Dark Prophet

Dark Law #2

by Wick Welker

I am the one of the end, the world maker, and the god breaker.

Time is unraveling and Earth is doomed to wander the dark of space, unmoored from the galaxy itself. Galiaro’s plan for humanity’s escape to another dimension has failed and his dark matter robot creations, Beetro and Curse, were imprisoned in a nanoscopic black hole. Now, the entire planet is blighted by drought, the oceans heave beyond their bounds, and thousands are dispossessed. The end of the cosmos was foreseen by an ancient Alchean prophet named Othel.

Thousands of years ago, Othel left behind the Dark Earth prophecy for the planet to survive the calamity. Now, the fellowship of Dark Theory—the drunken astrocyst Galiaro, Arym of the underground cult, thief Miree, time traveler Hawera, and the street rat Ribcage—must pick up the breadcrumbs of the ancient prophet’s quest to save Earth. Separately, they traverse the dying world and learn alarming news—the dark matter robots, Curse and Beetro, have escaped their black hole prison. Once parallel world enemies, the two robot brothers now have an uneasy alliance, and with an advantage… Curse already knows the prophecy. He has seen it before, used it before, and destroyed his own world with its power. Now on the cusp of annihilation, whoever wields the Dark Earth prophecy will unleash the cosmic power that could save—or doom—reality itself.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Dystopia

508 pages, Paperback

Published May 15, 2025

About the author

Wick Welker is the the winner of the Self Published Science Fiction Contest SPSFC4 with Saint Elspeth and a two time finalist of the competition as well. Start with either Dark Theory or Saint Elspeth for an intro into his writing.

https://wickwelker.com/

Reviews

[TXGAL1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

RATING: 4 stars Estimated Publication Date: May 15, 2025


Author Wick Welker resumes his foray into the science fiction fantasy series, DARK LAW, with his latest offering DARK PROPHET (Dark Law #2). If you are looking for an epic series that ticks all the boxes of a good vs evil, out-of-this world story with humanity and the universe on the precipice of extinction this is for you. The first book in the series is DARK THEORY with the novella DARK KINGDOM, (Dark Law 1.5) close behind.

The planet and humanity are on the very brink of destruction. Malnutrition and starvation due to the changing weather patterns leave everyone desperate and on edge. Earth’s orbit has been pulled closer to the Sun due to Saturn being pulled into a black hole which creates a parallel dimension. The black hole is a failed attempt by astrocyst Galiaro and his creation, Beetro (a robot) to open an ancient Alchean inner space gate for the people of earth to flee.

DARK PROPHET begins with some of those that we’ve met in the previous books being sent on quests by Galiaro to find dark matter while he investigates the “dark earth prophecy”. Dark matter is the essential source needed to operate the Alchean technology.

Arym escaped the Crib, a subterranean colony of clones, in the Hindlands and will assist Galiaro in his investigation regarding the prophecy.
Miree escaped the 5th Kingdom and the Kish band of thieves and searches for a way to find access to the dark matter mines in the Torbad mountains. There are dark matter mines in the 5th Kingdom, but Miree is adamant against returning to the 5th.
Hawera escaped the Reticulum and the AI leader, SINGULAR HER, and is traveling with Ribcage who has left her life of searching through junkyard piles.

Control of dark matter is also of extreme interest to deadly Lord Curse, Beetro’s evil twin, who wants to destroy opposition and make slaves of those that capitulate. Curse has no trouble attracting evil ones to his plan.

The expansion of space and the looping of time is broken. Without both being fixed everything is doomed.

There are many twists and turns and surprises along the way which makes for an interesting plot; and, the story is driven forward by each chapter alternating the progress made by each quest.

In exchange for an honest review, this eARC was shared with me by Mr. Welker whom I thank very much. Welker has a winner with this series, BUT, if you prefer standalones, try his sci-fi books REFRACTION or SAINT ELSPETH. Both are equally amazing!

[Wick Welker]

6/17/25: Audiobook is live! https://www.audible.com/pd/B0FDGYD2TK...

5/15/25: Launch Day!!

4/21/25: audiobook in production!

3/28/25: ARCs live on Net Galley!

3/16/25: Cover reveal!

