What do you think?
Rate this book
Star Scrapper #13
Second Contact
With the threat of Twain defeated, something strange is happening at the edge of known space.
Ships are disappearing without a trace, and Hank's concerns are being dismissed as paranoia. But when an entire colony vanishes overnight, he knows he has to act. The problem is, no one wants to hear about a new threat so soon after the last war.
Working with his closest allies, Hank begins to uncover evidence of something far worse than Twain ever was. An alien force has been watching humanity for centuries, and now they're done just observing.
Can Hank survive long enough to find proof of this new threat?
Find out in Second Contact, the thrilling new entry in the Star Scrapper series from USA Today Bestselling Author J.N. Chaney and Matthew A. Goodwin.
Ships are disappearing without a trace, and Hank's concerns are being dismissed as paranoia. But when an entire colony vanishes overnight, he knows he has to act. The problem is, no one wants to hear about a new threat so soon after the last war.
Working with his closest allies, Hank begins to uncover evidence of something far worse than Twain ever was. An alien force has been watching humanity for centuries, and now they're done just observing.
Can Hank survive long enough to find proof of this new threat?
Find out in Second Contact, the thrilling new entry in the Star Scrapper series from USA Today Bestselling Author J.N. Chaney and Matthew A. Goodwin.
406 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 22, 2025
About the author
J.N. Chaney
512 books9,688 followersIf you want to stay up to date on my releases, concept art, or speak to me directly - you should join my Facebook fan group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/67862...
We have discussions on everything from books, movies, shows, and all things scifi. Come join the conversation.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/67862...
We have discussions on everything from books, movies, shows, and all things scifi. Come join the conversation.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 19, 2025
What a ride!!
Really good book! I think I enjoyed this one more than most the previous ones I'm super excited to see what happens next. Definitely worth a read or if you got bored it definitely worth coming back to
Really good book! I think I enjoyed this one more than most the previous ones I'm super excited to see what happens next. Definitely worth a read or if you got bored it definitely worth coming back to
July 7, 2025
love this series!
So good!!! What’s happening with the new aliens is so creepy. Back to back engagements without any rest (physically and emotionally) is going to take its toll, eventually. Hank and crew are going to collapse if they don’t get relief soon.
So I’m used to writing raving reviews for this author(s) but, for the first time, I kind of have a couple of bones to pick. The first is the biggest. There are instances of items— character actions, (or in most cases, inaction in one way or another, atypical of their norm) in scenes that do not fit what would seem to be reasonable. They’re way too easy, too obvious, works well for the story but unfortunately it doesn’t really seem practical, nor what the team would normally do or have done in similar situations. I really don’t like it when scenes are written in this way. I’d much rather it progress as you’d expect and then twists thrown in to gain the author’s desired outcome. It simply is a fact that with a series this long and a writer who is great at character building, (like this author), we come to know the characters well and how they’ll they’ll react individually and as a group, so changing that up to fit an outcome doesn’t fit who you’ve made them to be. So whoever the author is utilizing as an editor (pro’s or beta readers, or both), they need to, at least, have someone who is good at: 1)really paying attention to the writing and not fall into the story, (which can be really hard to do when the writer(s) are great at storytelling,) and 2)willing to give honest, constructive feedback.
There’s also one other thing that bugged me in this particular book— the over usage of this phrase, “I couldn’t shake the feeling…” The author used it probably ~ 4 more than was appropriate. It seems like it popped up all the time. Perhaps just change up the wording a bit, “and there goes my gut again, something just doesn’t feel right about….” or “my body began reacting to the words he was saying, or maybe it was the way he paused in that weird way, but something about him was waving a red flag in my system,” “….but something was zinging my nerve endings, warning me.,“ or “the hair on my arm began standing up, something about his tone, or something…., just felt off,” or “my instincts began a subtle hum, then the next thing I know they’re screaming at me, telling me something isn’t right, doesn’t track.” I also don’t think you always have to directly link it to his instincts rather instead, simply noting the items his brain is cataloguing, and then adding his physical response versus stating about his instincts or gut, etc. I’m not a writer, but I think you get what I mean. 😉👍
Otherwise, the book was great as usual. I’m looking forward to the next, especially after the cliffhanger you set like a bomb.😱👍👍
So good!!! What’s happening with the new aliens is so creepy. Back to back engagements without any rest (physically and emotionally) is going to take its toll, eventually. Hank and crew are going to collapse if they don’t get relief soon.
