What do you think?
Rate this book
Rogue Shepherd: The Hornet's Nest: Rogue Shepherd Space Opera Series Book 1
The youngest son of his family, Luke Shepherd’s job is to guard his father’s cattle on the remote plains of their planet, but the draw of adventure lures him into the cave against the orders of his father the Chief Elder of their Clan. Disobedience carries the penalty of being branded a rogue, but the temptation is too great. The Vespian Cave on Bethel 5 holds one secret know one knows, and deadly hornets that keep it safe from intruders. An unexpected tumble, the loss of a friend, and a hidden space ship find Luke with an unexpected friendship in the Cave that brings him face to face with death from the hornets, and the blasters of the rustlers who want the cattle he is entrusted to protect.... but isn't Discover the beginning of Luke Shepherd, The Hornet’s Nest, the Red Robe; and his fear of being rogue.
- GenresScience Fiction
76 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 2, 2016
27 people are currently reading
20 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 8, 2017
I wish I could give this book 0 stars.
This story has so many problems. It looks like the author didn't even bother to read the story after it was finished. It is replete with grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and poorly constructed sentences.
I understand many people self publish on Amazon and it is not unusual to find a few errors in books, but this book has at least one problem on nearly every single page! It starts with the about for the book: "The Vespian Cave on Bethel 5 holds one secret know one knows, and deadly hornets that keep it safe from intruders." Apparently, the author doesn't 'know' (or doesn't care) about the distinction between 'no one knows' and 'know one knows'. The rest of the book is no different.
Some more examples from inside:
"The cave opening was so large to Luke this close he pulled out his binoculars to measure the distance of almost three kilometers from the bottom to the what would have been the top."
"He threw a rock and listened off into the distance to see if he could hear it bounce as it went out of the light and out of sight down the cave floor."
"Down they rolled end of end,"
"The faint glow of light shown off in the distance"
"The sides of the cave at the depths here now glowing, but the only light here the distant shaft of light off in the distance that came from high above."
"Destin out paced Luke as the dog ran ahead of him, only for the sound of Destin’s barks and feet splashing in the water to disappear from the echoes of the cave as Destin ran for his life too."
"What small amount of light in the cabin from emergency lights on the floor in the hall were nonexistent with the door closed."
"His body still some stiff and his movements slow."
"Luke told Sorley of how he helped his father with they transported the cattle of their slow cattle transports."
"I wish I could be your age and back at the controls of this ship more than likely will be a soldier in the Twelve Clans in a few years.”
==== Spoiler Alert ====
The story also has strong and obvious parallels to Jewish Patriarchs, the Twelve Tribes of Israel, OT prophets, and worship of God. This might as well have been the Twelve Tribes of Israel on an alien world. But instead of being shepherds, they were cowboys. Definite lack of imagination in the story structure, setup and events.
This story has so many problems. It looks like the author didn't even bother to read the story after it was finished. It is replete with grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and poorly constructed sentences.
I understand many people self publish on Amazon and it is not unusual to find a few errors in books, but this book has at least one problem on nearly every single page! It starts with the about for the book: "The Vespian Cave on Bethel 5 holds one secret know one knows, and deadly hornets that keep it safe from intruders." Apparently, the author doesn't 'know' (or doesn't care) about the distinction between 'no one knows' and 'know one knows'. The rest of the book is no different.
Some more examples from inside:
"The cave opening was so large to Luke this close he pulled out his binoculars to measure the distance of almost three kilometers from the bottom to the what would have been the top."
"He threw a rock and listened off into the distance to see if he could hear it bounce as it went out of the light and out of sight down the cave floor."
"Down they rolled end of end,"
"The faint glow of light shown off in the distance"
"The sides of the cave at the depths here now glowing, but the only light here the distant shaft of light off in the distance that came from high above."
"Destin out paced Luke as the dog ran ahead of him, only for the sound of Destin’s barks and feet splashing in the water to disappear from the echoes of the cave as Destin ran for his life too."
"What small amount of light in the cabin from emergency lights on the floor in the hall were nonexistent with the door closed."
"His body still some stiff and his movements slow."
"Luke told Sorley of how he helped his father with they transported the cattle of their slow cattle transports."
"I wish I could be your age and back at the controls of this ship more than likely will be a soldier in the Twelve Clans in a few years.”