[Rachel (TheShadesofOrange)]

4.0 Stars
I really enjoyed Dark Theory, the first book in the Dark Law series so I have been anticipating this sequel. I am happy to say that Dark Prophet did not disappoint. The writing, characters and overall plot are very consistent with the first installment.

As a series, this one feels very accessible without too much technical jargon to bog down casual sci fi readers. Instead this one is more focused on the characters and their heroic journey of growth. This narrative choice is what always brings me to compare the series to fantasy because while it takes place in a science fiction world, the narrative design draws more from familiar (but beloved) tropes.

I would recommend this series to anyone looking to get into science fiction, even if they don't necessarily read a lot of the genre. Don't be intimidated by the length. These books are engrossing so you will likely fly through the pages like I did

Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the author.

[Nicholas Perez]

It's here! After 3 years, the sequel is finally here!

[Efka · Rating 4 out of 5]

After receiving an arc in exchange for a review yet again, I've eagerly jumped into Dark Prophet after thoroughly enjoying Dark Kingdom. I was pleased to find the same characters (Some of them grown as characters, some did not), same strange Borderlands-esque world and same sci-fi ambition that marked the first two books of the series. And while it didn’t strike quite the same 5* gold-standard for me as Dark Kingdom (that case was very very uncommon for me, as I rarely find short stories worth more than 3* and Dark Kingdom was a 5* read for me), it still delivered a deeply enjoyable read.

What stood out for me:

• Change in storytelling – This sequel leans more into the symbolic, digging deeper into thoughts of fate, identity, time, destiny in a world that is about to collapse. In this book, the main story arc shifts from what’s happening to more about why it’s happening, and I admire the step to make a change like that in a second book. Usually the why's come late in the series.

• Character Growth – Beetro continues to evolve from a being of function into one of idea and agenda, and that was nice to note. Arym and HAwera are given more layers too, though still it is more about Beetro's path. Though Arym also levels up quite a bit.

• World-Building – I've mentioned that in my mind this world looks a lot like some worlds from the Borderlands series. And the mix of hard sci-fi with something as simple as plot being woven in a fishermen village still works well and gives the world a unique appearance.

Where it lost some charm:

• Pacing and Focus – While Dark Theory took a bit to get going, funny enough - Dark Prophet suffered from an opposite. I found myself a bit overwhelmed at the begining due to a rapid change in POVs, names and high pace (especially since it is a reasonably long period since I've read the first book) , and then again it changed around the middle, it felt like the plot and tension were sacrificed for conversation and ideology. I found myself thinking that I'd like a bit more consistant story flow. Generally, I liked the final third of the book the most, I think it reached the balance for me between pace, lore, worlbuilding and storytelling.

To sum up, Dark Prophet doesn’t outshine Dark Theory, but it builds upon it. It deepens the themes, raises the stakes, and pushes characters further into moral and existential fog.

A strong 4* from me again. I’m intrigued to see where the final installment takes us. Honestly, I have no clue whatsover how everything will turn in book three again. And I have no doubt, that it will turn.

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 - Stars

Opening:
My journey into the Dark Law series began back in the Spring of 2024 when I read Dark Theory for the SPSFC-3 competition. It was one of the more dense reads I had for assigned reading yet I still ended up enjoying it. I knew this was one of those series and authors I’d end up continuing to read from that point on.

I also read Dark Kingdom at the beginning of this year and it was also entertaining. Fast forward a couple of months and I was excited to not only hear book two Dark Prophet was releasing but I was also able to get my hands on a copy.

Pacing:
The page count came down considerably from the eight hundred plus of book one to a much more reasonable just over five hundred for book two. Combine that with the fact this read was purely a visual read while the overs from this series were experienced with the audio as well, and I honestly ended up connecting with this one a bit more than the other two.

Dark Theory still took me a couple of weeks to get through but that was simply due to me not having as much time to visually read as I often do over the winter and early months of Spring. I though the flow of book two worked very well for me. There is plenty of ebb and flow to avoid the feeling of either too much action or getting lost in a slog of unnecessary details.

Even with that being said, this is the type of story that kept me on the edge of my seat whenever I did get a chance to sit down and dive back into the story. I didn’t notice any real editing issues nor did I have any trouble with names of characters or places to trip me up.

