Scott Reintgen

The first in a new three-book series called the Nyxia Triad about a group of broken teens who are taken to the far reaches of the universe and forced to decide what they're willing to risk for a lifetime of fortune.

Nyxia

'Brilliant concept meets stellar execution in this fast-paced deep space adventure. I was hooked from page one' Victoria Schwab, No.1 New York Times Bestselling Author 'And just like that, I'm leaving Earth behind . . .' Emmett Atwater is just a poor kid plucked from the streets of Detroit. But now he and nine teenagers like him are travelling to a distant planet aboard the Babel corporation's lightship. Before they get there, they are told, two of them will be eliminated. The eight who make it will land on an alien world, where they will hunt for Nyxia, the most extraordinary substance in the universe. But first Emmett must endure frightening tests, rivalry with his fellow chosen ones and the fear that Babel aren't telling the truth. Because if Babel aren't, they'll be trapped, light years from home. And all alone . . . 'A high-octane thriller . . . Nyxia grabs you from the first line and never lets go.' Marie Lu,#1 New York Timesbestselling author of the Young Elites series

The Nyxia Triad

Annalissa Powner 

For a book that felt slow and somewhat forced not to mention like a space take on the hunger games, it did manage to have an interesting ending.
When I read about this book I pictured sci-fi adventure, thrilling space stuff and some badass fighting or sure clever tests.... I mean it tried to do al that stuff... and sometimes it kinda did... but really it felt like 300 pages of the same day done over and over with tiny changes, like hello groundhogs day movie given space and added in some teens trying kill one other. The last 100 pages almost saved it, it almost made me forget some of the eye rolling beginning... but not quite. I will say I would read the next book though, I want to know more about eden, and I’m genuinely curious to see how this story gets wrapped up.

“A high-octane thriller . . . Nyxia grabs you from the first line and never lets go.” —Marie Lu, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Warcross Every life has a price in this sci-fi thriller—the first in a trilogy—that has the nonstop action of The Maze Runner and the high-stakes space setting of Illuminae. What would you be willing to risk for a lifetime of fortune? Emmett Atwater isn’t just leaving Detroit; he’s leaving Earth. Why the Babel Corporation recruited him is a mystery, but the number of zeroes on their contract has him boarding their lightship and hoping to return to Earth with enough money to take care of his family. Forever. Before long, Emmett discovers that he is one of ten recruits, all of whom have troubled pasts and are a long way from home. Now each recruit must earn the right to travel down to the planet of Eden—a planet that Babel has kept hidden—where they will mine a substance called Nyxia that has quietly become the most valuable material in the universe. But Babel’s ship is full of secrets. And Emmett will face the ultimate choice: win the fortune at any cost, or find a way to fight that won’t forever compromise what it means to be human. “The 100 meets Illuminae in this high-octane sci-fi thriller.” —Bustle AND DON'T MISS NYXIA UNLEASHED!

Robi Carballo

I'll file this under A, Awesome!
Fast-paced and not boring, I barely put this book down.
Had me reading since page 1.
This is my first sci-fi read and boy it did not disappoint.
Looking forward to read the next 2 books ASAP 😊

Lilly Snyder

Emmett Atwater isn't just leaving Detroit; he's leaving Earth. Why the Babel Corporation recruited him is a mystery, but the number of zeroes on their contract has him boarding their lightship and hoping to return to Earth with enough money to take care of his family. Before long, Emmett discovers that he is one of ten recruits, all of whom have troubled pasts and are a long way from home. And Emmett will face the ultimate choice: win the fortune at any cost, or find a way to fight that won't forever compromise what it means to be human.

Laura Kehoe

Actual rating is 3.5 stars.

I was really excited when I had the chance to read Nyxia. I mean, when a book has space, aliens, and an interesting premise it's obviously going to have quite the potential. and I have to say, overall, this book did not disappoint. I would have loved more alien interactions, but I'm hoping that will happen in book two (and based off the ending, I'm assuming my hopes will be rewarded).