==== Spoiler Alert ====
The story also has strong and obvious parallels to Jewish Patriarchs, the Twelve Tribes of Israel, OT prophets, and worship of God. This might as well have been the Twelve Tribes of Israel on an alien world. But instead of being shepherds, they were cowboys. Definite lack of imagination in the story structure, setup and events.
December 12, 2016
Good Read
I thought this was an interesting read and a little bit different than the normal science fiction books . I think it's interesting and like the way it flows . Already got the next one so we will see what happens in his adventures. Nice little story.
I thought this was an interesting read and a little bit different than the normal science fiction books . I think it's interesting and like the way it flows . Already got the next one so we will see what happens in his adventures. Nice little story.
June 12, 2019
A Rough Diamond
I've only read this first story in the series. The plot is good, and has potential. The writing needs a lot of work, though.
The first piece of advice I offer is to get someone else, preferably someone proficient in grammar, to proofread. There are enough typos and grammar mistakes to make reading this story a bit of an ordeal. Don't try to do this yourself, your familiarity with the manuscript will cause you to overlook some things. This is the single most important piece of advice I have, and I can't stress it enough. You almost lost me about Chapter 5 because of all the typos and bad grammar.
Second, the writing style is very elementary -- a problem not helped by the lack of proofreading. Either play this up and make it a book for older kids (I.e. Hardy Boys), or use a more sophisticated style that will appeal to adults. Right now, there's no personality to the writing.
Third, along with the style, the story would be a lot more interesting if the religious allegory were more subtle. As it is, it's rather like somebody smacking the reader in the noggin with a baseball bat and then screaming at the top of their lungs "THIS IS ALLEGORY!!!!!" I'm not complaining that the religion is THERE, just saying that it would be more effective dialed back some. I suggest reading Watership Down, if you haven't already. The allegory in that book is quite well done.
-- Matt
I've only read this first story in the series. The plot is good, and has potential. The writing needs a lot of work, though.
The first piece of advice I offer is to get someone else, preferably someone proficient in grammar, to proofread. There are enough typos and grammar mistakes to make reading this story a bit of an ordeal. Don't try to do this yourself, your familiarity with the manuscript will cause you to overlook some things. This is the single most important piece of advice I have, and I can't stress it enough. You almost lost me about Chapter 5 because of all the typos and bad grammar.
Second, the writing style is very elementary -- a problem not helped by the lack of proofreading. Either play this up and make it a book for older kids (I.e. Hardy Boys), or use a more sophisticated style that will appeal to adults. Right now, there's no personality to the writing.
Third, along with the style, the story would be a lot more interesting if the religious allegory were more subtle. As it is, it's rather like somebody smacking the reader in the noggin with a baseball bat and then screaming at the top of their lungs "THIS IS ALLEGORY!!!!!" I'm not complaining that the religion is THERE, just saying that it would be more effective dialed back some. I suggest reading Watership Down, if you haven't already. The allegory in that book is quite well done.
-- Matt
December 13, 2016
I do not know where to begin, but to start by saying that this is not good.
It reads like middle grade fantasy (not a bad thing) until it stumbles across the difficult words of this fantasy world. Having places and things with higher concept names, but a hero named Luke, (which by the way, in space, when you call a boy Luke, I expect him to go get some power converters) makes this an unbalanced read.
There are a few bad edits within, that makes you re-read a sentence a few times to get what word was meant. I read this like a low grade version of science fiction, without being entertaining, captivating, nor enticing enough to finish. I hit 65% on my reader and said, "meh, who cares?"
I say pass, but maybe there are others who will enjoy this one.
It reads like middle grade fantasy (not a bad thing) until it stumbles across the difficult words of this fantasy world. Having places and things with higher concept names, but a hero named Luke, (which by the way, in space, when you call a boy Luke, I expect him to go get some power converters) makes this an unbalanced read.
There are a few bad edits within, that makes you re-read a sentence a few times to get what word was meant. I read this like a low grade version of science fiction, without being entertaining, captivating, nor enticing enough to finish. I hit 65% on my reader and said, "meh, who cares?"
I say pass, but maybe there are others who will enjoy this one.
December 24, 2016
Interesting
A different story. I am looking forward to seeing what Chris Vaughn does with the series. This prequel makes a good start.
A different story. I am looking forward to seeing what Chris Vaughn does with the series. This prequel makes a good start.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews