# Is "Sandkings" by George R.R. Martin a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Sandkings by George R.R. Martin (Timescape / Pocket Books, 1981) is identified by: The true first edition is the mass-market paperback original: A Timescape Book (Pocket Books), New York, 1981, identified by the complete number line '10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1' on the copyright page. The 1981 Timescape/Pocket Books mass-market paperback is the true first edition and first printing; no trade hardcover first was issued.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The true first edition is the mass-market paperback original: A Timescape Book (Pocket Books), New York, 1981, identified by the complete number line '10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1' on the copyright page
- It collects seven stories, the title novelette having won the 1980 Hugo and Nebula Awards
- A signed first is the paperback original inscribed or signed by Martin
- Publisher imprint reads Timescape / Pocket Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | George R.R. Martin |
| Publisher | Timescape / Pocket Books |
| Year | 1981 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The true first edition is the mass-market paperback original: A Timescape Book (Pocket Books), New York, 1981, identified by the complete… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
The true first edition is the mass-market paperback original: A Timescape Book (Pocket Books), New York, 1981, identified by the complete number line '10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1' on the copyright page. It collects seven stories, the title novelette having won the 1980 Hugo and Nebula Awards. A signed first is the paperback original inscribed or signed by Martin.

## Is this the true first?
The 1981 Timescape/Pocket Books mass-market paperback is the true first edition and first printing; no trade hardcover first was issued. The only hardcover of the title is the later Science Fiction Book Club edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The sole hardcover is the Timescape/SFBC book-club edition, which followed the paperback (early 1982, printing code M02 on page 207 and a gutter code on the jacket) and, though bound in boards with a dust jacket, is a book-club issue rather than the first edition. Book-club and later printings reprint the text but are not the true first; the paperback original with the full '10... 1' number line is the first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Sandkings* by George R.R. Martin a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/sandkings
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.