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katherinerathgeber's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
a16y's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
danielled75's review against another edition
4.0
“We’re all broken. They picked us because we’re broken”
Let me just get this out of the way. This is a full blown diverse cast of characters!
Our MC Emmett is black.
Kaya is Japanese.
Bilal is Palestinian.
Jazzy is American.
Longwei is Asian.
Azima is Kenyan.
Isadora is Brazilian.
Katsu is Japanese.
Jaime is Swedish.
10 candidates are chosen to go to space and work for a corporation known as Babel, to mine the extremely rare material Nyxia. Only 8 of the 10 will be able to go to Eden to mine the material. A lot of training takes place during this book, and it can get a bit repetitive, which makes the book drag a bit. There are team building challenges, Nyxia manipulation challenges, strength, endurance and mental challenges also. At the end of each day the candidates are scored. By the time they reach the Tower Space Station, only the top 8 will continue on.
I found the challenges with the Nyxia itself to be interesting, since it can be manipulated with just thought. It seems though that it does have some strange side effects of use. Emmett has nightmares of Black Holes, either being enveloped by one, or being the black hole himself and enveloping others. He is also becoming more and more aggressive during the one on one fights that use Nyxia based weapons, but it seems that it’s not just Emett being affected by this.
As you read the book, you can tell that Babel is hiding things from the candidates, and only giving them half-truths when confronted with questions. It feels like “tell them what they want to know to keep them focused.” At one point Emmett and Kaya get their hands on an access card that allows them to explore more of the ship, and does their curiosity get the best of them. They do find out that secrets are being kept from them. Despite knowing what they know, nothing is ever said and Emmet and Kaya need to continue on with the training, keeping this secret between them.
About 2/3 of the way throughout the book, they reach the space station, with an added surprise that was never mentioned. There is another team of candidates are fighting for the same spots. The competitions are more demanding, and draining on the teams and the candidates as individuals. They are all competing against each other up to the minute they leave the space station and land on Eden.
I enjoyed that the majority of this was in outer space, and the chapters kept track of that for you. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens in the next book. The way this one ended you know that Babel and the men running the program may be more evil than good.
Let me just get this out of the way. This is a full blown diverse cast of characters!
Our MC Emmett is black.
Kaya is Japanese.
Bilal is Palestinian.
Jazzy is American.
Longwei is Asian.
Azima is Kenyan.
Isadora is Brazilian.
Katsu is Japanese.
Jaime is Swedish.
10 candidates are chosen to go to space and work for a corporation known as Babel, to mine the extremely rare material Nyxia. Only 8 of the 10 will be able to go to Eden to mine the material. A lot of training takes place during this book, and it can get a bit repetitive, which makes the book drag a bit. There are team building challenges, Nyxia manipulation challenges, strength, endurance and mental challenges also. At the end of each day the candidates are scored. By the time they reach the Tower Space Station, only the top 8 will continue on.
I found the challenges with the Nyxia itself to be interesting, since it can be manipulated with just thought. It seems though that it does have some strange side effects of use. Emmett has nightmares of Black Holes, either being enveloped by one, or being the black hole himself and enveloping others. He is also becoming more and more aggressive during the one on one fights that use Nyxia based weapons, but it seems that it’s not just Emett being affected by this.
As you read the book, you can tell that Babel is hiding things from the candidates, and only giving them half-truths when confronted with questions. It feels like “tell them what they want to know to keep them focused.” At one point Emmett and Kaya get their hands on an access card that allows them to explore more of the ship, and does their curiosity get the best of them. They do find out that secrets are being kept from them. Despite knowing what they know, nothing is ever said and Emmet and Kaya need to continue on with the training, keeping this secret between them.
About 2/3 of the way throughout the book, they reach the space station, with an added surprise that was never mentioned. There is another team of candidates are fighting for the same spots. The competitions are more demanding, and draining on the teams and the candidates as individuals. They are all competing against each other up to the minute they leave the space station and land on Eden.
I enjoyed that the majority of this was in outer space, and the chapters kept track of that for you. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens in the next book. The way this one ended you know that Babel and the men running the program may be more evil than good.
samulla10's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
greysnx's review against another edition
5.0
absolutely incredible book with an amazing ending that leaves you excited for more and immediately hopping into the next book. can’t wait to see where the next 2 books take this series.
nogol_s's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
izzys_internet_bookshelf's review against another edition
DNF
Found it slow when I got to 60 pages
Found it slow when I got to 60 pages
sarkaandraskova's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-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
4.25
brianne_k's review against another edition
3.0
*Many Thanks to Net-Galley and the publisher for an advanced e-copy. This did not affect my rating*
3/5
Nyxia is a new YA sci-fi novel that sends 8 teens to an alien planet named Eden..
We are introduced to Emmett and 9 other teens vying for this once in a life time trip. out of 10 teens, only 8 will make it.
Emmett and the other 9 teens go through an intense training regimen meant to eliminate 2 of them from the competition. Emmett will do whatever to be in the final 8, as it comes with a $50,000/month for the rest of his life reward.. and since his family is extremely poor, he can't turn that down.. even if he feels like Babel Corporation is hiding something.
The teens are being sent to Eden to find and mine Nyxia, an expensive substance not found on Earth. They have to send teens, because the people who live on Eden and control Nyxia, killed the adults and protected the children in the initial expedition.
This book reminded me of The Hunger Games or Divergent, as it is essentially a competition/training book, but in space. Sometimes you could forget that they were in space at all. I like my sci-fi/space novels to be.. filled with space. There is such potential for different kinds of threats and obstacles, but it was sadly underutilized. This is only book 1 in the trilogy though, so hopefully future installments have more space.
This book is very readable. You can read it in a sitting or two. Reintgen is a terrific writer, vivid and insightful. Also, it was so naturally diverse, like real life is. I applaud him for that.
But.. it felt young to me.. the younger side of YA.
That being said, there was instalove. I think having a romance in general was unnecessary.
I will look for book 2 in the future, I do want to see where the story goes. How Emmett grows.. and what's going on with Nyxia.
3/5
Nyxia is a new YA sci-fi novel that sends 8 teens to an alien planet named Eden..
We are introduced to Emmett and 9 other teens vying for this once in a life time trip. out of 10 teens, only 8 will make it.
Emmett and the other 9 teens go through an intense training regimen meant to eliminate 2 of them from the competition. Emmett will do whatever to be in the final 8, as it comes with a $50,000/month for the rest of his life reward.. and since his family is extremely poor, he can't turn that down.. even if he feels like Babel Corporation is hiding something.
The teens are being sent to Eden to find and mine Nyxia, an expensive substance not found on Earth. They have to send teens, because the people who live on Eden and control Nyxia, killed the adults and protected the children in the initial expedition.
This book reminded me of The Hunger Games or Divergent, as it is essentially a competition/training book, but in space. Sometimes you could forget that they were in space at all. I like my sci-fi/space novels to be.. filled with space. There is such potential for different kinds of threats and obstacles, but it was sadly underutilized. This is only book 1 in the trilogy though, so hopefully future installments have more space.
This book is very readable. You can read it in a sitting or two. Reintgen is a terrific writer, vivid and insightful. Also, it was so naturally diverse, like real life is. I applaud him for that.
But.. it felt young to me.. the younger side of YA.
That being said, there was instalove. I think having a romance in general was unnecessary.
I will look for book 2 in the future, I do want to see where the story goes. How Emmett grows.. and what's going on with Nyxia.
palomal33l1br0s's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0