The River Saga: The Complete Series

The River Saga, Books 1-4

By: Nathan Hystad

Narrated by: Christopher Ryan Grant

Contains books 1–4 of The River Saga.

First Life, book one:

A dangerous expedition. Extraterrestrial alliances. Unpredictable enemies.

Colton Beck has six months to live. He works for the Angor near Los Angeles, aware that any day could be his last.

The Angor arrived twenty years ago, resolved to help mankind survive, but not everyone believes their motives are honorable.

When the Angor offer humanity a colony world, Colton is determined to see another planet before his final breath. He's been diagnosed with Xeno, a rare disorder that surfaced with the Angor's arrival, but he won't let this stop him.

With the help of his old friend Indie Hart, now the single most powerful human on Earth, he joins the Expedition to Dicore. They access the River, an alien technology that allows nearly instantaneous travel between worlds, and their universe is quickly expanded. What they find on Dicore is far from idyllic, and Colton struggles to navigate their new existence while coping with his impending death.

Second Chance, book two:

A fresh start. An old friend. A terrible enemy.

Colton Beck has a new lease on life. His alliance is confident they can find their enemy in the Alruna system, and it's all hands on deck. After the revelation of his origins from the mysterious woman on Dicore, Colton is at odds with where his loyalties stand.

The truth behind Indie Hart's dedication to the Angor is revealed, making Colton doubt her motives as well as the Angor's.

When Earth is threatened, it'll take a lot more than one man to save the planet.

With the help of Colton's allies, they find the source of the River and discover its connection to the Rusa.

All pieces come together for a cataclysmic resolution, but who can Colton truly trust?

Third Party, book three:

A missing ally. A secret world. A second colony.

With the Surial gone, Colton Beck has a chance to rebuild the Rusa race. Colton embarks on a dangerous journey to find answers, bringing his closest allies along for the ride. Each objective is a step toward repopulating Nulit, but the ultimate price might be higher than they're willing to offer.

Now that the truth about the Angor has been realized, the Unity Accord will never be the same. Colton is determined to ensure his people's position over the fabled Ocean, even if it tears the Unity apart.

When someone from Desmond's past returns to haunt him, history threatens to repeat itself.

The Realms, book four:

A dangerous mission. A fresh beginning. A worthy opponent.

Colton Beck has done the improbable. With the aid of his allies, he managed to save the Rusa. Just when they think it's time to focus on their new planet, Desmond returns, asking for a favor.

The Ministry of Realms, thought to be destroyed by Drunal years before, still exists, and they're hiding in the deep reaches of the River.

To find them, the team follows a trail of clues, leading to a surprise, no one could have expected.

©2024 Nathan Hystad (P)2024 Podium Audio

The characters

Loved so much! Never a boring moment! Could next chapter or next book! Highly recommend, great space operator

Another GREAT one!

So, what can be said about Nicholas Sandsbury Smith that hasn’t been said before. I started with the Extinction Cycle, listened through many others. Just let me say, River Saga does not disappoint. The stories this genius of an Author creates is beyond belief! The characters he has created make me sad to say goodbye. The River Saga will leave you craving more. I don’t work, be careful of very long nights, lasting into the wee hours and much more. It’s so worth the credit. This book, among others make me wish we were neighbors, just to get a glimpse of how someone can be so creative. Thanks Nic.

Best of the best

Other than LOTR I've never completed a saga so delighted and satisfied. The character development and story arc were beautiful and THE NARRATOR WAS NEARLY SUPERNATURAL. I've listened to hundreds of hours of audio fiction and this is probably the best, both in wordsmithing and performance of a story. Thank you for your EXCELLENT work.

A true sci-fi opera

I enjoyed series of books the River saga immensely. It reminded me very much of CS Friedman book conquest, bound, which was another. That I read back in the early 90s. In both stories, they were well thought out and meaningful to me. I would recommend both to anyone and as well others.

the plot was very new and honest

I was on the edge of my seat, I never wanted to stop listening, great plot and well written, the voices were incredible

More plot twist than a knotted rope

I admit great story…. I was guessing til the end.. like the old MAD COMIC, SPY VS SPY....hahaha

Entertaining and interesting read

This is a beautifully written and thoroughly entertaining read. If you enjoy historical fiction with a strong sense of place and deeply human stories, I highly recommend picking this one up.

Great concept, decent story, not a fan of narration on audible.

The concept and adding the 3 books into audible was great. Storyline, needed a bit more fleshing out. 1st book is awesome, from that forward started getting segmented and almost turns into a scy fi romance novel with a little who done it. I finished it out because i was invested in the storyline. I don't regret listening to the story and will hold fond memories of certain parts....but would not tell my friend to listen or read unless they are looking for a good distraction while driving. narrator; has talent but delivery was very dry. he gave more polish to secondary characters while the MCs got almost like Ben Stein reading in his most dead pan voice. I could read a receipt from walmart with more emotion or inflection than he did for MCs.

Not worth the credit

I feel like this was for a pre-teen who has no concept of physics, biology, or time. There are aliens who live for millions of years, everyone in the universe speaks English, no imagination when it came to the aliens everything was based of an earth creature.

Not for those seeking intellectual stimulation

I haven’t read much space opera and based on this I think the style might be about lots of stuff happening but not a lot of character or plot development. More like the author pushes the narrative to where they want it to go rather than through building a nuanced scenario. If you like fast paced action without much to think about then this might suit you.