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florian_'s review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
sorayah11's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
5.0
darksnow's review against another edition
informative
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
emily_gaynier's review against another edition
2.0
Somehow my review vanished so here it is again.
This would've gotten a higher rating but the ending was terrible.
I liked how this book started and I liked the competition that the kids were doing, but I hate Babel. If Babel had been left behind on earth or if they were a different sort of evil corporation, I probably would've given this book 4 stars.
The main reason I found this book so disappointing, is that it has a very similar vibe to the Disasters by M.K. English. Both have evil corporations, a group of kids in space who don't want to return to earth, a non-white male main character who makes strong bonds with (a few of) the other kids.
But Nyxia's plot was focused on something super uninteresting. The teens are competing to work for the company and mine space minerals for profit. The competition also kept them from making any real friendships because they were all pitted against each other. And when the main character actually started having a true friendship with someone the company ruined it!
Also the company was evil for the sake of being evil. If everything they did could have been followed by "it's for the best interest of Babel" I could've gotten behind that. But these guys know they can't be stopped so they are doing everything they can.
The ending sucked! If Babel really wanted the best employees, why would they throw the losers at the winners in a fight to the death for a chance to get down to eden?? Fucking stupid
I will not be continuing with this series
Read Infinity and Beyond: Earth - Read a book about space training or an alien invasion
This would've gotten a higher rating but the ending was terrible.
I liked how this book started and I liked the competition that the kids were doing, but I hate Babel. If Babel had been left behind on earth or if they were a different sort of evil corporation, I probably would've given this book 4 stars.
The main reason I found this book so disappointing, is that it has a very similar vibe to the Disasters by M.K. English. Both have evil corporations, a group of kids in space who don't want to return to earth, a non-white male main character who makes strong bonds with (a few of) the other kids.
But Nyxia's plot was focused on something super uninteresting. The teens are competing to work for the company and mine space minerals for profit. The competition also kept them from making any real friendships because they were all pitted against each other. And when the main character actually started having a true friendship with someone the company ruined it!
Spoiler
Kaya died and Balal was left to kill or be killedAlso the company was evil for the sake of being evil. If everything they did could have been followed by "it's for the best interest of Babel" I could've gotten behind that. But these guys know they can't be stopped so they are doing everything they can.
Spoiler
They don't even have a facsimile of a government or laws. Where you're out in space, Earth rules can't help you. So Babel has gone mad with power and decided to make 'laws' that involve cutting ears off. The second the company realized that they could do what every they wanted, they decided to basically take on the ideals of white supremacists.The ending sucked! If Babel really wanted the best employees, why would they throw the losers at the winners in a fight to the death for a chance to get down to eden?? Fucking stupid
I will not be continuing with this series
Read Infinity and Beyond: Earth - Read a book about space training or an alien invasion
martinlibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
Really enjoyed this one. A slew of plottwists kept it interesting all the way through. It's not the most original of books, but when the craft and characters are at this level, it's fine.
ihateprozac's review against another edition
5.0
Nyxia tells the story of Emmett, a black kid plucked out of Detroit for a mysterious mission for the shady Babel corporation. Emmett is one of ten teens selected to compete for a coveted spot on a mining expedition to the planet Eden: a planet that Babel has kept hidden from the rest of Earth. As Emmett embarks on life at this space-military academy, it becomes clear that Babel isn’t telling them everything.
UM YES HELLO THIS WAS GREAT.
I’ve been looking for a contemporary sci-fi series to fill the void since the conclusion of the Starbound Trilogy and The Illuminae files and this. is. the. one.
It’s got a POC protagonist, a culturally and linguistically diverse cast, space war games, and enough mystery to shake a stick at!
I described this to a friend as “some of the best elements of Ender’s Game, but not written by an absolute tosspot”. Nyxia has enough space-military-academy elements to appeal to fans of Ender’s Game, but with a completely different end goal, a POC protagonist, crazy action and twists, political intrigue, and some fab culturally and linguistically diverse representation.
While this is a single POV novel - with the exception of an interlude - the cast are simply divine. The competitors hail from all corners of the globe and come from such diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. Each character is so vibrant and has a distinct voice and personality; there are no filler characters here. I often finish a story and immediately forget every character’s name, but it's days later and I’m still thinking about Katsu, Kaya, and Balil!
I was just so invested in the characters. There is no insta-love or insta-friendship here; these kids have to work at being a team, have to work at building friendships, and have to work to overcome their adversaries. It’s a testament to Reintgen’s writing that I was even invested in the enemy dynamics and plots to do away with Emmett!
I read this on audio and I can’t recommend the audiobook highly enough. I often struggle with audiobooks and take weeks to get through each one, but i finished this one in t w e n t y f o u r hours. That’s virtually unheard of for me!
This was just a really freakin’ great novel. It’s filled with well-rounded and diverse characters, action, mystery, drama, and enough political intrigue to shake a stick at. I genuinely cannot WAIT to pick up the next one!
UM YES HELLO THIS WAS GREAT.
I’ve been looking for a contemporary sci-fi series to fill the void since the conclusion of the Starbound Trilogy and The Illuminae files and this. is. the. one.
It’s got a POC protagonist, a culturally and linguistically diverse cast, space war games, and enough mystery to shake a stick at!
