# Is "The Warrior's Apprentice" by Lois McMaster Bujold a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Warrior's Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold (Baen Books, 1986) is identified by: Baen Books mass-market paperback original, August 1986 (ISBN 0-671-65587-6); the copyright page carries Baen's stated first-printing line (First printing, August 1986) with no later printings listed. The US Baen paperback original (August 1986) is the true first; there is no earlier hardcover, so the first printing is identified by the stated August 1986 printing line and the 0-671-65587-6 ISBN.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Baen Books mass-market paperback original, August 1986 (ISBN 0-671-65587-6); the copyright page carries Baen's stated first-printing line (First printing, August 1986) with no later printings listed
- First Miles Vorkosigan novel; the cover art was originally commissioned for an unused Keith Laumer title, with Miles added to the scene
- Publisher imprint reads Baen Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Lois McMaster Bujold |
| Publisher | Baen Books |
| Year | 1986 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Baen Books mass-market paperback original, August 1986 (ISBN 0-671-65587-6); the copyright page carries Baen's stated first-printing line… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Baen Books mass-market paperback original, August 1986 (ISBN 0-671-65587-6); the copyright page carries Baen's stated first-printing line (First printing, August 1986) with no later printings listed. First Miles Vorkosigan novel; the cover art was originally commissioned for an unused Keith Laumer title, with Miles added to the scene.

## Is this the true first?
The US Baen paperback original (August 1986) is the true first; there is no earlier hardcover, so the first printing is identified by the stated August 1986 printing line and the 0-671-65587-6 ISBN.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The first hardcover appearance was the book-club omnibus Test of Honor (Nelson Doubleday/SFBC, 1987), which pairs it with Shards of Honor; the NESFA Press hardcover is a much later edition. Neither is the true first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Warrior's Apprentice* by Lois McMaster Bujold a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-warriors-apprentice
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.