I will say, I'm starting to get a tiny bit tired of the whole competition trope. It seems like so many stories center around a group of young people fighting in a ruthless competition for some prize. I think Reintgen did a good job changing things up a bit so it wasn't so predictable. But I did feel like there were some elements I've seen way too many times. There were also a few pacing issues and some parts felt a bit forced. 

The characters definitely made up for any frustrations with the plot though. I loved the development and interactions of them all as they trained and competed. Each person had their own unique personality and backstory. Which was so great. I found myself rooting for almost everyone at one point or another. I just wanted to give them all a giant hug! Well, maybe not all of them, but most.

I think this book did a really good job setting up the scene for the next book. There were a few parts I thought could have been done better, but all in all, I really enjoyed reading Nyxia. If you're a fan of YA science fiction books, I would definitely recommend giving Nyxia a read.

Kelsey Lynn

GOODREADS ADD HALF STARS 4.5

 This was my second birthday read, hunting for a satisfying YA SciFi to get me out of my slump. I read this in 24hrs and it caught me right away and didn't let go.

 I really, really, enjoyed this book. The author's writing is refreshing in the ever-increasing world of YA where bad writing isn't just forgiven, but somehow praised and accepted. The author writes in a very believable way and makes very believable characters. 
 
 First and foremost, if you don't like slower SciFi, or the BOOK version of Ender's Game (not the garbage movie), you won't like this book. I got Ender's Game vibes out the wazoo in this book. But luckily not so much that it felt derivative. Also, the book paces itself in a way I appreciate, but people who prefer fast-paced busy books won't. This is very obviously a part 1, we do not get all the answers, and we are promised things we don't see yet. You've been warned. 

 The book follows Emmett, a POC main character with depth and personality (something I almost forgot existed in YA) who is one of 10 kids chosen for a mission by a mysterious space organization called BABEL. They will travel to Eden, an earthlike planet and mine a new material called Nyxia discovered there. Why kids? The previous Eden expedition met an untimely demise by the planets, humanoid inhabitants, everyone was wiped out, except for a young girl who was born on the journey over. The inhabitants of Eden have a problem, they no longer have children, something has happened and they no longer reproduce. So, BABEL hypothesizes that they revere children, or refuse to kill them because of this. So who better to go get the Nyxia then a team that the natives won't touch? A little loosey goosey of an explanation, but no worse than Ender's Game haha. So BABEL recruits 10 teens, from poor backgrounds, and broken in some way. It doesn't take a genius to see why they pick people with these backgrounds, but it is explained by one of the characters. Who will work harder than poor people being promised an answer to all their problems? Who can they mold to do what they want? A bunch of broken kids ripe for being put back together in a new form. This is a YA book after all, so there will be a competition, BABEL believes (and rightly so) that if they know they'll get the keys to the kingdom, the kids will phone it in and won't work hard enough to be what they need planetside. So, only 8 of them will actually get to go. Every day will be met with training, in controlling Nyxia, which can be manipulated telepathically, in using the mining equipment, in physical training, and fighting. Each thing will result in a score, and the 8 with the highest scores at the end will get to go planetside and get the 50k a month for life. 

 I really, really enjoyed this book. The competition took up the whole first book, which might be too slow for others but was really satisfying for me. You got to see it weigh on the kids, you got to see the darkness and light that is in all of them. The kids felt different, yes they weren't all amazingly fleshed out, and we were limited to Emmet's impressions of them, but they were unique. Longwei, cool, calculating, eyes on the prize, doesn't work well in teams. Bilal, coming from nothing but never letting life put him down, his endless kindness becoming a huge strength, especially with Emmet struggling with himself and his personal demons. Kaya, clever, kind, and reminding Emmet of the importance of friendship and family. Roathy, a mysterious bundle of negative energy, etc etc. They were unique, I cared about the ones worth caring about, I was wary of the ones I should be wary of. Also, this cast was DIVERSE, from all over the world. At first, I was wary of the author writing their perspectives, but you can tell he's a teacher, and especially one from urban communities. He understands these types of kids and it shows. Emmett's struggle with himself was real and I wanted him to succeed. As he struggled to address the "black holes" that were his competitors and the reality that he himself could be a black hole too. I felt it. 