I described this to a friend as “some of the best elements of Ender’s Game, but not written by an absolute tosspot”. Nyxia has enough space-military-academy elements to appeal to fans of Ender’s Game, but with a completely different end goal, a POC protagonist, crazy action and twists, political intrigue, and some fab culturally and linguistically diverse representation.
While this is a single POV novel - with the exception of an interlude - the cast are simply divine. The competitors hail from all corners of the globe and come from such diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. Each character is so vibrant and has a distinct voice and personality; there are no filler characters here. I often finish a story and immediately forget every character’s name, but it's days later and I’m still thinking about Katsu, Kaya, and Balil!
I was just so invested in the characters. There is no insta-love or insta-friendship here; these kids have to work at being a team, have to work at building friendships, and have to work to overcome their adversaries. It’s a testament to Reintgen’s writing that I was even invested in the enemy dynamics and plots to do away with Emmett!
I read this on audio and I can’t recommend the audiobook highly enough. I often struggle with audiobooks and take weeks to get through each one, but i finished this one in t w e n t y f o u r hours. That’s virtually unheard of for me!
This was just a really freakin’ great novel. It’s filled with well-rounded and diverse characters, action, mystery, drama, and enough political intrigue to shake a stick at. I genuinely cannot WAIT to pick up the next one!
theaceofpages's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Set on a spaceship, this book follows a group of teens as they train and compete for a chance to go mine a planet in exchange for wealth and security for their families. Apparently some people have compared it to The Hunger Games, but I didn't really feel that. The whole scoreboards (so many scoreboards in this book...), competing for glory thing reminds me more of Ready Player One, but even that... Eh. not really. It's its own thing with competing teens and deserves to stand that way. Especially since it feels so different.
I'll admit, I felt pretty meh for most of the book. I mean, it was interesting enough and I loved some of the ideas (nyxia is such an interesting material with so many interesting possibilities!) but it wasn't particularly inspiring me to read the sequel - I felt like one would be enough. But the ending makes me want to pick up the next book in order to see what actually happened in the last few pages. Which brings me to my main issue with this book. As much as the ideas were interesting, it felt a little repetitive as the book basically comprised training tasks. Which were repeated multiple times. And yeah, there were tweaks and different outcomes, but it still felt repetitive. It feels like this book is a very long set up to the main story and like it could have been streamlined a bit better so that we can get into the main story. Will I be picking up the next book to see how the plot shifts? Maybe? If I can find a copy. I mean, the last pages definitely brought up a lot of questions that I feel could make a more engaging sequel!
I'll admit, I felt pretty meh for most of the book. I mean, it was interesting enough and I loved some of the ideas (nyxia is such an interesting material with so many interesting possibilities!) but it wasn't particularly inspiring me to read the sequel - I felt like one would be enough. But the ending makes me want to pick up the next book in order to see what actually happened in the last few pages. Which brings me to my main issue with this book. As much as the ideas were interesting, it felt a little repetitive as the book basically comprised training tasks. Which were repeated multiple times. And yeah, there were tweaks and different outcomes, but it still felt repetitive. It feels like this book is a very long set up to the main story and like it could have been streamlined a bit better so that we can get into the main story. Will I be picking up the next book to see how the plot shifts? Maybe? If I can find a copy. I mean, the last pages definitely brought up a lot of questions that I feel could make a more engaging sequel!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Violence, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cancer
brittneyfike's review
5.0
THIS ONE IS
WORTH ALL THE
HYPE. I LOVED THE
CHARACTERS AND
WAY TOO MANY
OTHER THINGS TO
LIST HERE.
WORTH ALL THE
HYPE. I LOVED THE
CHARACTERS AND
WAY TOO MANY
OTHER THINGS TO
LIST HERE.
casebounder's review against another edition
3.0
Like a cousin to [b:The Maze Runner|6186357|The Maze Runner (Maze Runner, #1)|James Dashner|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1375596592s/6186357.jpg|6366642] (book one) set in space, [a:Scott Reintgen|14593331|Scott Reintgen|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1455963722p2/14593331.jpg]'s extremely fun [b:Nyxia|27426044|Nyxia (The Nyxia Triad, #1)|Scott Reintgen|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1485432778s/27426044.jpg|47477446] (also book one!) is quite the page-turner! Reintgen has created an adventure story packed with mystery, adrenaline, and a diverse cast to be celebrated. I had a ton of fun reading as our protagonist, Emmett, is immediately thrust into harrowing competitions - and complicated decisions - in order to support his family back on Earth. And the ever-looming, all-powerful Babel corporation makes for the perfect villain behind it all.
My gripe is that this book is one long set-up for the trilogy. But is it TOO MUCH a set up? I actually don't think so. Reintgen manages satisfying character arcs even while constructing his trilogy, and does a nice job balancing those duties. I'd definitely pick up book two when it's out!
Thank you to Penguin Random House/Crown for Young Readers for the ARC copy, as well as an e-copy via Netgalley! Review opinions are my own. Nyxia's publication date in the US is 9/12.
My gripe is that this book is one long set-up for the trilogy. But is it TOO MUCH a set up? I actually don't think so. Reintgen manages satisfying character arcs even while constructing his trilogy, and does a nice job balancing those duties. I'd definitely pick up book two when it's out!
Thank you to Penguin Random House/Crown for Young Readers for the ARC copy, as well as an e-copy via Netgalley! Review opinions are my own. Nyxia's publication date in the US is 9/12.
kassidyreads's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Cancer, Torture, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Abandonment