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Ocean Cowboys #1
Shepherds
In a world where genetically altered humans herd commercial tuna on the open ocean, Olga, a third-generation bio-engineered “shepherd” and two shipmates live aboard the Factory raft, Homestead. Commercial tuna farming has all but wiped out the wild fishing industry, so when Toivo Nurminen, an independent trawler captain, discovers a shepherd raft’s murdered crew, he suspects embittered fishermen. In radioing for help, he alerts the real killers, marking his ship for death. Injured and adrift, Toivo is rescued by the Homestead. When Homestead’s crew investigates other raft attacks they uncover a deadly drug operation. Despite emotional conflict, Toivo and Olga unite, and with their shipmates and dolphins, ingeniously fight against overwhelming odds.
In an oceanic range war setting, Shepherds explores humanity’s struggle with morality and science, organized crime, human rights and interspecies bonds. Bravery, love and loyalty cross all barriers in the battle against the age-old sins, greed, hate and betrayal to make this finely interwoven action adventure a bright dawning for our own future.
In an oceanic range war setting, Shepherds explores humanity’s struggle with morality and science, organized crime, human rights and interspecies bonds. Bravery, love and loyalty cross all barriers in the battle against the age-old sins, greed, hate and betrayal to make this finely interwoven action adventure a bright dawning for our own future.
242 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 15, 2012
25 people are currently reading
337 people want to read
About the author
J. Drew Brumbaugh
12 books112 followersI live in northeast Ohio where I write sci-fi, fantasy, and suspense novels, along with a few short stories. Mostly I write stories I think I'd like to read with characters that are interesting enough that readers want to find out what happens to them. I also spend time building a Japanese strolling garden in the back yard, and taking walks in the woods. I have nine novels in print, the most recent being "Broken Albatross," the third in the Galiwee Visions series, plus a collection of short stories, and a co-authored children’s book. A brand new fantasy trilogy is in the works and should see the first book coming out in 2025. I love hearing back from readers so please feel free to send me your thoughts.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 19, 2025
This was a fantastic read and I'm looking forward to giving into the next book in this series.
The story is so well fleshed out and interesting with week developed characters that feel very real.
I especially appreciated the dialogue between characters as it felt so natural and likely to be said.
I absolutely recommend this book for all fans of science fiction.
The story is so well fleshed out and interesting with week developed characters that feel very real.
I especially appreciated the dialogue between characters as it felt so natural and likely to be said.
I absolutely recommend this book for all fans of science fiction.
November 21, 2021
Pleasant read,
This author writes so well. His story is such a pleasant read with everything a good story needs. The characters are well developed. Cowboys. So we have a western flare, world hunger, drug lords, dolphins, and tuna. Some gun fights and rescues. This book is a must.
This author writes so well. His story is such a pleasant read with everything a good story needs. The characters are well developed. Cowboys. So we have a western flare, world hunger, drug lords, dolphins, and tuna. Some gun fights and rescues. This book is a must.
August 20, 2023
Intriguing concepts--genetic manipulation--interspecies communication--ocean farming. All woven together with bad guys running drugs. Pretty nicely put together. The sex scenes didn't detract from the plot and did add depth to the characters. though the book would have been just fine without them.
Yeehaw! And I'm on to book two.
Yeehaw! And I'm on to book two.
April 3, 2024
Someone has been killing cowboys and it isn't rustlers.
2 1/2 stars. Starting out on a positive note, I found the premise of J. Drew Brumbaugh's "Shepherds" to be quite enticing. It starts off setting things up by describing a world where a significant decrease in global food supplies has led to inevitable turmoil and conflict. The oceans have also naturally been over-fished and options for mankind's survival seem grim. It is this reality that leads to bioengineer not only new strains of tuna but to also genetically enhance men and women to act as these schools of ever-more-valuable sources of protein's shepherds. This ensures that they not only stay in easy-to-harvest locales but also find the best feeding grounds as well. Still, as we learn very well, "desperate men do desperate things"!
