A COLLECTION by Terry Dowling
CATEGORY Science Fiction
PUBLICATION DATE  March 2026
COVER ART  Nick Stathopoulos 
PAGES  297

EDITION
Trade Paperback — ISBN 978-1-80394-555-2  [£14.99]

ABOUT THE BOOK

A brand-new, novel-length adventure set in this same fascinating future. Travel with Aspen Dirk, the most famous boggler of them all, as he seeks to uncover the Nobodoi’s real plan for this bizarre Patchwork of vast energy corridors, alien enclaves and deadly domains.

The all-powerful Nobodoi invaders have gone, mysteriously Recalled, leaving behind their occupying client Races and all that they have made—the mighty tapestry of alien enclaves, land-bridges and scattered Human communities that Earth has become three hundred years from now. But something is seriously wrong with the very fabric of the bizarre and fascinating Patchwork they have left behind. The occupying alien forces seem to be at war with each other. The great planetary engines are malfunctioning, causing wholesale death and destruction. Is the world failing at last? Was this the Nobodoi’s intention all along?

Aspen Dirk, the famous Human boggler who can “read” so many of the alien artefacts left by the Nobodoi, sets out to find answers, only to uncover what might well be the Nobodoi’s real master plan for our beleaguered world.

Bedlam Rose is that rare thing: a glimpse into the truly alien, whether it’s the jovial, deadly Hoproi with their wargardens and fighting-stars, the reclusive Matt houselords who bleed gold and skin only the Humans they love, the ruthless Darzie who endure constant agony just to be here. Then there are the inscrutable Nobodoi themselves, whoever and whatever they may be!

This is science fiction at its very best: thrilling, surprising, filled with a wonderful strangeness, a celebration of what it means to be truly Human, and blessed with exactly the right blend of relevance, philosophical insight and genuine heart.