Young Rosa Somberly suddenly inherits the title “Judge of the Court of Last Resort” following the death of her father in a courtroom catastrophe.

Join us as we celebrate the launch of Colly Campbell's new novel Judge Rosa Somberly: The Caiman v Tau al-Gorz. Written for a young adult audience but also appealing to older fantasy readers, this story is full of fast action, mystery, monsters and time travel – it’s all there – but at the heart of the story is the clash between unrelenting development and the natural world.

Benji, an urban explorer and thief, breaks into the Judge’s house and is sentenced by the old Judge’s corpse to protect Rosa from the follies of the human world and the cruelties of the elementals.

Together Rosa and Benji learn to navigate the laws of both humans and elementals in the Court of Last Resort where anyone (or anything) can seek justice. But Rosa and Benji face their greatest challenge when the eternal clash between Tau al-Gorz, the Sweeper of Progress, and the Caiman, Protector of the Rivers and Forests, reaches a chaotic world-wide climax. To judge the very same case that killed her father, Rosa, Benji and his urban gang must travel 4000 years through time to the Minoan civilisation where the ancient conflict between progress and the natural world began.

Colly Campbell was born in Scotland and went to school in 4 continents by the time he was 11. His family moved to Australia’s tropical North which is where he grew up. He worked as both a journalist and sometime playwright and musician. Colly moved to Canberra in the 1990’s working in Federal politics in the Senate and in Government and then at the Australian Institute of Criminology which tuned up his understanding of both criminality and the justice system.

What he has encountered over the years he now uses as inspiration for exhilarating, entertaining fiction.

Judge Rosa Somberly will be launched by Laura Nuttal MLA - the youngest member of the ACT Legislative Assembly representing the Australian Greens.