Orion Books, 2006 cover
Cover of the Orion Books, 2006 edition of this book. The Touchstone 1995 jacket has not been photographed yet.
Identification points are listed only where two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 28 Oct 2026.
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Christopher Priest's novel was first published in London in September 1995 by Touchstone, a Simon & Schuster UK imprint, as a 404 page hardback, ISBN 0 671 71924 6. This is the true first; the American edition came later from Tor (1997, according to Priest). Dealers describe the trade copies as cloth or boards in a dust jacket. The novel won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize (1995) and the World Fantasy Award (1996). The Gollancz SF Masterworks paperback of 2011 is a much later edition.
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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The cover image shows this book but may not be this edition or printing.
Touchstone, London, in 1995, in hardback.
Points of issue are listed only where at least two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 28 October 2026. Reviewed by Harriet Ellis; read how we check facts.
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Read the guide →6 min readBook condition grading uses a six-step trade scale: Fine, Near Fine, Very Good, Good, Fair and Poor. Collectors grade the …
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