Apocalypse Nyx

May 21, 2018
This gore-sodden collection centers on alcoholic mercenary Nyx (from Hurley’s Bel Dame Apocrypha series), who lives in a post-apocalyptic world where metal is scarce and technology revolves around manipulating bugs. With a crew almost as messed up as herself, Nyx goes on a series of missions in the form of five stand-alone stories with similar themes of drunkenness, emotional numbness, and blood and gore, but no overarching plot. Nyx stumbles, purposeless, from one bad job to another, her motivations unclear since she seems apathetic about even her own survival. The world has the potential to be interesting—with an apparently matriarchal society, an Islam-adjacent faith, and a unique take on technology—but is largely unexplored in favor of graphic violence and Nyx’s unhealthy preoccupation with sex. This is a poor introduction for anyone who isn’t already fond of Nyx and her brand of vulgarity.

June 1, 2018
Hurley (The Stars Are Legion, 2017, etc.) collects five grim new adventures of Nyxnissa so Dasheem, disgraced ex-government assassin and current bloody-minded bounty hunter with an existing but deeply buried moral sense.All stories take place before the main action of God's War (2011), the first book of the Bel Dame trilogy, set on a barely terraformed and metal-poor planet half laid waste from biological warfare, with a technology based on genetically engineered bugs. The stories are somewhat repetitive: Nyx is hired to do some ethically shady job that isn't what it first appears, and a bloody mess results. At least Nyx and her team usually get paid, albeit not enough to crawl out of their desperate lifestyle. There's enough explanation provided that readers who haven't read the series should be able to get along. But those who have read the books, which are a powerful exercise in character development over time, will be aware of the fate of Nyx and each member of her team: com tech Taite, sniper Anneke, shape-shifter Khos, and the mediocre magician Rhys, the unacknowledged love of Nyx's life. Knowing what the future holds for these people adds a certain weight of sadness to these stories. (Hurley even makes a grim, heavy-handed joke about the tragedy that will befall one character, but only a reader of her novel Infidel would even know the joke was being made.) Four of the five tales were previously published on Hurley's Patreon, and there's a definite sense that they were written simply as Nyx fan-pleasers. While two of the stories explain how Anneke and Khos join the team, the collection as a whole doesn't really advance the general storyline of the series or add much to our understanding of these characters.For established fans, a bittersweet reunion with old friends; for new readers, a reasonable enticement toward the superior novels of the series.

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June 15, 2018

Government assassin-turned-bounty hunter Nyx, the star of Hurley's gritty "Bel Dame Apocrpyha" series, returns in a collection of five novellas detailing jobs that Nyx and her team took on during a centuries-old holy war they are trying to survive. Solving the death of a former convict at a body rebuilding shop leads Nyx back to some bel dames from her previous life in "The Body Project." When a prison debt is called in, Nyx joins another group for a run in "Paint It Red." In these tales, survival is at the top of the to-do list. If that means having to put morals and feelings aside, Nyx is willing to cooperate, unsure of how much of her is still human anyway. The bleak, postapocalyptic desert depicted here sets the scene for lots of action, crass personalities, and diverse characters. VERDICT Series fans will savor original episodes featuring the battle-worn Nyx, which also serve as an introduction to new readers.--Kristi Chadwick, Massachusetts Lib. Syst., Northampton

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