So I’m used to writing raving reviews for this author(s) but, for the first time, I kind of have a couple of bones to pick. The first is the biggest. There are instances of items— character actions, (or in most cases, inaction in one way or another, atypical of their norm) in scenes that do not fit what would seem to be reasonable. They’re way too easy, too obvious, works well for the story but unfortunately it doesn’t really seem practical, nor what the team would normally do or have done in similar situations. I really don’t like it when scenes are written in this way. I’d much rather it progress as you’d expect and then twists thrown in to gain the author’s desired outcome. It simply is a fact that with a series this long and a writer who is great at character building, (like this author), we come to know the characters well and how they’ll they’ll react individually and as a group, so changing that up to fit an outcome doesn’t fit who you’ve made them to be. So whoever the author is utilizing as an editor (pro’s or beta readers, or both), they need to, at least, have someone who is good at: 1)really paying attention to the writing and not fall into the story, (which can be really hard to do when the writer(s) are great at storytelling,) and 2)willing to give honest, constructive feedback.
There’s also one other thing that bugged me in this particular book— the over usage of this phrase, “I couldn’t shake the feeling…” The author used it probably ~ 4 more than was appropriate. It seems like it popped up all the time. Perhaps just change up the wording a bit, “and there goes my gut again, something just doesn’t feel right about….” or “my body began reacting to the words he was saying, or maybe it was the way he paused in that weird way, but something about him was waving a red flag in my system,” “….but something was zinging my nerve endings, warning me.,“ or “the hair on my arm began standing up, something about his tone, or something…., just felt off,” or “my instincts began a subtle hum, then the next thing I know they’re screaming at me, telling me something isn’t right, doesn’t track.” I also don’t think you always have to directly link it to his instincts rather instead, simply noting the items his brain is cataloguing, and then adding his physical response versus stating about his instincts or gut, etc. I’m not a writer, but I think you get what I mean. 😉👍
Otherwise, the book was great as usual. I’m looking forward to the next, especially after the cliffhanger you set like a bomb.😱👍👍
August 11, 2025
book 13
Every book gets shorter because of the story recap . I guess after so many the story will become ALL recaps and just an Epilogue 😁 Ha
Every book gets shorter because of the story recap . I guess after so many the story will become ALL recaps and just an Epilogue 😁 Ha
March 20, 2026
It is my opinion and only my opinion that this series should have ended with the last book, “Twain’s Reckoning”, but it definitely didn’t. Twain was the evil AI that didn’t die with the end of the last war almost two hundred years ago. Yes, he was a threat to the entire galaxy and needed to be dealt with. Star Scrapper and now Bounty Hunter Hank Spear’s, along with his friend, Lara Shen, also a Bounty Hunter and member of the Conclave Council, defeated Twain with the help of a lot of other people. Hank was the primary leader of the effort and he was able to convince the Consortium, the Conclave and the Inquisition all to work together along with the powerful Kyrogs and the Vekrass. This coalition also included the Peacers which were also very instrumental in defeating Twain.
Yet, now they are faced with an even more deadly enemy. When Twain had finally been defeated, he revealed that his efforts were only done to protect the galaxy from a far more deadly enemy that was slowly approaching. He called this new enemy the “Sectiaans” and they were going to wipe all life in the galaxy. The galaxy was not ready for Twain and they certainly weren’t ready for something more deadly. Yet, Hank Spears and his close band of warriors were alerted to a possible incursion of the Sectiaans in deep space.
Hank and company went out in the *Buzzard* to Sector Ninety-nine to explore a derelict starship. What they found was very unexpected and scared them all. This new enemy was something that no one had ever encountered. It was definitely not human but could absorb living tissue taking on the attributes of whatever living creature it had just devoured. It could then mimic a human with uncanny ability. It was hard to tell the difference between a Sectiaan and the human it had absorbed so this was indeed going to be a very difficult fight. The Sectiaan also didn’t appear to have any weakness other than a central core which could be observed if you saw them up close. Destroying the central core did destroy the creature, but you had to have a dangerously close encounter to hit that central core with a weapon and the Sectiaan were also learning all about humanity.
This was not the only problem that Hank Spears and his group were facing. The Consortium government were still leery of anything having to do with AIs. They knew that Hank had bee helped tremendously by his friend Ned, an AI from the old war, and by a myriad of other military AIs that were found in storage. Even the Inquisition had changed its opinion of AIs during this last battle with Twain. Yet, the Consortium Parliament wanted to hear directly from Hank Spears and Ned about their relationship and how that might work for the Consortium if laws were changed to allow for such open interaction between humans and AIs.
So Hank and Ned went to Emortium, the Consortium capital and made their pitch about how AIs were not a danger or threat to humanity. They believed that the combination of humans and AIs could do about anything desired and would bring greater prosperity to the galaxy instead of constant warring against each other. While their argument wasn’t exactly going over, the sudden appearance of Inquisitor Francis, current Hand of Truth and leader of the remaining loyal Inquisitors came and spoke to the Parliament in favor of changing the laws prohibiting AI and human interaction. He even stated that the Inquisition was now in the process of revising their own doctrine declaring that not all technology was evil and that AIs could, in most situations, help humanity greatly!
