Styxx

Dark-Hunter, Book 22

By: Sherrilyn Kenyon

Narrated by: Fred Berman

Length: 31 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's Summary

Sherrilyn Kenyon's most highly anticipated novel in the Dark-Hunter series since Acheron is here - the unforgettable story of Styxx, Acheron's twin brother and one of the most powerful beings on Earth. Just when you thought doomsday was over…

Centuries ago Acheron saved the human race by imprisoning an ancient evil bent on absolute destruction. Now that evil has been unleashed and it is out for revenge. As the twin to Acheron, Styxx hasn’t always been on his brother's side. They've spent more centuries going at each other's throats than protecting their backs. Now Styxx has a chance to prove his loyalty to his brother, but only if he's willing to trade his life and future for Acheron's.

The Atlantean goddess of Wrath and Misery, Bethany was born to right wrongs. But it was never a task she relished. Until now. She owes Acheron a debt that she vows to repay, no matter what it takes. He will join their fellow gods in hell and nothing is going to stop her. But things are never what they seem, and Acheron is no longer the last of his line. Styxx and Acheron must put aside their past and learn to trust each other or more will suffer. Yet it's hard to risk your own life for someone who once tried to take yours - even when it's your own twin. And when loyalties are skewed and no one can be trusted, not even yourself, how do you find a way back from the darkness that wants to consume the entire world? One that wants to start by devouring your very soul?

©2013 Sherrilyn Kenyon (P)2013 Macmillan Audio

Stick with it...

Would you listen to Styxx again? Why?

I would definitely listen to parts of this book again. As usual, Sherrilyn Kenyon has woven threads of an overarching, and very complex, storyline in among the details of Styxx's life. I have a feeling I'm going to need to re-read just to get the details straightened around in preparation for the next book--which was foreshaddowed at the end of this one.

However, I won't deny that the first half of this story really seemed to drag. Of course, Kenyon had to go back and retell the entire story of Acheron's human life from Styxx's POV in order to explain everything we saw in that book, and redeem Styxx's character. She does a fantastic job of providing plausible explanations for evrything that goes on--it just takes a really long time, and while I appreciate her attention to detail I did find myself getting rather bored. The second half of the story picks up the pace quite a bit, and if youc an stick it out to the end you'll really appreciate the careful and intricate crafting of the book as a whole.

What did you like best about this story?

I read once on Kenyon's website that she didn't want to give Styxx his own book until she could find a way to forgive him for what he supposedly did to Acheron. In this novel, she not only transforms Styxx from a villain to a tragic hero, but also shows us some of Acheron's own character flaws in a completely credible way. In this world of gods, demigods and other supernatural beings there are no one-dimentional characters. The most malicious can be kind, and the most benign can cause devistating harm. While Kenyon's world has rules, it is never static, which usually makes her books pageturners and full of surprises.

I also appreciated the fact that Kenyon didn't put us through pages and pages of back and forth sniping between Styx and Bethany, which to often happens in romances. They pretty much fell in love at first sight and stayed that way, which allowed the story to develop around their love in stead of being distracted by their interpersonal antics.

Any additional comments?

It probably goes without saying, but do not, do not, do not read this book if you haven't been following this series from the beginning. There are way too many characters and way too much backstory--you'll miss the best parts of the story if you're scratching your head going "who's that guy?" If you've been following this series, I really think this is one of the better books, despite the rather slow start. Stick with it, and you'll really enjoy.

Devastating Story about making assumptions.

WOW . I love the Dark Hunter series and have listened to each of the books too many times to count. So I felt I had a pretty good grasp on all of the characters. The story of Styxx is so devastating that I was depressed. It shook me and made me absolutely nauseated about the damage of making assumptions concerning other people’s reality. I had to turn off the audio-book calm down and reflect on my own life and the relationships I have with those people in my life. I know these are just fictional characters in a story but I was so shook up by the view point I had towards Styxx verses what his reality actually was that I cried and cringed through the whole thing. Sherrilyn Kenyon did a wonderful job at showing us that there can truly be three sides to every story …..Yours …….theirs…. and …..the truth which lies somewhere in between. I think she did a wonderful job at creating a story with a moral theme we can take away with us in our everyday lives. To rephrase a quote by Urian …”Good job sister…..good job!

Oh Bloody Styxx

Would you listen to Styxx again? Why?

