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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
4.5 stars - omg that was really really good I loved it! Such a great start to a new sci fi series! I'm intrigued and am excited to see what's going to happen!
Hmm 2.5 ? I really liked Nyxia but this second one really felt like second book syndrome hit it hard. I felt like the plot floundered for a majority of the book and as it did, my love for the characters started to wane. I started to lose interest. I started to not be a fan of Morning and Emmett or maybe just didn't care about them caring for each other? Also while I also noticed similarities between Nyxia and Red Rising, it didn't bother me, it probably made me like it more but here, there are some similarities that made me just not like it at all - it reminded me TOO much of certain aspects of Red Rising. Anyway, I'll end up finishing the series because that's what happens when you read two out of the three in a trilogy and who knows, maybe it'll pull out of that second book slump.
It's official. This is my favorite book of the year so far. I need to know what happened... review to come.
**Thank you so much to the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review!**
what i liked
Emmett. He was such an awesome main character, and I loved watching his character development throughout the entire book. He's come from a rough home life so he has been through some tough shit, which allows him to fight with everything he's got in this competition.
THERE'S A COMPETITION. I don't know why, but books with competitions always grab my attention, i.e. The Selection, Divergent, The Hunger Games, etc. Nyxia was no exception. In this book, the prize is to be able to go to Eden. The thing is, there are 10 people on the ship, but only 8 get to go. So there's fights/duels, team activities, brain games, and other activities and everyone's scored. At the end, the people with the top 8 scores get to go to Eden.
Did I mention there's a spaceship?? YEAH. Eden is a planet that is now deemed habitable, so the spaceship is going there.
Babel Corporation is fishy as hell. There's definitely something going on with them, because as we all know, most corporations in science fiction novels are corrupt.
A romance blossoms in Nyxia. What's not to love about romance?
A super awesome thing called nyxia exists. Basically, it's this element that you can form with your brain, and it's found on Eden, and all the competitors are trained to use it. When they get to Eden, they'll be mining for it since it's worth billions of bucks on Earth.
A crazy plot twist occurs, and boy did it spin the book around. I didn't see it coming, and it completely through me for a loop. But it definitely upped the suspense!
what i didn't like
The wait that I'm going to have to endure until book two!!
overall
Nyxia is going to be the book that brings back the popularity of young adult science fiction. Filled with suspense, clever characters, and a deadly corporation, Nyxia is sure to keep you guessing after the very last page.
**Thank you so much to the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review!**
what i liked
Emmett. He was such an awesome main character, and I loved watching his character development throughout the entire book. He's come from a rough home life so he has been through some tough shit, which allows him to fight with everything he's got in this competition.
THERE'S A COMPETITION. I don't know why, but books with competitions always grab my attention, i.e. The Selection, Divergent, The Hunger Games, etc. Nyxia was no exception. In this book, the prize is to be able to go to Eden. The thing is, there are 10 people on the ship, but only 8 get to go. So there's fights/duels, team activities, brain games, and other activities and everyone's scored. At the end, the people with the top 8 scores get to go to Eden.
Did I mention there's a spaceship?? YEAH. Eden is a planet that is now deemed habitable, so the spaceship is going there.
Babel Corporation is fishy as hell. There's definitely something going on with them, because as we all know, most corporations in science fiction novels are corrupt.
A romance blossoms in Nyxia. What's not to love about romance?
A super awesome thing called nyxia exists. Basically, it's this element that you can form with your brain, and it's found on Eden, and all the competitors are trained to use it. When they get to Eden, they'll be mining for it since it's worth billions of bucks on Earth.
A crazy plot twist occurs, and boy did it spin the book around. I didn't see it coming, and it completely through me for a loop. But it definitely upped the suspense!
what i didn't like
The wait that I'm going to have to endure until book two!!
overall
Nyxia is going to be the book that brings back the popularity of young adult science fiction. Filled with suspense, clever characters, and a deadly corporation, Nyxia is sure to keep you guessing after the very last page.
This book was very okay. The writing was good--not great, not bad; the author did an impressive job of making 20 characters have distinct personalities. The idea of nyxia, while somewhat underdeveloped, was cool and allowed for some interesting moments when characters had to explore strategies and tools. I liked that Emmett wasn't the best at everything. Too many books make characters The Best One Ever and honestly it can be exhausting, so a likable but functionally mediocre protagonist was a welcome change.
What made it only okay was the villain. Look, I get that the villain is colonialism via megacorp (and I'm not waving pompoms for either), but it quickly became clear that this wasn't about money or power, the bad guys were just sadists. Their enjoyment of the teenagers' fighting and struggles very much overpowered the idea that they "just want the best team". So for me that fell flat. Maybe over the next few books, this becomes a story about heroes taking on the *actual villains*, but this book was one where the villains consistently manipulate the heroes and the heroes... fall for it? The entire time? None of the action was against the actual bad guys, and that made for an incredibly frustrating read.
What made it only okay was the villain. Look, I get that the villain is colonialism via megacorp (and I'm not waving pompoms for either), but it quickly became clear that this wasn't about money or power, the bad guys were just sadists. Their enjoyment of the teenagers' fighting and struggles very much overpowered the idea that they "just want the best team". So for me that fell flat. Maybe over the next few books, this becomes a story about heroes taking on the *actual villains*, but this book was one where the villains consistently manipulate the heroes and the heroes... fall for it? The entire time? None of the action was against the actual bad guys, and that made for an incredibly frustrating read.
Not for me.
I didn't really love any of the characters, and there were some plot points that never were explained, such as: why the 10 contestants were chosen. Especially given the throw-away line that Emmett never entered the lottery (was it a lottery? then why were they all "broken"?).
I also felt like it lacked any emotional depth. It was too fast-paced for any real connections. And some scenes became too repetitive to be interesting. Similarly, the action happened so fast I had to do a double-take.
And that final scene was nearly stolen from Red Rising. (One upside: This book made me want to reread that series!)
I didn't really love any of the characters, and there were some plot points that never were explained, such as: why the 10 contestants were chosen. Especially given the throw-away line that Emmett never entered the lottery (was it a lottery? then why were they all "broken"?).
I also felt like it lacked any emotional depth. It was too fast-paced for any real connections. And some scenes became too repetitive to be interesting. Similarly, the action happened so fast I had to do a double-take.
And that final scene was nearly stolen from Red Rising. (One upside: This book made me want to reread that series!)
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
currently on my list of one of the best sci-fi books i’ve ever read. please read! There are also those books where you have the first book in the series that is so AMAZINGLY and TERRIFYINGLY good, and you buy the sequel hoping for it to be just as good, but then you find that it’s not. I am just here to warn you that for this book, THIS IS NOT THE CASE WHATSOEVER. Scott Reigten really brings that same energy from Nyxia into Nyxia Unleashed. I can’t say the same about Nyxia Uprising though, because I haven’t gotten the chance to read it yet. However, I’m willing to bet that it’s just as good as the other two!!
Awesome read! Great world building, believable characters, and some awesome twists that kept me on the edge of my seat!