Aftermath

by Jack Wallen

It’s 2112 and Earth is dying. The only hope for saving the human race is to colonize the moon, but with little remaining technology, the solution would require some brilliant thinking and several willing volunteers.

Unfortunately, the volunteers consist mostly of men and women who’ve succumbed to the Delirium Channel, an expanded form of schizophrenia that has rendered these Roamers insane. With the help of a brilliant surgeon and powerful AI, scientific genius Aleister Dufresne has developed the means to silence the incessant madness, and a new type of astronaut is born, capable of reaching the distant world and kickstarting humanity.

Along for the ride is a trio of scavengers with just the right skills to help make the journey possible, and the leadership qualities to keep the Roamers on mission—and not killing one another.

But even in the void of space, the voice of madness screams incessantly in the silence of the mind.

392 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 26, 2025

About the author

Jack Wallen is what happens when a Gen Xer mind-melds with present day snark. Jack is a seeker of truth and a writer of words with a quantum mechanical pencil and a disjointed beat of sound and soul. Although he resides in the unlikely city of Louisville, Kentucky, Jack likes to think of himself more as an interplanetary traveler, on the lookout for the Satellite of Love and a perpetual movie sign...or so he tells the reflection in the mirror (some times in 3rd person). Jack is the author of numerous tales of dark, twisty fiction including the I Zombie series, the Klockwerk Movement, the Fringe Killer series, Shero, The Nameless Saga, and much more.

Reviews

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Wallen's first foray into Sci-fi and he nails it. The Earth is dying but Tech genius Aliester Dufresne has a plan to save hundreds by creating a new world on the Moon, now he just has to get a crew together. He recruits Gilly and Jit, 2 friends who have talents necessary to aid in this plan and 20 Roamers. The Roamers are people with schizophrenia who because of a toxin in the water experience a constant mixture of static, voices in their head, hallucinations and are prone to extreme violence plus feats of strength and agility that they call "The Delirium Channel" but Dufresne has developed an implant that will make them normal again. He offers the chance to Rick formerly "Tobias Detritus" after he finds out he has been to space before and gets him to recruit more Roamers. The first rocket lands on what will now be known as New Earth, they start building structures as the air isn't breathable and without giving more away, best laid plans don't always go the way people hope. I highly recommend this book and any to follow if you're a fan of the Sci-fi genre.

[Kelly Rickard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love sci-fi what I don't like is my sci-fi becoming real life horror and too close to home within the first page. With a growing sense of unease I continued but things seemed to get better. The light at the end of the tunnel and on towards survival and recovery.


I love this! There was such a warmth and depth of characters compared to most of the sci-fi that I read. 


Even though this is a completely different genre than what I'm used to from Jack, his voice was loud and clear singing through the page. There is a certain way of words that Jack has that is quite poetrical