I would listen to Styxx again. This book is an incredibly polarizing book within the fandom of Ms. Kenyon and her Dark Hunter world. Yeah, it's a lot of Ash's story, but that's a given, people. They're twins, they live in the same house, same sister, same father, same a-hole uncle who used them. Same tortured lives.

I get why some people are annoyed and swearing off Kenyon's books. She beats the crap out of the protagonist, but that's what makes them approachable. That's what makes these immortal bad asses accessable to people like me, who hesitate to kill that annoying fly that keeps buzzing around my Dr. Pepper. I get it. I also get why she write them like this. It'd be too easy if everything came well for them.

There definitely could've been less abuse, but for Styxx's character, it needed to be developed that way. There's going to be more stuff with him and Ash, there has to be. The way the book ended, there's no way that there can't be. It's not a happy ending with all the loose ends tied up, but that's how all her books are.

I love Beth. She kicks butt, enough said.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Definitely Bethany. She's the best heroine, besides Desi, that Kenyon's written.

What about Fred Berman’s performance did you like?

Mr. Berman's a great narrator. He did a nice job. I'm so glad he didn't squeal when he did Simi's voice like he did in DwtD. That hurt my ears.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I did cry in several spots, so don't listen to this book for the first time in public. Again, I was embarrassed in Starbucks when I burst out in tears while ordering my hot chocolate. By now, they're used to my outbursts and just write me off as listening to another book. They often ask what's the newest book to listen to, so I've become the book reviewer for them.

Urian, damn bloody sod, made me cry a lot, just because he was so sweet to Styxx. Then, the twist at the end with Urian and Styxx... Gods below, that broke my heart.

Any additional comments?

Artemis and Apollymi deserve each other, bitches. Hopefully, they'll get killed off, but I don't know how. How great is that, an author can write characters who are so hated by her fandom that we all want to see them roast for their collected sins against other characters?


Ash and Styxx will work it out, eventually. I have to believe that.


The next book should be softer, I hope. There's only so much abuse I could handle until I had to listen to something else. I trust Kenyon, as these are her characters. Look at J.R. Ward's Brotherhood books. Everyone thought she was off track with Torh's book, but then Qhuinn's book was right back on track. Maybe Kenyon had to shred these characters to get them to a better place, like Ward did. Leap of faith, people. That's all these awesome writers need. Take it and if you don't like what happens in the next books, try someone else.

I know I'll get backlash from this review, but if you're on the fence about this one, try it first with an open mind. If you don't like it, you can blame me. It's all good. I'm used to it.

REALLY????

Would you try another book from Sherrilyn Kenyon and/or Fred Berman?

Of course...I'm as sucked in as everyone else, as I still want to know what happens to my favorite characters, although their whole histories might be re-written at any moment, as evidenced by this book....

Has Styxx turned you off from other books in this genre?

No

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

PRONUNCIATION!!! I mean, really, all the pronunciations are on S.K.'s website! Although Fred has a wider range of foreign accents than Holter, every time I hear "Sharontay", instead of Karontay, I want to scream! Yet he does the river Charon "Sharon", as if it was "Karon"...ugh!

And as others have noted, what's with the Irish accent with Artemis?

What would have made this romance irresistible?

Getting rid of the raunchy sex stuff...I mean, really, we've heard the same things over and over for what, 24 books now...we get it, OK, we are all well-instructed in the sex department....a little more story, please...

Any additional comments?

OK, since when is Appollymi a vampire? She didn't bite Tory when she gave her powers...
Did S.K. forget that Styxx was a groomsman in Ash's wedding?
Ryssa would have not written "BC" when dating her journal...
Since the Thonians are the "police force" for the Gods, how could Appollymi "shield Savitar's powers" so he couldn't see Ash's childhood?
Didn't anybody edit this book? Since when is Seth Sin's brother? (As introduced by sin during the "pow-wow" on Savitar's island...
Aside from the "copy/paste" from various other books in the series, (must be nice to make $ again and again from the same info) so much was not "pasted" correctly...if she couldn't remember the conversations, she or the editors could have just referenced previous books, or did she think anyone too stupid to notice?

I could go on, and on...

As everyone else has noted, the last 20% of the book was certainly worth listening too, if you can look beyond the discrepancies....I did enjoy having more of Savitar and Ash/Tory, and of course, Simi, and I did like how so many loose ends from other books were tied up in a neat little package, however, now there are a few new loose ends....

Archon says he prohibited appollimy from conceiving, so that leaves the question of who Ash's father is? Were it not for the fact that Ash seems to be part Charonte, I would have thought Savitar, but who knows?