I will finish the pacing with a brief mention of time travel. I though the author does a good job in guiding us through these moments but if you’re a reader that doesn’t enjoy these aspects or struggle with them, just be aware they exist in this story.

World Building:
This has been such a unique world to explore in the Dark Law series and especially Dark Prophet. Though technology exists there still seems to be a feeling of a primitive type of setback in society. The various factions, regions and depth of history shared more traditionally by the characters as well as found technology and time twisting in on itself really kept things fresh and intriguing throughout this read.

Each time I sat down and picked up where I left off, it didn’t take me long at all to lose myself in the story and visualize the scenes as they unfolded.

Another aspect that I picked up on more this time was the amount of philosophical themes this time around. I’m sure there was plenty in the previous reads but I really got stuck on them this time. Some of this could be related to focusing on a strictly visual read for Dark Prophet. Looking back at the title though, it does make sense.

Character Development:
There are several groups of characters and their point of view taking place throughout book two. Their paths do eventually come to together but it was a smooth transition to that point and I easily kept up with each PoV as I progressed. As I mentioned previously even the timeline twists were easy enough to keep straight and it only lead to some great “Ah hah!” type of moments.

I don’t want to mention many characters specifically which could end up being one type of spoiler or another. However, I will say each of the returning characters are complex. I never felt any of them to be one dimensional or boring. There are some amazing new characters introduced in Dark Prophet though including one of my favorites Befel. You’ll just have to read the series through to this point to meet this character and judge for yourself though.

Closing:
Something I wasn’t sure where to mention in the above sections is some great artwork that only helped to fuel my vision through various scenes and this world in general.

I’m not sure how long this series is intended to go but things are certainly setup well at this point for a possible finale in book three.

If you are looking for a science fiction tale along the lines of post apocalyptic world in the aftermath of a highly advanced society, interesting politics and religions, unique characters and that head scratching timeline twists, look into the Dark Law series.

Scoring:
Pacing 4.0 / 5.0
World Building 5.0 / 5.0
Character Development 4.5 / 5.0

[Ziggy Nixon · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a fool’s quest to try to fix chaos. But that doesn’t make it an unworthy one.

Wick Welker has once again put together a very enjoyable yet admittedly exceedingly complex, almost Tolkienesque tale with the second full-length book of his Dark Law series, namely, "Dark Prophet". And I think the definitions accompanying the word "complex" in this case are perfect (yes, I was fishing again for useful synonyms) for describing this story. First and most obvious is the classical use as describing something (or someone) as "consisting of many different and connected parts". That is definitely true here as we again follow a cast of seemingly dozens of characters (if not more), different societies that exist through time, space, and dimensions, as well as events that stretch beyond imagination. To say I'm left feeling flummoxed and outmaneuvered by this book is an understatement. But fear not, for all that is occurring is that the galaxy is expanding and time is rotting, futurepast is looping around a circle rather than spiraling into new iterations, and a great nothingness awaits humanity. Wait… is that good or bad?

The dark earth prophecy has no author and it has no origin. No single mind created it.

The other definition of complex takes me back to the days (and night…mares) of my semesters of advanced, post-algebraic mathematics, which I remain convinced is a field created by evil monks to weed out the so-called weak and torture the unrighteous. But taking into account this arena of hopelessness (ye gods, this is like a therapy session all of a sudden) a complex number or attribute is one that "denotes or involves numbers or quantities that contain both a real and an imaginary part." This is also then a legitimate and often accurate description of Welker's tale - as well as no doubt being relevant to certainly activities carried out by at very least Galiaro.

There is no god. But, that’s only because no one has tried hard enough.

Yes, again, we spend our time not only Hobbitizing our way from one kingdom to the next but also working around the difficulties of negotiating such concepts as the futurepast, knotty and seemingly angry time discombobulations, and loops upon loops that are both created by and affected through iterations of themselves throughout at least 4 dimensions if not more. Try and keep up because I do think there will eventually be a test, usually given as a surprise exam on the last hour of the week. No reason for anyone going into the weekend feeling good about themselves, is there?

Time and space are a hallucinated shared reality. They don’t actually exist.

