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A review by ihateprozac
Nyxia by Scott Reintgen
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!