The post is chock full of goodies, with links to an extract from the new book, to themed wallpaper featuring Steve Stone’s superb cover art, news of author appearances and signings and also to some fantastic reviews!

Still here? Get thee hence to the Orbit Blog right away!

Shiny spaceships!

And here’s a link to a recent review over at NextRead for SEEDS OF EARTH.

‘A great first attempt… Cobley has a strong confident voice with a intriguing and different tale to tell. I’m wondering what layers he’s going to peel back in THE ORPHANED WORLDS.’

If you came to the party early and picked this one up during its first outing in trade paperback, you’ll be excited to learn that the follow up, ORPHANED WORLDS is due out in April. Thank to the folks at Orbit for sending along the cover visual – what great artwork! Incidentally, we’ve already done a deal with Bragelonne for a French translation of this series and so more on that in due course.

Mike has dropped us a line to tell us about a tonne of other stuff he has going on too…

• A short story, BLACK FRAGMENTARIA, is published in the current edition of Postscripts Quarterly (PS 20/21) which is now available. Visit the PS Publishing web site for further details. Note that this edition also feature stories by Zeno clients Chris Roberson, Matthew Hughes and Lavie Tidhar. It should have been called the Zeno Edition!

• Another Cobley short, THE MAKER’S MARK, is to appear in the Conflicts anthology, edited by Ian Whates and Ian Watson, published by Newcon Press. This is scheduled for release in February/March 2010

• Michael is one of the featured authors taking part in the Aye Write festival, held in Glasgow March 5-13th. He’ll be participating in a panel entitled ‘The Early Days Of A Better Future’, along withother genre authors, Ken Macleod, Richard Morgan, Hal Duncan, Debbie Miller, and chaired by Andrew Wilson. This is a ticketed event.

• Finally Michael will be at this year’s Eastercon, which takes place at the Radisson Edwardian, Heathrow over Easter weekend.  Zeno will be there too, as will a host of other genre folks and fans. There’s still time to get your membership!

You thought Big Brother was tough? Try Knife Edge – the reality TV show where wannabe knife fighters are the celebrities in a nation going to hell.

Britain, tomorrow. The ultimate response to knife crime has been instituted by a bankrupt government: duelling with knives has now been legalised. On Saturday nights, the nation sit down to watch the country’s best fighters slash it out on prime time.

When a young boy with hoplophobia (the fear of weaponry) runs away from home, his father hires a former special forces agent to find him. With the help of the boy’s psychiatrist, Josh Cumberland delves into the dark underbelly of the knife culture that has infected his country with no guarantee that the boy is even still alive…

Look out for EDGE when it is published next month.

Don’t they look lovely? Both books are due out from Angry Robot next January  in the UK and in the US next Autumn – or ‘Fall’ if you prefer!