Identification points are listed only where two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 20 Oct 2026.
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The first British edition is the Macdonald hardback of 1982 (345 pages), not the Futura paperback that was our earlier lead. The US Viking edition of 1981 has priority overall. Copies occur in pictorial jackets with no printed price, recorded by ISFDB and by a dealer; a King collector guide explains the unpriced jacket as the export issue. Check that the title page verso shows no later impression.
We have not yet confirmed the issue points that tell this first impression from later ones. Until we do, compare your copy's title page and copyright page with the publisher, place and year above: any later printing or edition statement means it is not this one.
Know the points? Tell us. We publish them, with credit, once a second source agrees.
Macdonald, London, in 1982, in hardback.
Points of issue are listed only where at least two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 20 October 2026. Reviewed by Harriet Ellis; read how we check facts.
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