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Star Scrapper #9
Machine Learning
Ned discovers a hard truth about his past but will it also endanger the future of the universe?
After reconnecting with an old acquaintance, Hank’s AI companion is on the hunt for more information and it just might bring them closer than ever to Twain. But the old Enemy AI has a few tricks up his sleeve.
And while they pursue the villain, the crew also find themselves in the crosshairs. Having angered a shadowy sect, the hunters become the hunted. Things become more dangerous than ever and even the Conclave isn’t safe.
Can Hank defeat one enemy in order to catch another?
Find out in Machine Learning, the thrilling new entry in the Star Scrapper series from USA Today Bestselling Author J.N. Chaney and Matthew A. Goodwin.
After reconnecting with an old acquaintance, Hank’s AI companion is on the hunt for more information and it just might bring them closer than ever to Twain. But the old Enemy AI has a few tricks up his sleeve.
And while they pursue the villain, the crew also find themselves in the crosshairs. Having angered a shadowy sect, the hunters become the hunted. Things become more dangerous than ever and even the Conclave isn’t safe.
Can Hank defeat one enemy in order to catch another?
Find out in Machine Learning, the thrilling new entry in the Star Scrapper series from USA Today Bestselling Author J.N. Chaney and Matthew A. Goodwin.
344 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 22, 2024
366 people are currently reading
31 people want to read
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J.N. Chaney
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 27, 2024
Cannot wait for the next book on the series .
Great characters and enough twist plots to keep story moving along.
Great characters and enough twist plots to keep story moving along.
August 31, 2025
Not one boring moment! Filled with action, intrigue and excitement, with a catwalk full of versatile characters that makes the whole experience of reading engaging, joyful, emotional, exciting and enthralling.
Another must read series in the Chaneyverse. 5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Another must read series in the Chaneyverse. 5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
January 11, 2025
A
PERFECT
fit for the Series. It's often hard to keep track of all of the different series J.N. Chaney has going. That's a positive, not a complaint. My reviews rarely discuss the book's gutsMachine Learning, but this book is an easy 5-star read.
Don't miss out if you've been following the "Star Scrapper" series!!
Don't miss out if you've been following the "Star Scrapper" series!!
December 28, 2024
Great read. Romps along with pace.
A cracking read, as things start to happen in this story of many twists and turns. Don't read this in isolation. It is book 9 in a series. Start at book 1, you will not be disappointed.
A cracking read, as things start to happen in this story of many twists and turns. Don't read this in isolation. It is book 9 in a series. Start at book 1, you will not be disappointed.
December 4, 2024
Top Notch Science Fiction!
November 29, 2025
Former Scrapper and now Bounty Hunter Hank Spears is finally thinking about going after their real enemy, Twain, Twain is the evil AI that survived the long ago human and AI war. His kind wanted to turn all humans into cyborgs but that idea was finally killed and all the AIs were thought to have died or been taken apart and their coding erased. Yet, we’re now finding there are a lot of AIs still around the galaxy. Even Hank is working with Ned, an AI, he found while scrapping.
That find got him in a lot of trouble with the Inquisition. That organization was supposed to be hunting down any remaining AIs and destroying them. It had become something of a religious or cult organization with their members being fanatics. Once such fanatic was Inquisitor John Gregory. He had relentlessly came after Hank Spears and his friend and companion Lara. Early on Gregory had an Acolyte named Imogen who had been forced into her role. She eventually, with Hank and Lara’s help, freed herself from the Inquisition and Inquisitor Gregory and now was fighting along side Hank and Lara.
Hank knew that Twain was trying to rebuild an army of surgically altered humans. He was doing this evil deed some where on a huge ship called the *H. H. Watson*. Hank and his friends were going to find that ship and destroy it if possible, but they also knew that they couldn’t just destroy a ship full of humans. Some of them hadn’t probably been operated on, just surviving as captives aboard that ship. Hank also knew that he wasn’t going to get this done just with a few people around him he was going to have to call in a lot of friends and how it would be enough!
Hank and Ned had boarded a derelict space station that was being occupied by an AI that had been altered by Twain. While the AI wasn’t doing anything much aboard an empty space station, he had information as to what Twain was up to. So, Hank and Lara, along with Ned, Alex, Imogen and Clynt boarded the space station, fought through a bunch of horrible AI constructed androids and finally found Chaz, an alternated evil AI. Doctor Edwin wanted an altered AI so he could study its programming and now they had one.
Chaz has the information they need to start a trail that will hopefully lead them to *Watson*. In the meantime, Hank and Lara need to check-in with Zenobia, their Conclave handler. But first they made a call to Bounty Hunter Mane Malik to see if he knew what the trappers were up to. It seems that someone had attacked the *Buzzard*, Hank’s ship, when they had left a planet. It was an EMP attack that completely crippled the *Buzzard* and it almost crashed if it hadn’t been for Hanks prior planning due to what Lutch had taught him.
Of course, Malik isn’t much help so that’s why they need to see Zenobia. From here on the book gets very deadly. We’er going to see the death of one of the important characters. It’s going to affect everyone and especially one person, but they still have a mission to complete. They must stop Twain no matter the cost. Hank and Lara don’t know exactly who is trying to kill them but as Bounty Hunters, they have made man, many enemies. They’ll need to get this figure out because they can’t afford the distraction since they’re after something much more important than the Bounty Hunters Guild.
This book doesn’t end the series. Twain is still out there somewhere. They are getting close, but it will take more to actually find the cube that Twain occupies and that finally battle will take all their resources. Book 10, “Hunter Ascended”, is available now on Amazon.