 The book delivers satisfying twists, that upset me in a good way. It propelled me forward and made me want the answers. A lot of problems are presented and it's rather clear they won't be solved in the first book, I can see how this will really turn people off. It turns me off sometimes, but something about this worked. I think because I was so interested and excited for more, I was glad for the unfinished plot points because it promises me more stories. Unlike the Maze Runner series that after 3 books of unfinished plot points I was just mad. This one they just piqued my interest more and more. The mystery and uncertainty in this just grows, rather than feeling like the author is purposefully beating around the bush.

 Also, the author referenced my favorite song in a moment that I would absolutely be listening to that song. So points for that hahaha. I loved the characters, I loved the writing, I loved the concept. An issue I can see for some (but wasn't for me) is the modern technique of this book not being terribly stand alone. Like I've never read "Speaker for the Dead" but don't feel I'm missing out, "Ender's Game" was stand-alone enough. I did read the Shadow arc of the story though. This one will require reading the other books for all the answers, but I've come to expect that from modern YA.

 One other thing I can see bothering people, that didn't bother me terribly, is the second half/ last third has a rather forced romance. It's quick, there's little chemistry, I was honestly suspicious of it. BUT for me, queen of explaining things away, I... can believe it. These kids have been in competition with each other for 6+ months, away from their families. I can see teenagers falling into a quick romance based on very little in this scenario. Desperate for someone that sees them and "cares" about them, desperate to feel anything other than like pawns in a game. Heck, adults do that in real life all the time. SO I can believe two teens hurting might do it too in these extenuating circumstances. But, a few more pages of build-up or a nice mean twist (my favorite) would have helped that I believe. 

 If this was written in the 80s before the modern YA formula was established, I think this could easily be on par with Ender's Game, however, it does suffer from some modern YA shortcomings, but I personally can forgive them in exchange for the refreshingly unique story, real and likable characters, and satisfyingly dark, well-paced (for me) plot. This will divide people, so really read some reviews to see if this is right for you. Slower, reads more like 80s/90s YA, more SciFi focus than the YA formula, and you will not get all your answers in the first book. Also, the substance Nyxia is just plain cool.

 For me, however, it was a breath of fresh air, super satisfying, and I LOVED IT. Now I just have to wait till tomorrow for the sequel to arrive...

Adam

Nyxia feels like a combination of Enders Game and Avatar - but wit a more young adult appeal. As far as first books in a series go, I was left curious about the universe created and looking for more to read to find out what happens next.

Laura

“It’s just one day, I remind myself. My fight is one of decades and generations. One bad day won’t stop me from rising up. I won’t quit, not today, not ever.”
#1: Nyxia ★★★★☆
Sci-fi is not usually my thing but this book blew my mind. The story is engaging and fast paced, the characters different and complex in their own ways, like pieces of a puzzle that fits together to create a great (if disfunctional) little family.

Emi Gilmore 

** spoiler alert **
            2.99/5 stars 

   "Why’d they choose us?"
"We’re all broken. They picked us because we’re broken."  
Thank you, Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review 

It doesn’t feel right to give this book three stars, but I can’t bring myself to give it two stars. I don’t know what it deserves and I’m just so conflicted right now?  Maybe if Goodreads created half star ratings I wouldn’t have this kind of inner turmoil… 

There has been so much praise thrown at this book that I’m wondering if I even read the same book as everyone else. I’m usually not a SciFi fan because, like any reasonable person, I realize that space is f*cking terrifying and aliens will one day destroy us all. Yet, I was prepared to throw an entire galaxy of stars at this book before I even began reading it. You can imagine the agony I faced when I realized, about 40% into this book that I was going to end up extremely disappointed. 

This book did start out good. Ten random inexperienced kids being paid to go into outer space to mine a mysterious mineral on some far off planet? And they have to compete against each other to see who is top dog because only some of them are actually going to end up on that planet? Then sprinkle in aliens that are obsessed with children. I was so intrigued. I wanted to know why. 

So I kept reading, wanting to know why. 

And I kept reading.

And I kept reading. 

And then I finished the book.

I still don’t know why????

