Dark Theory by Wick Welker

A robot yearns to remember. A thief struggles to forget. A galaxy on the verge of collapse. On the fringe of a broken civilization, a robot awakens with no memories and only one directive: find his creator. But in the village of Korthe, Beetro finds only radioactive pestilence, famine, and Miree-a tormented thief with dreams of retiring after her final score. Meanwhile, the fiefdom is plunged further into chaos when a new warlord seizes control, recasting serfs as refugees and leaving derelict robot peasants in his wake. With a shared interest in survival, Beetro and Miree team up to pull off an impossible castle heist: steal a single flake of dark matter, the world's most valuable and mysterious ore. But as they trek through the feudal wasteland in search of answers, they realize the true extent of the chaos surrounding them: the stars are disappearing from the sky and the entire galaxy is unraveling. As he uncovers his origin, Beetro discovers he may be the key to the salvation of the cosmos-or its destruction. Time, space, and loyalty become relative as he learns the real reason he was created. A mind-bending science fiction epic with the bones of a fantasy traveling quest, Dark Theory unfolds through a journey of betrayal, identity, and unlikely friendships in a world of darkness set at the edge of space and time.

I do not even know where to begin. I wish I had an amazing vocabulary and could eloquently express how good this book really is. Unfortunately, I'm just a country bumpkin from Tennessee, so I'll try my best.

I'm sure all readers have that one moment and book that forever changed their life. When I was a kid in Junior High (I'm 38 now so it was a bit ago), I read Stephen King's The Stand. That book left a profound mark on my life. Then, as recently as a few years ago, I discovered and read Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings and that book had a huge impact as well. I claim that it changed my life. The Way of Kings showed me that there is so much more to books than just the story. Journey before Destination, right?

Both the books I just mentioned showed me that not only could books be incredible stories but that they could have a ton of heart, make you emotional, and create new best friends for life even though these new friends aren't real. They were so much more than just a book. The feeling I had when I finished The Way of Kings is the same exact feeling I got after finishing Dark Theory. In short, this masterpiece is my favorite book... EVER!

“Technology is so poor these days, tyrants can only use the weapons of the past-weapons they dig up-combustible engines that they patch back together. Mankind has proven that they cannot wisely wield the technology they develop and that's the era in which we now live. May as well be the stone ages.”

“What makes a person who they are? Is it their thoughts? Actions? What they would've done? Don't be afraid of who you were. Be afraid of never learning enough to change for the better.”

EVERYTHING

Giving this my personal 2023 Indie Book of the Year Award.

Holy cow this was outstanding! This may be my favorite self published book I've ever read. Literally the only reason I gave this a chance was because of the cover. I have too many books to read to spend my time with self published books but when the cover is this nice, I will gladly give it a shot.

I think the main reason I liked this so much is because it really feels like a fantasy novel with sci-fi elements to it vs just a sci-fi novel, but boy when he gives you the elements he gives you the most mind boggling, otherworldly information that no human other than Welker can fully understand. In fact Welker tried his best to dumb it down as simply as you possibly could and I still couldn't grasp it. It's like if an astronaut told you how to fly a ship in step by step instructions you're still not going to get it. He incorporates time traveling, astronomy, black holes, how gravity effects time, and much else. Even though I didn't understand a lot of the science it didn't take away the fun I had with this novel in the slightest.

My favorite parts of this story are the characters and the little cliffhangers at the end of every scene!
The story follows Beetro, an AI robot that doesn't remember anything about himself other than he needs to find Galiaro but he has no idea who or where or what Galiaro is. He becomes friends with several people who are all memorable in their own ways. They later find out the whole galaxy is in danger and must work together to save it.

Well done Wick. I am very excited for the next installment!