As in the first book, "Dark Theory", a good part of our story focuses on Beetro and his alternate dimensional twin, Curse. We also get to learn much more about the aforementioned different societies that made their way into the picture during this initial offer, including the clones of the oddly named Crib, the strange and deadly cyborgs of the Reticulum, and even more about Orion, which if you remember nothing else, should provide a strong link to these fantastic covers. Still, despite their obvious importance - we are led to believe that they hold the key to the future of, well, everything - this chapter of the adventure features the search for redemption, salvation, and even vindication for so many others along the way. From Ribcage (what a great name) to Hawera who may or may not be a real goddess to even Arym, who grew more sure of himself every day, perhaps in no small part to pairing up with Gailbret, an apprentice of sorts within the astrocyst academy (watch those two! Methinks the pursuit of carnal knowledge lies in their future research plans!). Trust me, you may want to get a notebook to help keep track of everyone, particularly as the names are sometimes very similar in that they all contain, well, letters.

The line between genius and crazy was very thin.

Also as we saw last time, quite a lot of what is going on defies a definition in terms of genre. OK, science fiction is pretty much a given, particularly when you're busy worrying about the Earth plummeting away from the Sun, just as Saturn has... which we all know obviously means that Earth is closer to the Sun now. I mean, duh! Plus, we've already mentioned the robots - not all of them here, no, but I do want to keep this under 6000 words. There is also naturally a strong, strong degree of both military action and hard fantasy to consider. But basically, you're well-covered if you just consider that this is a complex tale with multiple threads to follow. And quite frankly, I can't give you an indication, at least not yet, as to where everything is headed. Everyone will either be saved or is completely doomed, I'm not sure. Plus I have a strong suspicion that it will happen more than one time, so maybe take that week off from work once the real cataclysm gets cranked up.

It was some very poor stitching of the fabric of spacetime sometime by someone.

While this is again makes for very interesting reading, the creative complexity of this book makes picking up a new iteration after any number of months very difficult. Granted, Welker is very prompt in the release of his latest chapters and my memory hasn't gotten that… oh what's the word I'm looking for… bad yet, but I don't add a connection to Tolkien's stylings lightly. No, this volume didn't quite reach the word or page count of the first (over 400 vs. over 800 pages) but you will need to be well-rested and find a reading spot in a quiet corner of the house to be able to enjoy this book to the fullest. It is an intellectually taxing read and, again, I'm not entirely sure that I'm following along in terms of ranking in the upper percentile of my classmates. And that's noting I did pretty damn good on my AP Calculus exam (he said, defending his accomplishments from … gulp… 44 years ago)! I think for the next book I'll look into coating my cranium with Black Matter and hoping for the best! Either that or just heading to a deserted island for a few weeks and reading the whole bundle again in one go!

My sincere thanks to the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review! Official launch starts 16th of May, 2025!

[Zitong Ren · Rating 4 out of 5]

My thanks to the author for a free copy.

I really enjoyed this! The world building remains perhaps one of the most original out there being published at the moment. It was super interesting seeing how much more of the world we see after book 1. However, I really wished for even more - it seems like such an expansive and rich world, and I think for how quickly everything did move in this book (not that it's a short book), with all the different POVs and plot points, I actually wouldn't have minded it to have been a bit longer.

There simply is so much packed into this, so this definitely isn't one of those sci-fantasy books where you feel everything moves super slowly, because it sure does not.

The characters are all unique and interesting, and I particularly love the dynamic between the two bots, and the plot line in the southern nation with the person from a different time period was also a highlight for me too (and again, I wouldn't have minded if some things to took a bit longer to develop).

Overall, for an indie author, Welker continues to write some amazing stories set in some truly fascinating worlds. Would recommend!

[Victor Gutierrez · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 Stars.

A great continuation to the Dark Law series by Wick Welker. Returning to the post-technological feudal world created in the first was exhilarating, as the book explored the development of one of the characters morals and the redemption of other characters introduced in the previous mainline title and companion novella.

Overall I found the world-building and characters very compelling again for this instalment, I couldn’t help but feel that the ending was very “stay tuned for the next instalment.” Additionally, some stronger editing would have helped the novel too as I found the odd spelling and grammar mistake in the edition I received. This is understandable though as Wick Welker is an independent author (and one of the best I have read).