# Is "Wetware" by Rudy Rucker a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Wetware by Rudy Rucker (Avon Books, 1988) is identified by: US Avon mass-market paperback original, first printing April 1988; pictorial wrappers; first printing identified by a complete Avon number line ending in 1. The US Avon paperback original of 1988 is the true first edition; the book was published directly into paperback with no preceding hardcover.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- US Avon mass-market paperback original, first printing April 1988; pictorial wrappers; first printing identified by a complete Avon number line ending in 1
- No prior hardcover edition was issued, so this paperback original is the true first
- Publisher imprint reads Avon Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Rudy Rucker |
| Publisher | Avon Books |
| Year | 1988 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | US Avon mass-market paperback original, first printing April 1988; pictorial wrappers; first printing identified by a complete Avon number… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
US Avon mass-market paperback original, first printing April 1988; pictorial wrappers; first printing identified by a complete Avon number line ending in 1. No prior hardcover edition was issued, so this paperback original is the true first.

## Is this the true first?
The US Avon paperback original of 1988 is the true first edition; the book was published directly into paperback with no preceding hardcover. It was co-winner (a tie) of the 1989 Philip K. Dick Award, given for the best original science-fiction paperback of 1988. Wetware is the second book in the Ware sequence, following Software.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later collected editions, including the Ware Tetralogy omnibus and subsequent reissues, are reprints or first-thus printings, not the true first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Wetware* by Rudy Rucker a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/wetware
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.