==[Note: As of 12/03/2023, this will not be published on Amazon since I have been banned from posting reviews for some unknown reason. Once the ban is lifted, assuming it does get lifted, I’ll go back and post this to Amazon.]==
That find got him in a lot of trouble with the Inquisition. That organization was supposed to be hunting down any remaining AIs and destroying them. It had become something of a religious or cult organization with their members being fanatics. Once such fanatic was Inquisitor John Gregory. He had relentlessly came after Hank Spears and his friend and companion Lara. Early on Gregory had an Acolyte named Imogen who had been forced into her role. She eventually, with Hank and Lara’s help, freed herself from the Inquisition and Inquisitor Gregory and now was fighting along side Hank and Lara.
Hank knew that Twain was trying to rebuild an army of surgically altered humans. He was doing this evil deed some where on a huge ship called the *H. H. Watson*. Hank and his friends were going to find that ship and destroy it if possible, but they also knew that they couldn’t just destroy a ship full of humans. Some of them hadn’t probably been operated on, just surviving as captives aboard that ship. Hank also knew that he wasn’t going to get this done just with a few people around him he was going to have to call in a lot of friends and how it would be enough!
Hank and Ned had boarded a derelict space station that was being occupied by an AI that had been altered by Twain. While the AI wasn’t doing anything much aboard an empty space station, he had information as to what Twain was up to. So, Hank and Lara, along with Ned, Alex, Imogen and Clynt boarded the space station, fought through a bunch of horrible AI constructed androids and finally found Chaz, an alternated evil AI. Doctor Edwin wanted an altered AI so he could study its programming and now they had one.
Chaz has the information they need to start a trail that will hopefully lead them to *Watson*. In the meantime, Hank and Lara need to check-in with Zenobia, their Conclave handler. But first they made a call to Bounty Hunter Mane Malik to see if he knew what the trappers were up to. It seems that someone had attacked the *Buzzard*, Hank’s ship, when they had left a planet. It was an EMP attack that completely crippled the *Buzzard* and it almost crashed if it hadn’t been for Hanks prior planning due to what Lutch had taught him.
Of course, Malik isn’t much help so that’s why they need to see Zenobia. From here on the book gets very deadly. We’er going to see the death of one of the important characters. It’s going to affect everyone and especially one person, but they still have a mission to complete. They must stop Twain no matter the cost. Hank and Lara don’t know exactly who is trying to kill them but as Bounty Hunters, they have made man, many enemies. They’ll need to get this figure out because they can’t afford the distraction since they’re after something much more important than the Bounty Hunters Guild.
This book doesn’t end the series. Twain is still out there somewhere. They are getting close, but it will take more to actually find the cube that Twain occupies and that finally battle will take all their resources. Book 10, “Hunter Ascended”, is available now on Amazon.
==[Note: As of 12/03/2023, this will not be published on Amazon since I have been banned from posting reviews for some unknown reason. Once the ban is lifted, assuming it does get lifted, I’ll go back and post this to Amazon.]==
November 18, 2025
Still going strong at book nine! Machine Learning picks up with a Mad Max-style showdown after the Buzzard gets knocked out by an EMP—taking Ned, our favorite AI, offline with it. I thought this one would dive deep into Ned’s personal growth, and while we do get a glimpse into his past (and a hint about William West’s fate), it turns out Ned’s more revenge-driven than reflective. Classic Ned.
The story keeps up the pace with more entanglements involving the true Inquisition and Inquisitor Death, plus the ever-entertaining John Gregory and his band of false Inquisitors. If you’ve been riding along with this series, you’ll want to keep going. If you haven’t started yet, go grab book one—Star Scrapper—and buckle up.
Already downloaded book 10 Hunter Ascended. No regrets.
The story keeps up the pace with more entanglements involving the true Inquisition and Inquisitor Death, plus the ever-entertaining John Gregory and his band of false Inquisitors. If you’ve been riding along with this series, you’ll want to keep going. If you haven’t started yet, go grab book one—Star Scrapper—and buckle up.
Already downloaded book 10 Hunter Ascended. No regrets.
January 19, 2025
This series has been really frustrating. I have a hard time with the two author situations. In this particular book there are parts that feel like they were written by someone who was just filling in for the author. They were poorly written, almost amateurish and really did not belong. Each book in the series has had some great material and was well written and then there were parts that had me asking where did this crap come from and why is it even here. This is not the only J.N. Chaney collaboration like this. There are a few great and consistent series but too many are like this. They pump out way too many books in short periods of time and you wind up with a head scratching mess that leaves the reader wondering how the authors let it get published in the first place.
March 19, 2025
Very good!!
Story was very good. I thoroughly enjoyed the twists and turns in the book, definitely excited to see what the next book brings. Can't wait to see if the trappers get what they deserve.
Story was very good. I thoroughly enjoyed the twists and turns in the book, definitely excited to see what the next book brings. Can't wait to see if the trappers get what they deserve.
May 7, 2025
Riveting!
One enemy down and I think Twain has a broken "arm". Breadcrumbs are coming together in a trail. Our team is making themselves a thorn in the enemy's side. Go team!
One enemy down and I think Twain has a broken "arm". Breadcrumbs are coming together in a trail. Our team is making themselves a thorn in the enemy's side. Go team!
January 11, 2025
This was the first book I finished reading in 2025, now I'm just bummed I have to wait again for the next one. I read all of the other books within a week in November last year - I really couldn't put them down!
Hank and the gang are always getting involved in situations that I never would have imagined they'd be involved in. Just when I think I can guess where the story is going, something unexpected happens - my guys need a break! Some wounds close and new ones open in this entry, so we'll see how they end up next time.
Hank and the gang are always getting involved in situations that I never would have imagined they'd be involved in. Just when I think I can guess where the story is going, something unexpected happens - my guys need a break! Some wounds close and new ones open in this entry, so we'll see how they end up next time.
February 17, 2025
Great! Keep them coming.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews