Nyxia (The Nyxia Triad #1)

by Scott Reintgen

Hardcover, 384 pages

Expected publication: September 12th 2017 by Crown Books for Young Readers

ISBN13: 9780399556791

SeriesThe Nyxia Triad #1

4.5/5 books

An eARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley for an honest review

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Every life has a price in this sci-fi thriller that has the nonstop action of The Maze Runner and the high-stakes space setting of Illuminae. This is the first in a new three-book series called the Nyxia Triad that will take a group of broken teens to the far reaches of the universe and force them to decide what they’re 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.

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“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.