# Is "Zodiac: The Eco-Thriller" by Neal Stephenson a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Zodiac: The Eco-Thriller by Neal Stephenson (Atlantic Monthly Press, 1988) is identified by: Trade paperback original in pictorial wrappers, Atlantic Monthly Press, New York, 1988, with first printing stated on the copyright page (ISBN 0-87113-181-1). The US Atlantic Monthly Press trade paperback original (1988) is the true first; it was published only in wrappers, and there was no hardcover until the Subterranean Press hardcover in 2010.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Trade paperback original in pictorial wrappers, Atlantic Monthly Press, New York, 1988, with first printing stated on the copyright page (ISBN 0-87113-181-1)
- Issued only in pictorial wrappers with no dust jacket, so binding rather than a jacket carries the identification: the pictorial front and rear covers with the printed cover price present on the back, and the copyright-page printing statement
- Genuine first-issue copies are not remainder-marked or ex-library
- Publisher imprint reads Atlantic Monthly Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Neal Stephenson |
| Publisher | Atlantic Monthly Press |
| Year | 1988 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Trade paperback original in pictorial wrappers, Atlantic Monthly Press, New York, 1988, with first printing stated on the copyright page… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Trade paperback original in pictorial wrappers, Atlantic Monthly Press, New York, 1988, with first printing stated on the copyright page (ISBN 0-87113-181-1). Issued only in pictorial wrappers with no dust jacket, so binding rather than a jacket carries the identification: the pictorial front and rear covers with the printed cover price present on the back, and the copyright-page printing statement. Genuine first-issue copies are not remainder-marked or ex-library.

## Is this the true first?
The US Atlantic Monthly Press trade paperback original (1988) is the true first; it was published only in wrappers, and there was no hardcover until the Subterranean Press hardcover in 2010. This was Stephenson's second book, following The Big U (1984).

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later Bantam Spectra mass-market paperback printings are set in a smaller format, carry their own later printing statements and ISBN, and are not the first. There is no book-club issue of the original.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Zodiac: The Eco-Thriller* by Neal Stephenson a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/zodiac-the-eco-thriller
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.