# Is "The Samuil Petrovitch Trilogy" by Simon Morden a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Samuil Petrovitch Trilogy by Simon Morden (Orbit, 2011) is identified by: The three constituent novels (Equations of Life, Theories of Flight, Degrees of Freedom) were each first issued in 2011 as Orbit paperback originals, published within months of one another. The 2011 Orbit paperback originals of the three novels are the relevant firsts; the trilogy collectively won the Philip K.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The three constituent novels (Equations of Life, Theories of Flight, Degrees of Freedom) were each first issued in 2011 as Orbit paperback originals, published within months of one another
- First-printing number line ending in 1 on each volume
- Publisher imprint reads Orbit
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Simon Morden |
| Publisher | Orbit |
| Year | 2011 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The three constituent novels (Equations of Life, Theories of Flight, Degrees of Freedom) were each first issued in 2011 as Orbit paperback… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
The three constituent novels (Equations of Life, Theories of Flight, Degrees of Freedom) were each first issued in 2011 as Orbit paperback originals, published within months of one another. First-printing number line ending in 1 on each volume.

## Is this the true first?
The 2011 Orbit paperback originals of the three novels are the relevant firsts; the trilogy collectively won the Philip K. Dick Award presented for 2011. The UK Orbit and US Orbit paperback originals appeared in close succession in 2011, with the UK printings possibly slightly ahead; the US Orbit paperback originals are the award-relevant editions, while exact UK-versus-US precedence should be confirmed volume by volume by date.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later reissues, including any omnibus gathering, are reprints. UK and US Orbit paperback originals were near-simultaneous in 2011; verify by date for exact precedence.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Samuil Petrovitch Trilogy* by Simon Morden a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-samuil-petrovitch-trilogy
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.