Early Review of Nyxia (The Nyxia Triad, #1) by Scott Reintgen

Title: Nyxia (The Nyxia Triad)
Classification: Young Adult
Genre: Science Fiction
Series: The Nyxia Triad
Format: Hardcover; 384 pages
Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers (September 12, 2017)
ISBN-10: 0399556796
ISBN-13: 978-0399556791
Author's Website: n/a
Notes: I received an eARC loan from Penguin Random House's First to Read program. Thank you.


Sixty-three years ago Babel Communications discovered a habitable planet they dubbed Eden. The planet, however, was already inhabited by a race they named the Adamites. The planet contains a rare substance called nyxia. Nyxia can be manipulated into just about anything the mind can imagine without much more than a mere thought. Babel Communications has found a number of ways to use the substance, and it has secretly become the most valuable resource in the world. Their mission is to harvest as much of this material as possible. The only problem is the Adamites don't take too kindly to strangers, but Babel thinks they've found a way around this.

 Adamites revere children and young people because they are no longer able to produce any offspring of their own. The reason is most likely that there are no more females left on the planet. Emmett Atwater is one of ten youths chosen to, according to Babel Communications, be at the forefront of the most serious space exploration known to mankind. He and his fellow recruits are told the results of their mission will change the outlook for our entire species.

From the start, however, Emmett has reservations regarding the mission. All the teens selected come from low income households. Then there's the little matter of the way he was picked for the program. Emmett never applied for the position, Babel Communications approached him through his school. As the mission gets closer and closer to Eden, he begins to see things that make him question things.

The stakes are high.

The rules keep changing.

Not all will survive.

And only 8 will be chosen to ultimately complete the mission.

This was a fun book that had something I'd like to see more of--a black protagonist. The young adult class of books appears to have overlooked a huge audience and we need more young adult black heroes, both female and male. There's a missed opportunity here and I'd like to see the gaping hole in this classification filled. It's long overdue, and I hope this is the first of many more such books to come.

Emmett is a smart, streetwise, observant, and adaptable young man. As he tries to fit in and earn as many points as he can to qualify as one of the lucky 8 to be chosen to be part of Babel Communications exploration team, we see him grow as an individual. He also manages to collect a few friends and enemies along the way. The selection process tests each candidate's survival and adaption skills, but quickly changes from a regular competition into something much more ugly and deadly. I can't help but feel the competition was meant to be a distraction under the guise of a teaching and selection tool, but we'll have to wait and see if this ends up to be the case.

I couldn't help but give this one 5 out of 5 roses. The story contained an intriguing mix of elements reminiscent of Ender's Game, The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner, and Avatar while managing to stay uniquely its own. I'm curious what the next book has in store because just before the group reaches its final destination, Eden, the book ends. I can't wait to find out more about the Adamites and what Bable Communications is hiding. I'm positive there's going to be a lot of twists and turns thrown at us in the next book. I, for one, can't wait. An excellent debut for a talented new writer. I highly recommend this one.