Here are the covers and details for the Polish editions of Michael Cobley‘s critically-acclaimed and best-selling Humanity’s Fire novels! Published in Poland by MAG, the series is published in the UK and US by Orbit Books. The first two novels – ZIARNA ZIEMI (SEEDS OF EARTH) and OSIEROCONE ŚWIATY (THE ORPHANED WORLDS) – are out now. The third novel, WSCHODZĄCE GWIAZDY (THE ASCENDANT STARS) is due to be published on October 31st, 2014.
Here is the English-language synopsis for the first novel in the series…

The first intelligent species to encounter mankind attacked without warning. Merciless. Relentless. Unstoppable. With little hope of halting the invasion, Earth’s last roll of the dice was to dispatch three colony ships, seeds of Earth, to different parts of the galaxy. The human race would live on… somewhere.

150 years later, the planet Darien hosts a thriving human settlement, which enjoys a peaceful relationship with an indigenous race, the scholarly Uvovo. But there are secrets buried on Darien’s forest moon. Secrets that go back to an apocalyptic battle fought between ancient races at the dawn of galactic civilisation. Unknown to its colonists Darien is about to become the focus of an intergalactic power struggle, where the true stakes are beyond their comprehension. And what choices will the Uvovo make when their true nature is revealed and the skies grow dark with the enemy?

Michael Cobley’s trilogy is also available as eBooks through the JABberwocky eBook Program, and also as audiobooks through Audible. Michael’s next book, a stand-alone novel set in the same universe as the Humanity’s Fire series, ANCESTRAL MACHINES, is due to be published in 2015 by Orbit Books in the UK and US. The trilogy is also published in Germany by Heyne Verlag, and SEEDS OF EARTH is published in France by Bragelonne, as L’OMBRE DE LA LONGUE NUIT.

Here are just a handful of the great reviews Cobley’s series has received…

‘A complex, finely detailed thriller-cum-space opera… SEEDS OF EARTH has everything: well-realised extraterrestrials, scheming artificial intelligences, set-piece space battles and bizarre technology from the dawn of the galaxy. The first book of the trilogy is also a convincing portrayal of political machinations and the plight of individuals caught up in events beyond their comprehension.’ — Guardian

‘Cobley’s debut, first published in the U.K. in 2009, is a well-constructed space opera with a sense of vast scope, populated with an array of beautifully differentiated intelligences both organic and artificial… this is a thick and satisfying 10-course meal of starchy pageantry, meaty characters, bitter losses, and sweet romance.’ — Publishers Weekly

‘Fast and exciting… an excellent middle book in the trilogy, expanding on SEEDS OF EARTH and setting everything in place for a thrilling conclusion.’ — Waterstone’s Book Quaterly on THE ORPHANED WORLDS

‘Cobley writes energetic space opera, rarely dallying with sentiment and mostly assaulting the reader with exotic locations and sudden skirmishes. There are joyous moments of invention but overall there’s too much going on… Fortunately, as the saga progresses, THE ORPHANED WORLDS begins knotting some of the threads together – it still feels like an over-shaken can of fizzy diet Banks…’ — SFX

‘THE ASCENDANT STARS is the culminating book in the Humanity’s Fire trilogy, a space opera of mind-bending depth and scope which sets complexly thought-out alien races and chilling cyborg armies against humans riven by competing political philosophies and agendas. A marvellously readable examination of people under extreme stress, a convincing depiction of startlingly alien aliens, and a mature political analysis often lacking in the genre. Cobley expertly juggles multiple plot-lines and brings them to thematically satisfying conclusions while providing the landmark trilogy with a thrilling finale.’ — Guardian