I think that is the first problem I have with this book. It’s going to rely quite a bit on its sequels to help tell its story, but as I read an ARC of this, it’s going to be over a year before I even get my hand on the next book. By then, all I will remember about this book is how big of a let down it was for me. 

Now, you might  probably not  be asking yourself,  "Teenagers? Competing against one another in space? Where does that sound familiar?"  And which I say to you,  Ender's Game. And while I do love the Ender's Game movie, I am very vocal about my absolute hatred for the book. And the similarities between Nyxia and Ender's Game were so uncanny to me, I had a difficult time separating my EG hatred from my possible love for Nyxia. I did, however, eventually get over it, but there was still a lasting impression. Which is problem number two for this book: I didn't find the plot all that original. 

It also reminded me a lot of that one season of Power Rangers where they go off into space to colonize some planet. But, unlike Power Rangers, Nyxia wasn't full of colorful spandex, wasn't full cheesy dialogue, and wasn't made in the '90s. Talk about even more disappointment. 

And that was all the plot was. Them competing. It was 400 pages of Emmett looking at a scoreboard and wondering why his name wasn't in the #1 position. And then going around training. Then competing. Then looking at the scoreboard. And you get the picture. 

Anyways let's move onto more reasonable reasons why this book is a bigger disappointment than I am to my parents. 

So, if I'm not mistaken here, this is a science fiction book. It takes in the future. The characters are all floating around in space. There are aliens that might one day kill us all. Except there is no science? At all. I was all prepared for giant words I don't understand the meanings of to be thrown around like a typical science fiction book. And with all those words would could scientific explanations and other scientific things. But, like the MIA answers to my many questions, those scientific things never came. Instead, everything was answered by the fictional mineral of nyxia.

How do they travel across space really quickly? Nyxia.

How do they say "fuck you" to the antigravity laws of space and keep their feet on the ground? Nyxia.

How did they create a society where instalove doesn't exist? Nyxia.

Okay so maybe that last one only happened in my dreams, as even this book wasn't immune from the disease that was instalove, and trust me this book is dying from it, but I'm sure nyxia would be able to cure it if it tried. 

But let's talk about nyxia for a second because it doesn't make any effing sense to me. It is a mineral. These children are being sent to some far off planet to mine it, to take that natural resource from those big bad aliens. Yet, nyxia can shapeshift. It's pretty much the Pokemon Ditto in rock form. The people in this book can look at it, tell it to turn into a spoon, and it will do whatever they command. Then, for some reason, it also can help make a 27-year-long space journey take only a year? How? Then, to add onto that, it's also self-aware. It won't cure an injury caused by its substance. 

No matter how much I try, I can't wrap my mind around it. It doesn't make any sense. How can a rock, a natural resource, be self-aware? How does it have the ability to turn its self into almost any substance? Maybe, if we had a scientific explanation like a reasonable science fiction book should have, I would be able to accept a self-aware rock and move on with my life. But there wasn't one, so I'm just left here eternally confused. 

Now, there must be something I liked, considering I did end up giving this book three stars. And that is easy. The characters. They was a giant cast of them, too many for me to go off and list them, but they were all so funny, realistic, and diverse. The main character, Emmett, is a POC from Detroit. There's a girl named Kaya from Japan. Jazzy, from somewhere in the south, is an ex-child beauty pageant contestant  Which is my favorite part of this entire story. Probably the only reason I bumped my rating to three stars. If you know anything about me, you'd know about my undying love and devotion to Toddlers & Tiaras.  I loved the cast, and if I do end up one day picking up the second book, it will be because of them. 

But that also brings me to unanswered question #2319 I have with this book. Why were ten random, inexperienced teenagers that are apparently "broken" sent into outer space? Isn't that, like, incredibly dangerous?  These children have no astronaut experience whatsoever . I understand why they sent children, for the aliens really like kids for some unexplained reason, but why not send teenagers who are more equipt to go into space than ten random kids?

Also can we talk about something incredibly irrelevant to the plot but bugged the crap out of me? Emmett had never heard of the story Alice in Wonderland before? Like how have you not? I don't understand? It's never explained how he hasn't ever heard of a 150 year old classic? Also the Disney movie exists? I started to assume maybe books and movies are banned or nonexistent or something in this world, but Kaya owned a copy of the book? And then also later in the book he mentions watching old Disney movies with the other crew mates??? Scott Reintgen please explain.