The factories took the most fertile ocean areas…
Naturally of course there is backlash from the "regular fishing" community, who consider these mutated beings - along with their trained dolphin "assistants" - a threat to their livelihood. Pirating remains a threat along with other even more dubious activities on the high seas, including the rather odd manufacture of a new breed of drugs manufactured from pilfered plankton that the giant fishing conglomerates provide for their "crops" of tuna. Unfortunately, that's about as far as we go in terms of setting up this supposedly dystopian struggle. Yes, there are ne'er-do-wells in abundance and yes, they do indeed cause great harm to everyone they come across. But sadly, despite all this potential, there isn't a lot of suspense nor originality once these scenarios have been established. The story seems to have one foot in the future but the other planted firmly in our time. I would have liked to have seen MUCH more inventiveness and, quite frankly, some real risk in the plotting!
They're nothing but slimy mutants. Not worth letting live, if you ask me.
In addition, I found Brumbaugh's writing style to be more than frustrating. First, the excessive repetition almost led me to put the book down and register it as a DNF. Yes, when they swam, it was with, quote "powerful strokes" (look it up)! Yes, we get that Toivo didn't like Russians. Yes, we get that Olga had never met her parents and that she was lonely. Ici wanted a baby? Understood! The philosophy of the dolphins and viewing death as "time to go ahead"! Check and check! And it just went on and on and on and after about the 500th description of the merwomens breasts and everyone's nice tight buns and how confused and lovesick everyone was, I was done. Honestly, it begins to feel like filler - which then slows down the pacing significantly - after a while. My lasting impression is that authors have to trust their readers to understand their messages without trying to drill it into our heads like some sort of "Clockwork Orange"-esque torture!
He never tired of looking at her graceful, slender body. She was a delicate work of art.
On top of this, the prose is not helped by what I found to be an overly choppy writing style which also led to uneven pacing. It is just not necessary that an author describe every single motion a character takes. Here was one example that stuck out to me:
"I'll be sitting on the aft deck."
He walked out onto the aft deck.
This should have been caught in the correction process. And speaking of which, the editing was just not up to par. Unless I don't understand how a body works:
Olga’s lungs and blood steam had been modified…
OR
their thoughts turned inward, each lost in their own thoughts,…
is just not what we're aiming for. I could give other examples but don't want my own comments to be considered repetitive after all that!
If only you could see the true meaning of life. If only we could show you.
At the end of the day, I'll even admit that I was looking for - nay, hoping upon hope - that this would be something comparable to Peter Watts' "Rifters" books, a series that haunts me to this day. Watts' unique writing approach and incredibly imaginative story invariably still influences me when I pick out any books that take place in, on, or under the Seven Seas! Still, taken at face value, I will steadfastly stand by my impression that there was much more potential in this story than what was expressed. These are interesting characters that we got to know but there's also an interesting world out there that we hardly learned about. Maybe you'll have a different impression than me.
2 1/2 stars. Starting out on a positive note, I found the premise of J. Drew Brumbaugh's "Shepherds" to be quite enticing. It starts off setting things up by describing a world where a significant decrease in global food supplies has led to inevitable turmoil and conflict. The oceans have also naturally been over-fished and options for mankind's survival seem grim. It is this reality that leads to bioengineer not only new strains of tuna but to also genetically enhance men and women to act as these schools of ever-more-valuable sources of protein's shepherds. This ensures that they not only stay in easy-to-harvest locales but also find the best feeding grounds as well. Still, as we learn very well, "desperate men do desperate things"!
The factories took the most fertile ocean areas…
Naturally of course there is backlash from the "regular fishing" community, who consider these mutated beings - along with their trained dolphin "assistants" - a threat to their livelihood. Pirating remains a threat along with other even more dubious activities on the high seas, including the rather odd manufacture of a new breed of drugs manufactured from pilfered plankton that the giant fishing conglomerates provide for their "crops" of tuna. Unfortunately, that's about as far as we go in terms of setting up this supposedly dystopian struggle. Yes, there are ne'er-do-wells in abundance and yes, they do indeed cause great harm to everyone they come across. But sadly, despite all this potential, there isn't a lot of suspense nor originality once these scenarios have been established. The story seems to have one foot in the future but the other planted firmly in our time. I would have liked to have seen MUCH more inventiveness and, quite frankly, some real risk in the plotting!
They're nothing but slimy mutants. Not worth letting live, if you ask me.
