Nyxia by Scott Reintgen

This is being compared to The Hunger Games series and I suppose you could jump to those comparisons. But this book appears to have more going on beneath the story of this first book.

Reintgen has created a cast of characters that are so different, everyone can have their favorite - the one their rooting for.

We're in the future with the main character is Emmett; he along with a group of others have been selected by the Babel Corporation to survive a series of tests/competitions in order to be chosen to land on the planet Eden and extract a valuable substance called nyxia.

Every character has a story that seemingly equate why Babel selected them. The competitions are grueling and who you root for may not survive the trip to planet Eden.

The first part of the book is the big set up and the twists start coming near the end but don't expect a clear cut ending as this is the first book in the series and it clearly ends with you wanting to know how the story can possibly go on...but it does, right?

I was surprised at one thing that had to do more with the author than anything else. He has written about his Christian faith. It is clear by some of the names that he uses part of the Bible as his backdrop: Eden, Babel Corporation, there is talk about God and the Bible; but here is the thing for me - there is alot of swearing in this book. I mean ALOT of swearing.

I'm not trying to be a prude and I get that those things are said by teenagers. My argument (one that I make whenever I think it's used in excess) is how does it progress the story? How does using so much swearing enhance the characters or the plot? In my opinion, it does not in this particular story.

But with that being said, this is an intriguing beginning and I can't wait to see where the story goes.

This book was provided for review, at no cost, by Crown Publishing.