# Is "Neuromancer" by William Gibson a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Neuromancer by William Gibson (Ace Books, 1984) is identified by: Paperback original -- Ace Science Fiction Special (second series, edited by Terry Carr), July 1984; cover art by James Warhola. The Ace mass-market PAPERBACK (July 1984) is the true first edition of Neuromancer.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Paperback original -- Ace Science Fiction Special (second series, edited by Terry Carr), July 1984; cover art by James Warhola
- The true first printing shows 'Ace Original / July 1984' on the copyright page and carries NO print line / number code
- ISBN 0-441-56956-0; black pictorial wrappers with the printed cover price present
- Any copy bearing a printing statement or number line is a later printing, not the first
- Publisher imprint reads Ace Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | William Gibson |
| Publisher | Ace Books |
| Year | 1984 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Paperback original -- Ace Science Fiction Special (second series, edited by Terry Carr), July 1984; cover art by James Warhola |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Paperback original -- Ace Science Fiction Special (second series, edited by Terry Carr), July 1984; cover art by James Warhola. The true first printing shows 'Ace Original / July 1984' on the copyright page and carries NO print line / number code; ISBN 0-441-56956-0; black pictorial wrappers with the printed cover price present. Any copy bearing a printing statement or number line is a later printing, not the first.

## Is this the true first?
The Ace mass-market PAPERBACK (July 1984) is the true first edition of Neuromancer. The first HARDCOVER is the UK Victor Gollancz edition, published later in 1984 (not 1986). The Phantasia Press hardcover (West Bloomfield, MI, 1986) is the first AMERICAN hardcover -- issued as a signed/numbered deluxe of 375 copies plus a trade issue -- but it is NOT the first hardcover overall and NOT the true first. Precedence, first to last: Ace paperback (1984) -> Gollancz UK hardcover (1984) -> Phantasia Press US hardcover (1986).

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later Ace printings add a printing statement / number line on the copyright page and are common, low-interest reprints. Note that the 2nd and 3rd printings were also issued as Ace SF Specials, so the 'Ace Special' series line does NOT by itself confirm a first -- only the ABSENCE of any printing statement does. A stated '2nd printing' (or later), or any number line, rules out the first printing.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Neuromancer* by William Gibson a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/neuromancer
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.