In addition, I found Brumbaugh's writing style to be more than frustrating. First, the excessive repetition almost led me to put the book down and register it as a DNF. Yes, when they swam, it was with, quote "powerful strokes" (look it up)! Yes, we get that Toivo didn't like Russians. Yes, we get that Olga had never met her parents and that she was lonely. Ici wanted a baby? Understood! The philosophy of the dolphins and viewing death as "time to go ahead"! Check and check! And it just went on and on and on and after about the 500th description of the merwomens breasts and everyone's nice tight buns and how confused and lovesick everyone was, I was done. Honestly, it begins to feel like filler - which then slows down the pacing significantly - after a while. My lasting impression is that authors have to trust their readers to understand their messages without trying to drill it into our heads like some sort of "Clockwork Orange"-esque torture!
He never tired of looking at her graceful, slender body. She was a delicate work of art.
On top of this, the prose is not helped by what I found to be an overly choppy writing style which also led to uneven pacing. It is just not necessary that an author describe every single motion a character takes. Here was one example that stuck out to me:
"I'll be sitting on the aft deck."
He walked out onto the aft deck.
This should have been caught in the correction process. And speaking of which, the editing was just not up to par. Unless I don't understand how a body works:
Olga’s lungs and blood steam had been modified…
OR
their thoughts turned inward, each lost in their own thoughts,…
is just not what we're aiming for. I could give other examples but don't want my own comments to be considered repetitive after all that!
If only you could see the true meaning of life. If only we could show you.
At the end of the day, I'll even admit that I was looking for - nay, hoping upon hope - that this would be something comparable to Peter Watts' "Rifters" books, a series that haunts me to this day. Watts' unique writing approach and incredibly imaginative story invariably still influences me when I pick out any books that take place in, on, or under the Seven Seas! Still, taken at face value, I will steadfastly stand by my impression that there was much more potential in this story than what was expressed. These are interesting characters that we got to know but there's also an interesting world out there that we hardly learned about. Maybe you'll have a different impression than me.
December 29, 2018
Action packed
Adventuring fishermen.
More description of sex play than needed, but not as much as some grocery store romance novels.
Will watch for a sequel.
Adventuring fishermen.
More description of sex play than needed, but not as much as some grocery store romance novels.
Will watch for a sequel.
August 20, 2021
This was a really interesting and suspenseful action drama, let down by one tiny thing that I think would probably be pretty easy to write out of the story or otherwise minimise. The author is just a little bit too keen on describing the female characters. Specifically, their boobies.
Now look, I like boobies. So do a lot of readers. All up and down the gender and sexuality spectrum, boobies are a thing that unite an awful lot of us. Boobies are great.
Just ... you know.
Anyway, if it was just the hopeless sleazy hapless villain Captain Poddington who was obsessed, that would be one thing, but it was fairly widespread. That being said, it was a really small and fixable thing, and probably also down to personal taste as well, so let's move on. It certainly didn't spoil the story for me.
I immediately loved that the male protagonist was a Finnish guy. No idea where it came from (Brumbaugh appears to be from the US), but Toivo was repressed, melancholy, fatalistic and deeply conflicted about his feelings regarding Russians. It's written with knowledge. Toivo is a great, tragic, triumphant protagonist. And his boat being named Sisu is just perfect.
Anyway, what the villains of the story lack in complexity and relatability, they more than make up for in being giant shitbags who keep you turning the page and angry-reading about until they finally get their comeuppance. The world of the late 21st Century is well-realised and (depressingly) all too plausible. The developments, in the ecology and fisheries and sociocultural / bio-science issues ... all really nice. Subtle, and not infodumped too extensively, but that gives it an intimate feel. Like the Pacific ocean isn't all that big, really (when, you know, by the end of the 21st Century if anything it's probably going to be even bigger than it is now).
The dolphin sub-plot is nice, understated and clever, not overblown and somehow not silly despite the fact that it lands somewhere between Flipper and Seaquest DSV. The revelation of the deep history and mythos of the dolphin species, as well as their 'religion', was really interesting. Their use, as scouts and helpers, swung between extremely effective and kinda pointless, but it was far more often the former.
The action kept the pages turning, the ending was darn exciting, and the human drama was refreshingly innocent. People are people, no matter whether they have webbed fingers or are Russian!
I think we can all learn something from that.
