# Is "Old Man's War" by John Scalzi a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Old Man's War by John Scalzi (Tor Books / Tom Doherty Associates, 2005) is identified by: The true first is the Tor Books (Tom Doherty Associates) hardcover, New York, dated January 2005 — Scalzi's first novel. US first, and unambiguous: Tor Books, New York, January 2005.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The true first is the Tor Books (Tom Doherty Associates) hardcover, New York, dated January 2005 — Scalzi's first novel
- Tor first printings of this period are identified on the copyright page by a 'First Edition: [month year]' line together with a full number line whose lowest digit is 1; dealers describe the Old Man's War first printing's line as 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1, and a copy with the 1 stripped from that sequence is a later printing
- The book is bound in blue paper-covered boards stamped in green, in a pictorial dust jacket that should be unclipped with the price present at the flap
- Scalzi has stated on his own site that the first printing was 3,700 copies, that copies reached shelves in December 2004 ahead of the January 1, 2005 official release date (first sighting December 13, 2004), and that Tor had to rush a second printing less than three weeks after release — which is why genuine first printings are scarce relative to the book's later ubiquity
- Publisher imprint reads Tor Books / Tom Doherty Associates
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | John Scalzi |
| Publisher | Tor Books / Tom Doherty Associates |
| Year | 2005 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The true first is the Tor Books (Tom Doherty Associates) hardcover, New York, dated January 2005 — Scalzi's first novel |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
The true first is the Tor Books (Tom Doherty Associates) hardcover, New York, dated January 2005 — Scalzi's first novel. Tor first printings of this period are identified on the copyright page by a 'First Edition: [month year]' line together with a full number line whose lowest digit is 1; dealers describe the Old Man's War first printing's line as 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1, and a copy with the 1 stripped from that sequence is a later printing. The book is bound in blue paper-covered boards stamped in green, in a pictorial dust jacket that should be unclipped with the price present at the flap. Scalzi has stated on his own site that the first printing was 3,700 copies, that copies reached shelves in December 2004 ahead of the January 1, 2005 official release date (first sighting December 13, 2004), and that Tor had to rush a second printing less than three weeks after release — which is why genuine first printings are scarce relative to the book's later ubiquity.

## Is this the true first?
US first, and unambiguous: Tor Books, New York, January 2005. The census claim is correct. No UK edition preceded it — the sources consulted turn up no Tor UK / Macmillan London hardcover of this title, and the earliest UK availability was the US printing and later paperbacks. The 'first thus' traps are all format reissues: Tor's own trade paperback and the January 2007 mass-market paperback, the later series omnibus printings, and the recent Tor reissues. Only the January 2005 Tor hardcover is the first edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Scalzi's own bibliography page records that the Science Fiction Book Club made Old Man's War a featured selection for Winter 2005 and that Barnes & Noble Explorations featured it in December 2005; the sources consulted do not confirm a separately printed SFBC edition with distinct measurements, so a club-edition claim should not be made without the copy in hand. Where a book-club copy is encountered, the usual tells apply: no price at the jacket flap, smaller trim and lighter bulk than the trade hardcover, and a blind-stamped mark to the rear board. Second and later Tor printings are identified by the missing 1 in the number line.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Old Man's War* by John Scalzi a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/old-mans-war
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.