Then the aliens. Let's talk about the aliens for a second. I forgot what they are called in the book, but that doesn't matter, as the book never goes into much depth about them. We are told about them. (view spoiler)[ We fucking see one halfway through the book and it kills one of our main characters (hide spoiler)] But there is no depth. Are those aliens good? Bad? How do they function? Do these aliens have politics? Is there an alien that's like the equivalent of Kim Kardashian? Is there a Kanye West alien as well? How do they live? What drives them? All we got was some corporate human telling us they are bad and the main character wondering if he's lying. We had almost 400 pages full of words that could have been used to give some more details about these aliens and yet they were all wasted on the Emmett trying to master the art of manipulating nyxia. Even the aliens in that one Power Ranger season had more to them and that's a children show about superheroes in spandex. 

Then there were plot twists just for the sake of plot twists. And quite a few of them that by the time a major one happened about 60% into the book, I wasn't even surprised. I was even expecting it, to be honest. 

I think, maybe, if this book took out a lot of its competition scenes and combined this book with its sequel into one much bigger book I would absolutely love it. But there were just too many unanswered questions for me to really feel absolutely satisfied with it. I think also then, if that happened, this book could separate itself a lot better from other published works. 

Well I can see why so many people are throwing praise at this book, it just wasn't for me at all. 

Maybe the next space book I plan on picking up will be much better. Probably not. But optimism amiright???

But probably the next book buddy read w/Scrill  (if she ever wants to buddy read something with me again) won't be a sci-fi though.

 Sorry there's no GIFS in this review. I'm just being really lazy right now.

Lauren Sullivan

This is an enthralling thriller with lots of twists and turns and likable characters. It was well-paced and hard to put down once I got past the first few pages. There were a few quirks that took me out of the story (calling the rest day "Sabbath", Emmett's tendency to file things under letters was "A for Annoying"), but on the whole I enjoyed the writing.

In terms of comparison to other books, I'd say this reminds me more of Divergent or Ender's Game than Illuminae. Honestly, there's very little that screams "space" and there's very little about the aliens. My other issue is with the romance. It came out of complete left field and felt completely unnecessary to me.

The book does end with a lot of questions left unanswered. I'll definitely be picking up the next in the series.

I received an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

Alejandra Bran

This is more of a 3.45 ugh I kind of want to give 4 stars but there were some weak points on the story. 

I get it, this a debut and the 1st installment on the trilogy. That’s why I believe it’s a solid start! I’ve been wanting to read more sci-fi for a while but I kept getting wrapped into other genres. Still I enjoyed most of the story.

What I like and appreciate about the story is the diversity of characters and how female characters are written as strong, smart and clever leaders or wicked antagonist. 😏

The idea of a travel through space, to land on a planet 🌎 similar to Earth and the existence of a mineral that can do almost anything sounds as alluring and dangerous as the fact that all of this knowledge is only controlled by an American corporation.

My issue with the story is that it didn’t hook me right away, the premise was pretty enticing but along the journey it became repetitive and I lost interest hence the reason why it took me 8 days to finish it. (I think I’m somewhat of a fast reader)

Thankfully the story picks up like half way to the point that i was at the edge of my seat, just to go back to the repetitiveness of the events.

I would say that by the end of the book, I did consider the struggles worth it. It was smartly crafted to leave you wanting to know who reached Eden. What are they going to find and in my case is there would be a little of romance 🔥 (one can only dream) 

I’m probably jumping into then next book right now!

Southern Today Gone Tomorrow

Before the summary: this book was amazing. The writing was superb, the imagery powerful, and this is a book that actually makes you think, look deep into what life means to each person.

Nyxia, written by Scott Reintgen, follows Emmett, a boy from Detroit who has been given the opportunity to change his life, and his parents, forever. He just has to be better than a few other kids, go to a distant planet, and harvest Nyxia, a substance that can become anything you image. Again, he just has to be smarter, better, faster, stronger, and be one of the 8 out of the 10 teenagers on the ship to qualify.