Sex-o-meter
A couple of raunchy old sex scenes in this one, and an awful lot of male gaze, for better or worse ... but for all that, I think the emotional connections between the characters were more important than the physical ones - and that came through in the story. One Nemo and eight hundred and fifty assorted Wendy Juniors and Marlon Juniors out of a possible mass shoal spawning that turns the ocean to cold chowder with its explosive, instinct-driven passion.
Gore-o-meter
Shepherds boasts some brutal murders, but what hit hardest for me was the hate behind a lot of the killing, the fear of the alien, and of course the senseless butchery-for-profit of the sweet and Douglas-Adamsian dolphins (the main difference being these ones didn't fuck off when Earth was about to be destroyed). It was a gut punch every time. It just ... wasn't all that gory. Let's give it two flesh-gobbets out of a possible five.
WTF-o-meter
It all hung together quite nicely, the genetic engineering and the cultural and religious backlash against it, the future of human farming and drug-running and corporate greed and all the rest of it. Not really much in the way of WTF at all, I was just left reading about a world with a history I wanted to learn more of. I'll award this one 17% of a Kyle MacLachlan out of a possible David Lynch production.
My Final Verdict
Shepherds was interesting to read and while a lot of its characters could have used a bit more rounding out, I cared about them and was happy with how it all went. I'll give it a very solid three stars on the Amazon / Goodreads scale, although I would have been inclined to give it three-and-a-half if I could. Good stuff!
Now look, I like boobies. So do a lot of readers. All up and down the gender and sexuality spectrum, boobies are a thing that unite an awful lot of us. Boobies are great.
Just ... you know.
Anyway, if it was just the hopeless sleazy hapless villain Captain Poddington who was obsessed, that would be one thing, but it was fairly widespread. That being said, it was a really small and fixable thing, and probably also down to personal taste as well, so let's move on. It certainly didn't spoil the story for me.
I immediately loved that the male protagonist was a Finnish guy. No idea where it came from (Brumbaugh appears to be from the US), but Toivo was repressed, melancholy, fatalistic and deeply conflicted about his feelings regarding Russians. It's written with knowledge. Toivo is a great, tragic, triumphant protagonist. And his boat being named Sisu is just perfect.
Anyway, what the villains of the story lack in complexity and relatability, they more than make up for in being giant shitbags who keep you turning the page and angry-reading about until they finally get their comeuppance. The world of the late 21st Century is well-realised and (depressingly) all too plausible. The developments, in the ecology and fisheries and sociocultural / bio-science issues ... all really nice. Subtle, and not infodumped too extensively, but that gives it an intimate feel. Like the Pacific ocean isn't all that big, really (when, you know, by the end of the 21st Century if anything it's probably going to be even bigger than it is now).
The dolphin sub-plot is nice, understated and clever, not overblown and somehow not silly despite the fact that it lands somewhere between Flipper and Seaquest DSV. The revelation of the deep history and mythos of the dolphin species, as well as their 'religion', was really interesting. Their use, as scouts and helpers, swung between extremely effective and kinda pointless, but it was far more often the former.
The action kept the pages turning, the ending was darn exciting, and the human drama was refreshingly innocent. People are people, no matter whether they have webbed fingers or are Russian!
I think we can all learn something from that.
Sex-o-meter
A couple of raunchy old sex scenes in this one, and an awful lot of male gaze, for better or worse ... but for all that, I think the emotional connections between the characters were more important than the physical ones - and that came through in the story. One Nemo and eight hundred and fifty assorted Wendy Juniors and Marlon Juniors out of a possible mass shoal spawning that turns the ocean to cold chowder with its explosive, instinct-driven passion.
Gore-o-meter
Shepherds boasts some brutal murders, but what hit hardest for me was the hate behind a lot of the killing, the fear of the alien, and of course the senseless butchery-for-profit of the sweet and Douglas-Adamsian dolphins (the main difference being these ones didn't fuck off when Earth was about to be destroyed). It was a gut punch every time. It just ... wasn't all that gory. Let's give it two flesh-gobbets out of a possible five.
WTF-o-meter
It all hung together quite nicely, the genetic engineering and the cultural and religious backlash against it, the future of human farming and drug-running and corporate greed and all the rest of it. Not really much in the way of WTF at all, I was just left reading about a world with a history I wanted to learn more of. I'll award this one 17% of a Kyle MacLachlan out of a possible David Lynch production.
