The Scholar, the Sphinx and the Shades of NYX

Scholar and the Sphinx, Book 1

Young Adult - Sci-Fi
296 Pages
Reviewed on 11/01/2014
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    Book Review

Reviewed by Kim Anisi for Readers' Favorite

The Scholar, the Sphinx and the Shades of NYX (Scholar and the Sphinx, Book 1) by A.R. Cook is a fantasy novel for younger readers (children and teenagers, maybe also really young adults) which combines the real world with a world that lies behind a curtain, some sort of threshold you can cross. Behind that curtain live creatures from mythology and fables, like the Goddess Nyx and the Sphinx who has no name at the beginning of the story. The Sphinx is not able to speak without suffering great pains as a dark shade within her is stealing her cunning every time she speaks. With every word the Sphinx utters, she moves closer to death. When she comes across a boy on his way to his apprenticeship in Paris, things change for her, and for a group of gypsies. And when a boy, David, decides to name the Sphinx, his life also turns head over heels - even more, because he never expected that something like a Sphinx or a curtain existed.

The Scholar, the Sphinx and the Shades of NYX (Scholar and the Sphinx, Book 1) by A.R. Cook is a charming story filled with fascinating and strange creatures. There is not just a Sphinx, but also a Tanuki and a Kappa (from Japan). I found the story that led from one part of the world to another via travelling through the curtain quite interesting and easy to read. There was not much violence, and the whole story is rather mild, so it is a pleasant read for in between "heavier" literature.