The Shepherd: An Epic Space Opera Adventure

Shepherd Security Services #1

by Robert M. Kerns

Author Robert M. Kerns returns to Space Opera Science Fiction with The Shepherd, a novel of Shepherd Security Services.
Stolen livestock. A determined heir. A fateful choice.

Alex spends his days learning to manage the family sheep ranch. He wants nothing more than to take over when his parents retire, because his family has owned and worked it since the Westward Expansion.

But all is not well in Southwestern Wyoming.

Five neighboring ranches have been raided, all their livestock stolen without a trace… each on a new moon. Alex feels his family’s ranch is next and decides to spend the night with the flock when the next new moon comes around.

That decision changes his life forever.

How will Alex survive in an alien society?

Find out in The Shepherd!

Genres: Science Fiction

348 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 5, 2024

About the author

Robert M. Kerns (or Rob if you ever meet him in person) is a geek, and he claims that label proudly. Most of his geekiness revolves around Information Technology (IT), having over fifteen years in the industry; within IT, he especially prefers Servers and Networks, and he often makes the claim that his residence has a better data infrastructure than some businesses.

Beyond IT, Rob enjoys Science Fiction and Fantasy of (almost) all stripes. He is a voracious reader, with his favorite books too numerous to list.

Rob has been writing for over twenty years, and "Awakening" is his debut novel.

Reviews

[Jim Gutzwiller · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Shepard: An epic Space Opera. Book 1

Well, this was unexpectedly very enjoyable! Not overly technical, but full of twists and unexpected events and outcomes!
Not going to give spoilers, I think it best that everybody read this book and see for themselves! The Aliens are amazing, the storyline quite surprising.

Thank you to the Author , Robert M. Kerns.

Waiting for the next installment to keep me going!!

[Andy Zach · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! What a great first book, Robert M. Kerns! The premise, a down-on-his luck shepherd, Alex, who works on his family's farm is staying with his sheep overnight to protect them. Nearby farms have lost their sheep.

Then he discovers what he's up against: an alien spacecraft comes down, vacuums up his sheep and him. Turns out they're interstellar outlaws, rustling sheep for food. Alex is taken with the sheep. A recently hired shiphand takes pity on Alex and puts him in a storage vault unconscious.

Then the rustlers are captured by the interstellar patrol. The law-abiding enforcers find Alex and slowly bring him back to consciousness. They feel they owe Alex the ship and its contents as payback for the crime done to him. Turns out Earth is way off the beaten path and they have no record of how to return him to his home.

This is where the story really begins. Alex learns about the star spanning empire, its races, and begins searching for Earth. And they begin learning about humans.

[Lorenzo Marasco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant start to an endless series. The plot is brilliant and can go in so many directions. No spoilers from me. Other than to recommend this book. If you like to start reading a series that will take you on a journey for 10+ books, THIS IS IT. Hold onto your seat.
PS: His other books give me comfort in making this recommendation after he had only published 1 book of this series. I can’t wait.
Mr Kerr, chop chop and hurry up.

[Mike Hanford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great fun, and a light read. World-building interesting, and the characters have some depth, and are interesting. Reminds me, in tone, of some classic SciFi from the 60’s. That is optimistic, and other worlds are prosperous and make positive use of technology to benefit all. A nice change from some cynical self-published works. Highly recommended if you want a bit of diversion.

[Michael Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting

A great first book in what I hope is the start to an epic series of interesting takes on the boy gets abducted by aliens and ends up transitioning into a more capable human being, I enjoyed this slice of life, I hope his romantic efforts with the lady's happens and he doesn't remain such a clueless shmuck like in most of these books.

[Dr. Curtis · Rating 5 out of 5]

An inspired leap into a fresh unprecedented style of alien abduction.

How is a young man from Earth going to bring huge amounts of prosperity and innovation benefit to a more advanced civilization?

Read it and see.

[Pamela Baird · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous

I loved this story. All the characters are very engaging. The whole concept of the aliens was delightful. There is a lot more story to tell and I am looking forward to the next chapter.

[Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great beginning...... but where will it go...

Like what I've read so far and I have hopes it will not be a quick crash and burn .....

But we shall see

[Tony Hisgett · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book, but for me, the author's 'Universe' doesn't quite work. There are too many different anthropomorphic species, lizards, mice, koalas, tigers, lions cats, bears, wolves, cows etc. It just becomes a fantasy comic book.
I also think the main character might have been a bit overdone with the ‘superhero’ enhancements and his magnetic attraction to the cats.
If possible I would have given 3.5 stars.

[Jared McIntyre · Rating 5 out of 5]

meandering

The story is readable and at times interesting, there wasn’t really a main story. The MC kinda just wonders around from one plot to the next until the end of the book. One good point about that is it’s probably not to far off what it would actually be like in his situation. With the exception of all the good luck the MC has.

[R Lance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kerns strikes again.

A start to another great series by a great author I follow. He's only disappointed once, his ending of the Cole/ Srexx series was disappointing, possibly even clumsy. He admits it himself. Maybe one day he'll rewrite it. This series is off to a rollicking start. Having read part 2 already I recommend it if you like this genre.

[Herbert Kaskoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun read - looking forward to the next book

I thoroughly enjoyed the book as a fish out of water Situation. Assuming Alex can navigate all the feline attention it should be a fun ride.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute fun standard fare

So, fun start of a series. I like the author, and the premise seems fun. The story is very simple and very standard, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy it. I did and am looking forward to the next book.

[James Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Fresh, heartfelt, and utterly engaging—this is not your parents’ alien abduction story.
Kerns delivers rich character development and a warm, wholesome vibe that makes this first-contact tale stand out. Already queued up the sequel for my weekend read. Highly recommended!

[Ki Taeni · Rating 3 out of 5]

If this turns out to be a harem I’m absolutely not going to be happy about it

[Rick · Rating 1 out of 5]

This story was so bad I stopped reading it

Think Chris Pratt meets beastiality. Yuk.
I think this is the worst story I've ever been silly enough to pay for.

[Dennis Plante]

Really good story.

Interesting story lines, very likable MC, and other characters. It's a very easy read. The author obviously likes many female characters, as most of the MC's friends, crew, and allies are female. He does have an occasional male as a subcharacter, and the MC is male.