My Final Verdict
Shepherds was interesting to read and while a lot of its characters could have used a bit more rounding out, I cared about them and was happy with how it all went. I'll give it a very solid three stars on the Amazon / Goodreads scale, although I would have been inclined to give it three-and-a-half if I could. Good stuff!
January 24, 2015
This book is dripping with original characters, new plotlines and plausible future technology which made it a great read. SHEPHERDS has several elements you expect to find in a good novel, including vivid / likeable characters who are locked in an adventurous plot that takes place in an original setting with cool, new technology. I'd go as far as to call SHEPHERDS fantastic for two reasons. First, it takes place out on, and below, the open ocean, which gives it a fresh and brisk feeling throughout. Second, the author incorporates radical new technology, both genetic and nautical, that has just enough science to make it plausible but never gets bogged down. The deep-sea cowgirls in this tale are sort of sexy. I've read a lot of nautical literature, and just want to say that this is not your grandfather's sea story. This is a cutting edge, fast-paced, science-based yet fun and adventurous tale set in a future where corporations and pirates and tuna herd shepherds fight for a living on, and below, the waves.
November 15, 2015
I received this book via Goodreads.
Shepherds by J.Drew Brumbaugh is a action packed, suspenseful, and all around good read.
The book follows Toivo, a fisherman who can speak to dolphins, aboard his fishing ship Sisu who is simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. After encountering some stray factory fish Toivo and his crew find a badly listing sub-mersible raft with signs of an attack. After entering the raft and finding three cruelly slaughtered genetically altered humans (shepherds) Toivo radio's the U.N and reports his findings, unknowingly leading the shepherd's killers straight to him and his friends.
I can't write anymore without spoiling it so I wont.
Shepherds by J.Drew Brumbaugh is a action packed, suspenseful, and all around good read.
The book follows Toivo, a fisherman who can speak to dolphins, aboard his fishing ship Sisu who is simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. After encountering some stray factory fish Toivo and his crew find a badly listing sub-mersible raft with signs of an attack. After entering the raft and finding three cruelly slaughtered genetically altered humans (shepherds) Toivo radio's the U.N and reports his findings, unknowingly leading the shepherd's killers straight to him and his friends.
I can't write anymore without spoiling it so I wont.
December 1, 2013
What a wonderful, exciting, heartwarming, thrilling piece of literature. It's sci-fi with a heart. An action adventure that invites the readers to expand their view of possibilities. The action is well-paced; a page turner. Characters you care about and relationships that grow right through the action. Recommended!
February 20, 2014
I received this through First Reads Giveaways.
It was a very interesting book. Of all the "special talents" I've ever read about, communicating with sea creatures was definitely not on the list. It was a bit hard to follow for me at times, but still, it was fun and charming and, more than anything, it was unique and original.
I enjoyed it overall.
It was a very interesting book. Of all the "special talents" I've ever read about, communicating with sea creatures was definitely not on the list. It was a bit hard to follow for me at times, but still, it was fun and charming and, more than anything, it was unique and original.
I enjoyed it overall.
March 9, 2015
J. Brumbaugh keeps coming out with new stories that have interesting characters that you can enjoy, with plots that aren't just cookie cutter with so many other stories coming out. I definitely enjoyed this one (well, I haven't read one yet by him that I haven't liked), and have made a point to watch for new books by him. I especially loved the dolphins in this!
Read
October 28, 2015Tuna cowboys
Okay, decades ago when I was in high school, I came up with a story idea about a future where we herded tuna. Lo, and behold, here's that idea fleshed out. A bit different concept than MY idea but as soon as I saw the premise, I KNEW I would be all in. Very well written, characters are fleshed out. Would LOVE another story set in this world...
Okay, decades ago when I was in high school, I came up with a story idea about a future where we herded tuna. Lo, and behold, here's that idea fleshed out. A bit different concept than MY idea but as soon as I saw the premise, I KNEW I would be all in. Very well written, characters are fleshed out. Would LOVE another story set in this world...
April 8, 2017
Book ok....wasn't bad but wasn't really great either. I liked the characters....especially the dolphins. Happy Reading :)
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews