) issued the UK editions in 2023, collected as the first UK; sources consulted did not agree on the exact Piatkus release date, so no day-level UK claim is made here. UK variants in the trade include a Waterstones exclusive (ISBN 9780349441573, black boards, gilt spine titling, map endpapers, stencilled edges on all three sides) and a 2024 Piatkus paperback (9780349437019) — "first thus" only.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition documented. The confusion on this title comes from retailer and special editions rather than clubs, and several are actively mis-catalogued as firsts. The Limited/Holiday Special Edition (ISBN 9781649376169, 2023) is a different edition with new pictorial endpapers, black sprayed edges, gilt spine and two exclusive Xaden-POV bonus chapters — one dealer listing consulted offered it as "first edition overall," which it is not. Also distinct: the 2024 Limited Edition softcover (ISBN 9781649377371) with bonus content and sprayed edging. Reprint tells for the trade hardcover remain the number line and remainder marks.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, Book 1) a first edition?

A first edition of Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, Book 1) by Rebecca Yarros (Red Tower Books / Entangled Publishing) is identified by: True first is the US trade hardcover, Entangled: Red Tower Books, 2 May 2023 (ISBN 9781649374042), black paper-covered boards in a pictorial dust jacket.

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). US precedes: Red Tower Books (Entangled) is the originating publisher and the 2 May 2023 US hardcover is the true first.

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

No book-club edition documented. The confusion on this title comes from retailer and special editions rather than clubs, and several are actively mis-catalogued as firsts. The Limited/Holiday Special Edition (ISBN 9781649376169, 2023) is a different edition with new pictorial endpapers, black sprayed edges, gilt spine and two exclusive Xaden-POV bonus chapters — one dealer listing consulted offered it as "first edition overall," which it is not. Also distinct: the 2024 Limited Edition softcover

I have a first edition of Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, Book 1) — 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.