Identification points are listed only where two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 23 Oct 2026.
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The first edition is the Michael Joseph hardback, London, 1997; Wikipedia dates it 2 October 1997 under ISBN 0-7181-0057-3, and the US first (St. Martin's Press) followed in 1998. The UK library record for that ISBN, held by the British Library and National Library of Wales among others, gives xi, 435 pages, 25 cm, with a map on the lining papers, as the third book of The Warlord Chronicles. Check for the Michael Joseph imprint and a 1997 date on the title page and verso. The Penguin paperback of 1998 is later.
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.
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Michael Joseph, London, in 1997, in hardback.
Points of issue are listed only where at least two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 23 October 2026. Reviewed by Harriet Ellis; read how we check facts.
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