That doesn’t sound dangerous at all.

What I liked about this book:

In my opinion, this is a great way to handle characters with very different backgrounds. You take them for what they are, who they are, and then we see how they change and grow.

The characters are growing up, and they grow into themselves.

The writing is excellent, as I would expect from an English teacher. Well done.

This book can stand on its own, though it is the first in a trilogy, and at the time this review is being written, is the only book currently out.

The idea itself. I think that, as a whole, this is fairly unique, though all of the individual pieces are not. The fact that you have this material that can be manipulated into almost anything, is worth all of this money, and can only be mined by children, is fairly cool. Now you throw in a little not-deadly Hunger Games style competition, and a twisted organization, yeah, you have my attention.

As a general rule, I don’t read a whole lot of science fiction because the lack of science bothers me. But this novel does a good job of explaining the crazy by using a crazy substance. Which makes it okay, because when they leave the substance behind, the science is solid (for the depth they get into it).

What I didn’t like:

I want more of this world, but I almost want it from different characters. I don’t know if I can stand to see more heartache.

I despise Morning. I won’t say more than that. Just, yes. She made me so mad, and also pointed out how teenagers behave.

Who would like this novel? Fans of science fiction should give this a go. If you read Ender’s Game and enjoyed it, I think you might like this novel as well. It has a few similar themes to it. If you enjoy a little mystery in with your action, yes. If you like a new world with different rules and a substance that bends science, yes. Give this a go.

Honestly, I think this a novel that most everyone should give a shot. I loved it. The only people who might not like it would be romance and comedy fans. Neither of those exist in broad strokes in this novel. Oh, there are hints and reliefs, but this is a dark and serious novel. Not too dark, just a bit in the realistic life-is-difficult-and-we-have-difficult-choices way.

*I was given this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Joleen

Let me start by saying this is a Netgalley review, I received it for free for an honest review. 

Also, I am so excited that FINALLY I got approved for a book that wasn’t horrible! I enjoyed this book so much. I love space and I always enjoy a competition so this was an extremely right fit for me. I officially have preordered this book that comes out in September! 

This book is a good crossover between The Hunger Games and the 100. A group of kids/teens whatever you want to call them are chosen from all over the world to compete in a competition in space. The winners get to go to a planet called Eden. For competing, the kids will earn an income and healthcare for their families back home. But first, they must compete because not all 10 children are going to go Eden. Only 8 of them will be chosen. Their job on Eden will be mining Nyxia, a substance they are also trained to use. The entire book is compiled of their training and competition. We follow a guy named Emmett, one of the competitors and he desperately needs the money and the healthcare benefits the competition will provide. We watch the friendships and rivalries grow, but everyone has secrets. 

The characters were all so different, some I grew attached too. They all had strengths and weaknesses and I cannot wait to explore more of that. The diversity regarding races was so refreshing to see. Not a whole lot of romance, but I like when a story doesn't revolve too much on the romance. 

It is an incredibly interesting plot and it kept me wanting more. I am annoyed that I will probably have to wait an entire year for the next book and this book isn’t even out yet! The con of reviewing books I suppose. 

But 4/5 stars, can’t wait for the next one. Preferably soon!.

Emmett Atwater isn't just leaving Detroit; he's leaving Earth. Why Babel recruited him is a mystery, but the number of zeroes on his contract has him boarding their lightship and hoping to return to Earth with enough money to take care of his family, forever. As he and nine other teenagers wormhole their way through space, Emmett discovers that each recruit must earn the right to travel down to Eden. There, Babel will use them to mine a substance that's quietly become the most valuable in the world. For the chosen ten, every training session is measured, every point matters, and Emmett will do anything to win. But Babel's ship is full of secrets. And as Emmett uncovers the truth, he realizes he's not fighting for wealth or glory. He's fighting for his life.

Lisa Beasley

I listened to this as an audiobook and really enjoyed it. The voice was unique and helped get a feel for the character and the story was described best by a friend who said it was Hunger Games in space and I have to agree. It was engaging and action packed with a good amount of emotion and intrigue too. Looking forward to the sequel.

Nyxia

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