# Is "Headcrash" by Bruce Bethke a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Headcrash by Bruce Bethke (Warner Aspect, 1995) is identified by: US Warner Aspect (Warner Books) mass-market paperback original, January 1995, 352 pages, ISBN 0-446-60260-4 (9780446602600); the first printing is indicated by a printer's key counting down to 1 on the copyright page. The US Warner Aspect paperback original (1995) is the true first, Bethke's debut novel.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- US Warner Aspect (Warner Books) mass-market paperback original, January 1995, 352 pages, ISBN 0-446-60260-4
- the first printing is indicated by a printer's key counting down to 1 on the copyright page
- Issued in printed wrappers as a paperback original with no prior hardcover
- Publisher imprint reads Warner Aspect
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Bruce Bethke |
| Publisher | Warner Aspect |
| Year | 1995 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | US Warner Aspect (Warner Books) mass-market paperback original, January 1995, 352 pages, ISBN 0-446-60260-4 |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
US Warner Aspect (Warner Books) mass-market paperback original, January 1995, 352 pages, ISBN 0-446-60260-4 (9780446602600); the first printing is indicated by a printer's key counting down to 1 on the copyright page. Issued in printed wrappers as a paperback original with no prior hardcover.

## Is this the true first?
The US Warner Aspect paperback original (1995) is the true first, Bethke's debut novel. Winner of the Philip K. Dick Award for the best original SF paperback of 1995 (presented 1996).

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later Warner reissues and reprints (for example the reissue under ISBN 0446673145) are not true firsts; the first printing carries the full number line ending in 1.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Headcrash* by Bruce Bethke a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/headcrash
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.