# Is "The Kif Strike Back" by C.J. Cherryh a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Kif Strike Back by C.J. Cherryh (Phantasia Press, 1985) is identified by: Phantasia Press first edition (Huntington Woods, Michigan), 1985, ISBN 0-932096-35-2, in a wraparound dust jacket with full-color frontispiece and map by David Cherry; single printing. The US Phantasia Press hardcover of 1985 is the true first edition; the DAW paperback (ISBN 0-88677-104-8) followed.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Phantasia Press first edition (Huntington Woods, Michigan), 1985, ISBN 0-932096-35-2, in a wraparound dust jacket with full-color frontispiece and map by David Cherry; single printing
- Issued in two simultaneous states: an ordinary trade hardcover and a signed, numbered limited issue slipcased and signed by the author on a colophon/limitation leaf
- Third book of the Chanur series; approximately 294 pages plus colophon
- Publisher imprint reads Phantasia Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | C.J. Cherryh |
| Publisher | Phantasia Press |
| Year | 1985 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Phantasia Press first edition (Huntington Woods, Michigan), 1985, ISBN 0-932096-35-2, in a wraparound dust jacket with full-color… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Phantasia Press first edition (Huntington Woods, Michigan), 1985, ISBN 0-932096-35-2, in a wraparound dust jacket with full-color frontispiece and map by David Cherry; single printing. Issued in two simultaneous states: an ordinary trade hardcover and a signed, numbered limited issue slipcased and signed by the author on a colophon/limitation leaf. Third book of the Chanur series; approximately 294 pages plus colophon.

## Is this the true first?
The US Phantasia Press hardcover of 1985 is the true first edition; the DAW paperback (ISBN 0-88677-104-8) followed.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
None. Distinguish the signed/numbered limited issue (with limitation leaf) from the unsigned trade hardcover; the later DAW paperback is a mass-market reprint, not a first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Kif Strike Back* by C.J. Cherryh a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-kif-strike-back
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.