Nyxia – Scott Reintgen

With millions of dollars at stake, walking away isn’t an option.

Emmett Atwater agrees to leave Earth behind when Babel Communications offers him a fortune. The catch? He has to launch into deep space to get it. One of ten selected recruits, Emmett boards the company’s spaceship and sets course for a planet that Babel has kept hidden from the rest of the world.

Before long, Emmett discovers that all of Babel’s recruits have at least one thing in common: they’re broken. Broken enough that Babel can remold them however it pleases.

Every training session is a ruthless competition where friendships are tested and enemies are made. Each recruit must earn the right to travel down to the planet of Eden—where they will mine nyxia, a substance that has quietly become the most valuable material in the universe.

But Babel’s ship is full of secrets. Secrets about the volatile substance they’re hoping to mine, about the reclusive humanoids already living on Eden, and about the true intentions for the recruits.

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.

I remember wanting to read this book since its release last year. I was so happy to finally get my hands on a copy from my local library. The cover of this novel is even more stunning in person. This is an example of a simple cover that really pulls you in, making you read the description. I finally picked it up because I have been approved by Netgalley to review the second book, Nyxia Unleashed! I am beyond excited, even more so now that I finally read the first book.

When Emmet is chosen by the Babel Corporation for the chance to go to a new planet, Eden, it is an easy answer…yes. With the promise of enough money to be set for life and have his family’s medical expenses paid for as well, how could he not agree? Babel Corporation wants a substance that is found on Eden but is unable to acquire it due to the planet’s inhabitants. How hard could it be to go mine this mysterious substance?

“I don’t have to be perfect. I just have to be better than the other guy.”

It is not as simple as heading to the planet, Emmet must compete daily with nine other teens. Only eight will be sent to Eden with the full benefits package and he desperately needs it. He obsesses over the scoreboard but soon realizes that Babel is hiding some very dangerous secrets about the mission and the planet’s natives. Will Emmet be one of the top eight that make it through? How dangerous will this mission really be? Will everyone survive?

This book was so similar to Ender’s Game. The way teens were chosen and forced to compete, heading to a new planet with an alien species… If you enjoyed Ender’s Game, you would enjoy this book as well. The overall plot twists and pace are very similar. The idea that the chosen eight is set for life with money or any other needs reminds me a lot of Hunger Games. So this tale is a mixture of Hunger Games and Ender’s Game.

One of the coolest things about this book, aside from Nyxia itself which is amazing, is the idea of the translators. Each person on the ship wears a device along their jaw that helps them to understand those who speak in other languages. I know there was a device such as this in development but I cannot seem to remember the name of it. If you know what I am talking about, please comment below. Becuase the characters represent what would happen in real life, there is a huge range of diversity. Teens come from a wide range of countries to work for Babel Corporations.

This brings me to the characters…I loved them. Each person was well developed and showed growth as the story progressed. I really enjoyed that there was a scene in which each character shared a little about their life. This allowed the reader to learn about each person without having the dreaded information dump. I despise those… I do have to mention my distaste for Kaya’s reading habits…she dog-eared her pages.

There was not a huge amount of world building because most of the story takes place on the ship. A little information is given about the planet they are traveling to and its inhabitants.

This is not a novel that is filled to brim with action from the first chapter. It burns more slowly but is never boring. There are many small twists of events that lead to the larger plot twist.

The good news is that the second book will be available July 17th so there is not a huge wait if you are interested in reading this and not waiting a long time for the sequel. If you enjoyed Ender’s Game or the Hunger Games, chances are you will enjoy this as well.

Have you read this novel? Does it sound like something you would enjoy? Have you read other stories by this author? Have you read Hunger Games or Ender’s Game…What did you think of those? Let me know what you think below.