Who is the slave/spy working for Noir?

Since when are Seth and Set reconciled?

Excellent, well worth the wait.

What did you love best about Styxx?

Further answering the Styxx and Acheron origins from Styxx's perspective. This missive fills in an few unanswered questions as to how deep their uncle's treachery had gone. Also, this cast a far different picture of their sister than ever before. To the point of "My GOD that is not their sister. That is their mother!"

What did you like best about this story?

All portions of the story were well written and masterfully researched. This Lady writes even beyond the levels of the "Great Master's."

What about Fred Berman’s performance did you like?

When does he go on a Audio Book signing tour? He was as always in his performances, excellent and nearly with out equal.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

YES!!!!! But, 30+ hours makes it kind of hard to do so. Excellent Book, when is the next one?

this book needs a trigger warning and then some

This book was sent to me from a friend who recommended the series, so I didn't read the reviews first. Big mistake. I couldn't get past his first attempt to save Acheron. I had to stop listening because it was causing me to have terrible flashbacks. as someone who experienced extreme sexual trauma as a child, this was awful. I listened past the first gang rape in the hopes that it was the only one, but nope. Apparently over 75 percent of this book is just Styxx being traumatized. I don't think I will be picking up the Dark Hunter series anytime soon.

Too much torture

I was very disturbed by this book. I understand having a tortured hero but this was way too much. I will never again but another book from this author or series. After finishing this book I was physically sick. This just ruined the whole series for me. I will not give any stars for this book.

Consider this review your WARNING LABEL

Warning 1: If you haven't read books from this series, this is NOT the one to start with. Go back, way back, pre-Acheron and start the series.

Warning 2: If you have read the series, as I have, be prepared. Do you remember how Acheron's book came with a warning? Kenyon prefaced it with a message along the lines of, "This is not my usual book. The first half is hard to read..." Well, THIS book should have had a warning as well. If reading/listening to the first half of Acheron was hard for you to handle, take the awful, painful, desperate sense you remember from it and multiply it by ten. Then experience it for the first THREE-FOURTHS of this book.

This is a LONG listen. Four parts, over 8 hours each, which I will round to approximately 32 hours of listening time. Do the math...that means that for over 24 hours of your life, a FULL DAY, you will be listening to the horror that Styxx lived growing up. Then, when you get to part four, you will hope the happily ever after part of the story will begin. It doesn't. It moves to present time period, but the payoff for all the suffering you have endured won't really begin until the last five hours left in the book.

Sigh. That is a long time of suffering for little payoff. Don't get me wrong. It isn't bad writing or bad narration that you are enduring. They are both so vivid that you feel like you are actually experiencing some part of the awful life Styxx had. If this had been a book, I would have skimmed it. But you can't really do that on audio.

I can't stress it enough in my warning. It is as if Kenyon sat down, wrote a list of every awful thing that could happen to a person, and sat about weaving it into a grief- and pain-filled story. I can never say that I liked this book. I liked the last five hours, and I'm glad I know what happened. But I would have much rather been able to skim the awful parts. There's only so much rape, treachery, abuse and neglect I can read about...

Here's hoping the next book is a little lighter on pain and a little heavier on action and romance.

Seriously too much rape

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

noone

Would you ever listen to anything by Sherrilyn Kenyon again?

no this book is too much like Acheron and really why so much detail and dwelling on so much childhood rape...

Would you be willing to try another one of Fred Berman’s performances?

yes

Much harder to read than Acheron

Damn this was hard to read, but I couldn't put it down. Acheron has always been my favorite character in the Dark Hunter series and I looked forward to reading a book about his life, but I never thought it would be so heart wrenching, it was so difficult to read. But, at least the second half was positive and fun. I felt his romance with Tory was touching and believable and I was happy for him by the end of the book. But, good grief, I can't say that about poor Styxx. While I was reading Acheron, I though he would have done better without his "loving" sister Rissa. She was an idiot who cause him so much trouble. But I was really take aback by her truly horrendous treatment of Styxx. What a mean spirited harpy.

Ninety percent of this book was one long gut wrench that never let up. After wading thru hours and hours of his unending pain and suffering, the ending seemed too rushed, too short. Yes, it was interesting, the way everything came together, very clever. But, I needed more redemption and happiness than the bone Ms. Kenyon tossed us at the end. I'm glad I read it, but I won't read it again.