Philip K. Dick published The Crack in Space in 1966, during one of the most productive stretches of his career. The novel imagines an overpopulated near-future Earth and a discovered rift in space that seems to promise escape until what’s on the other side complicates everything. It’s mid-period Dick: propulsive, politically charged, and built around the kind of reality-questioning premise that would define his reputation.
This Ace paperback original is the true first edition of the novel. No hardcover preceded it; the first hardcover appearance didn’t come until 1970, when the title was collected in the British A Philip K. Dick Omnibus published by Sidgwick & Jackson. Collectors focused on Dick’s first appearances will want this copy, not a later hardcover reprint.
This is the first edition, identified per L.W. Currey’s Science Fiction and Fantasy Authors (p. 125) as Ace Book F-377 (40¢) with no statement of printing on the copyright page. All points confirmed against the physical copy.
The book is in very good condition. Both covers show slight wrinkling, which is noticeable on close inspection but not creased. The spine is straight and uncreased. Pages show very slight toning. One page has been cut long by the printer and exhibits marginal chipping as a result; the chipping is confined entirely to the margin, with no text affected. This is a bindery trim anomaly rather than reader damage, consistent with the longer cut visible on that page. All other pages are clean and unmarked.
The Crack in Space sits in the middle tier of Dick’s bibliography. Not the crown jewel titles, but a genuine first appearance in a collecting category that has seen sustained demand. The key point for collectors is that this Ace paperback is the first edition in every meaningful sense: it predates the first hardcover by four years. The bindery trim anomaly on one page is disclosed fully; it is a production curiosity rather than a substantive flaw, and the margin chipping does not affect any text. For a collector building out Dick’s Ace paperback firsts, this copy presents well.
Philip K. Dick published The Crack in Space in 1966, during one of the most productive stretches of his career. The novel imagines an overpopulated near-future Earth and a discovered rift in space that seems to promise escape until what’s on the other side complicates everything. It’s mid-period Dick: propulsive, politically charged, and built around the kind of reality-questioning premise that would define his reputation.
This Ace paperback original is the true first edition of the novel. No hardcover preceded it; the first hardcover appearance didn’t come until 1970, when the title was collected in the British A Philip K. Dick Omnibus published by Sidgwick & Jackson. Collectors focused on Dick’s first appearances will want this copy, not a later hardcover reprint.
This is the first edition, identified per L.W. Currey’s Science Fiction and Fantasy Authors (p. 125) as Ace Book F-377 (40¢) with no statement of printing on the copyright page. All points confirmed against the physical copy.
The book is in very good condition. Both covers show slight wrinkling, which is noticeable on close inspection but not creased. The spine is straight and uncreased. Pages show very slight toning. One page has been cut long by the printer and exhibits marginal chipping as a result; the chipping is confined entirely to the margin, with no text affected. This is a bindery trim anomaly rather than reader damage, consistent with the longer cut visible on that page. All other pages are clean and unmarked.
The Crack in Space sits in the middle tier of Dick’s bibliography. Not the crown jewel titles, but a genuine first appearance in a collecting category that has seen sustained demand. The key point for collectors is that this Ace paperback is the first edition in every meaningful sense: it predates the first hardcover by four years. The bindery trim anomaly on one page is disclosed fully; it is a production curiosity rather than a substantive flaw, and the margin chipping does not affect any text. For a collector building out Dick’s Ace paperback firsts, this copy presents well.
