Group Six and the River

Of Water and Brimstone

By: Ron Richard, First Steps Publishing

Narrated by: Ron Richard, Pat Greiner

Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

The only way to fulfill her quest was to die!

Serena Brimstone, fierce warrior woman of the Northlands, awoke to find the enormous diamond she had recently claimed from a dying stranger embedded in her chest. But that wasn't the oddest thing. Suddenly, old sparring partners refuse to fight her. Enemies throw down their weapons and profess their undying love for her. How's a woman supposed to get into a good, knockdown drag-out when all anyone will do is worship her?

When Serena and three magicians are recruited by the enigmatic leader to seek out a legendary wizard and promised their hearts' desires in return, she hopes she has finally found a way to be rid of the diamond and the adoration it causes others to feel for her. But things don't go as planned for the contentious new companions of Serena—Orchid, Tresado, and Foxx (that's with two xs). They will need all their skills—and their senses of humor—as they deal with deception and betrayal, hungry river crocs, dart-wielding pygmies, an ancient water spirit, and a fabulous pleasure palace that thinks for itself.

Join Group Six as they journey up the River Talus on the magically-powered catamaran enchanter in search of spells, swordplay, wealth, and a rousing good time! This audiobook is for anyone who likes science and magic, a dash of humor, lighthearted action sequences, monsters and swordplay, and solving a continuing mystery. For fans of Piers Anthony, Robert Asprin, Fritz Leiber, and Terry Pratchett.

©2022 Ron Richard (P)2022 Ron Richard

Highly entertaining

Clever, fun, imaginative, and engaging with many laugh out loud moments. The story is very creative, the characters are relatable and fun, and the narrators are brilliant.

Painfully disjointed, scattered writing, punchlines that fall flat

This was one of the most painful stories I’ve ever read. Weak character development, unexplained world building, horrible continuity. The book jumps between character and timelines constantly. Many stories may have some backgrounds provided but I’ve never seen a book jump around so much, so often for no apparent reason. 2 weeks earlier, 1 week in the future, present day, 1,000 years in the future, sometime in the past…. 6 main characters, hundreds of different dates and a few side characters thrown in and out of the mix for nearly the whole book.