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?
Reviews
"Humankind's first contact with an alien intelligence proved a tragedy: the Swarm was a bellicose alien hive mind intent on wiping out the human race. As a last resort, Earth sent three colony ships into the unknown in the hope that the race would survive. The novel opens on the world of Darien, which human colonists share with the pacific Uvovo. When the remnants of humanity and their alien allies recontact the settlers, the scene is set for a complex, finely detailed thriller-cum-space opera. An ancient secret is guarded by the Uvovo, and alien factions will do anything to capture the planet. 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." Eric Brown, Guardian UK
"Mike has in the past been known for his Shadowkings trilogy, a dark fantasy series with the first book, Shadowkings, published in 2001. Though well-liked by readers and critics, publishing was a little erratic and the series unjustly disappeared… Four years later, Mike’s back, not with a Fantasy but with an SF series….this is the sort of thing that Space Opera readers love. We’ve got spaceships and a broad history, shown through the viewpoints of multi-person perspectives, linked together in a way that Heinlein would’ve been proud of. There’s a nicely developing backstory for those who like their stories to have a contextual background, drip-fed (though at times info-dumped) throughout the novel as current events unfold. The aliens are nicely alien, with lots of different races and big mysterious secrets in the Uvovo’s history, when they were hidden on the forest-covered moon of Darien, which are revealed through the novel…In summary, this is a great hunky juggernaut of a Space Opera novel. It is a confident book, not entirely without its flaws, but one that should be greeted with enthusiasm by fans of Peter F Hamilton and Iain M Banks."sffworld.com, Mark Yon. Read full review at sffworld.com/brevoff/521.html.
Author Biography
Michael Cobley was born in Leicester, England, but for most of his life has lived in or near Glasgow, Scotland. He has studied engineering, been a DJ and has cultivated an interest in regional politics.
