Flawed print run makes DIE ANOTHER DAY novelization extra rare

Fans of collecting James Bond first editions will have hopefully snapped up a first printing of Raymond Benson’s Die Another Day novelisation in hardcover, because if you didn’t, you may be out of luck. Printed in small quantities anyway (due to the fact it was published simultaneously as a paperback) it’s come to light that the first print run of the Die Another Day hardcover was flawed.

Apparently, a production error produced a batch of copies, the exact number is unknown, that had pages cut short. These flawed copies were destroyed and the remains of the publisher’s stock double-checked. This is according to several online book dealers. Author Benson confirmed the production flaw, but confessed that he didn’t know if the short pages were the sole reason for the recall. Regardless, the book has already been issued in a second edition to meet demand. This means unflawed first editions are exceedingly rare!

It looks like Die Another Day could very well become one of the most difficult of the post-Fleming Bond books to find in a true first edition, rivaling Tomorrow Never Dies, GoldenEye, and COLD, all of which currently sell for $300 and up.

A true first edition of Die Another Day is identified by the number string of 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 on the copyright page. All the numbers must be there. If the “1″ is missing, it means the novelisation is a second edition.