# Is "The Reality Dysfunction" by Peter F. Hamilton a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F. Hamilton (Macmillan, 1996) is identified by: Macmillan (London) hardcover, published 26 January 1996, the true first. The UK Macmillan hardcover of 1996 is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Macmillan (London) hardcover, published 26 January 1996, the true first
- First impression is identified by the full descending number line 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 on the copyright page (the terminal 1 must be present) and the priced dust jacket
- A substantial volume of roughly 955 pages; this is the opening book of the Night's Dawn trilogy and Hamilton's first hardcover novel
- The jacket should retain its printed cover price
- Publisher imprint reads Macmillan
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Peter F. Hamilton |
| Publisher | Macmillan |
| Year | 1996 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Macmillan (London) hardcover, published 26 January 1996, the true first |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Macmillan (London) hardcover, published 26 January 1996, the true first. First impression is identified by the full descending number line 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 on the copyright page (the terminal 1 must be present) and the priced dust jacket. A substantial volume of roughly 955 pages; this is the opening book of the Night's Dawn trilogy and Hamilton's first hardcover novel. The jacket should retain its printed cover price.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Macmillan hardcover of 1996 is the true first. The US Warner/Aspect release split the single novel into two mass-market paperbacks (Part 1: Emergence and Part 2: Expansion, 1997), so no US edition can be the first of the complete text.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
None notable. The US paperbacks are a distinct split-text edition rather than a book-club issue; later Macmillan impressions advance the number line so the terminal 1 no longer appears.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Reality Dysfunction* by Peter F. Hamilton a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-reality-dysfunction
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.