Meanwhile, Hank received an important message directing him to immediately report to the Conclave. So that’s where he headed not knowing anything about the reason for the summons. Once there Hank found that a rival gang had sent out a bounty on none other than Daniel Shen, Lara’s brother and head of the Blood Dragons cartel! The bounty appeared to be legit and the Council wanted someone competent to go complete this bounty. Lara was told directly that she could not go. It had to be Hank. So off he goes in search of Daniel Shen a.k.a. Tailong. His last known location was in his very secure den on some distant planet. Yet, what’s going to happen is far, far different that Hank knows now. It will involve a thirteen year old kid and an attempt to keep Lara’s brother from killing her again!
So, this book has a lot going on but it reads pretty fast. We’re definitely in for another fight against the Sectiaans if we can even figure out who they are. With their ability to absorb human bodies and then make exact copies of that person, we don’t even know who really is our enemy! Of course this series doesn’t end here. Book 14, “Consortium’s Fall” is now available on Amazon. It also appears that book 15, “Final Dawn”, may actually be the end of this series.
==[Note 1 (12/23/2025): I’m no longer associated with Amazon and will no longer provide any links to books from that website. You can usually find books that you like at your usual source.==]
==[Note 2: As of 12/03/2023, this will not be posted on Amazon since I have been banned from posting reviews for some unknown reason.== ]
Yet, now they are faced with an even more deadly enemy. When Twain had finally been defeated, he revealed that his efforts were only done to protect the galaxy from a far more deadly enemy that was slowly approaching. He called this new enemy the “Sectiaans” and they were going to wipe all life in the galaxy. The galaxy was not ready for Twain and they certainly weren’t ready for something more deadly. Yet, Hank Spears and his close band of warriors were alerted to a possible incursion of the Sectiaans in deep space.
Hank and company went out in the *Buzzard* to Sector Ninety-nine to explore a derelict starship. What they found was very unexpected and scared them all. This new enemy was something that no one had ever encountered. It was definitely not human but could absorb living tissue taking on the attributes of whatever living creature it had just devoured. It could then mimic a human with uncanny ability. It was hard to tell the difference between a Sectiaan and the human it had absorbed so this was indeed going to be a very difficult fight. The Sectiaan also didn’t appear to have any weakness other than a central core which could be observed if you saw them up close. Destroying the central core did destroy the creature, but you had to have a dangerously close encounter to hit that central core with a weapon and the Sectiaan were also learning all about humanity.
This was not the only problem that Hank Spears and his group were facing. The Consortium government were still leery of anything having to do with AIs. They knew that Hank had bee helped tremendously by his friend Ned, an AI from the old war, and by a myriad of other military AIs that were found in storage. Even the Inquisition had changed its opinion of AIs during this last battle with Twain. Yet, the Consortium Parliament wanted to hear directly from Hank Spears and Ned about their relationship and how that might work for the Consortium if laws were changed to allow for such open interaction between humans and AIs.
So Hank and Ned went to Emortium, the Consortium capital and made their pitch about how AIs were not a danger or threat to humanity. They believed that the combination of humans and AIs could do about anything desired and would bring greater prosperity to the galaxy instead of constant warring against each other. While their argument wasn’t exactly going over, the sudden appearance of Inquisitor Francis, current Hand of Truth and leader of the remaining loyal Inquisitors came and spoke to the Parliament in favor of changing the laws prohibiting AI and human interaction. He even stated that the Inquisition was now in the process of revising their own doctrine declaring that not all technology was evil and that AIs could, in most situations, help humanity greatly!
Meanwhile, Hank received an important message directing him to immediately report to the Conclave. So that’s where he headed not knowing anything about the reason for the summons. Once there Hank found that a rival gang had sent out a bounty on none other than Daniel Shen, Lara’s brother and head of the Blood Dragons cartel! The bounty appeared to be legit and the Council wanted someone competent to go complete this bounty. Lara was told directly that she could not go. It had to be Hank. So off he goes in search of Daniel Shen a.k.a. Tailong. His last known location was in his very secure den on some distant planet. Yet, what’s going to happen is far, far different that Hank knows now. It will involve a thirteen year old kid and an attempt to keep Lara’s brother from killing her again!
So, this book has a lot going on but it reads pretty fast. We’re definitely in for another fight against the Sectiaans if we can even figure out who they are. With their ability to absorb human bodies and then make exact copies of that person, we don’t even know who really is our enemy! Of course this series doesn’t end here. Book 14, “Consortium’s Fall” is now available on Amazon. It also appears that book 15, “Final Dawn”, may actually be the end of this series.
==[Note 1 (12/23/2025): I’m no longer associated with Amazon and will no longer provide any links to books from that website. You can usually find books that you like at your usual source.==]
==[Note 2: As of 12/03/2023, this will not be posted on Amazon since I have been banned from posting reviews for some unknown reason.== ]
October 12, 2025
A good story falls flat
The Star Scrapper series was never a masterpiece, but it was still pretty good. It was good enough for me to read 13 of these books back-to-back. But this is the last one for me. A big part of the appeal of this story is the world building. For it to be effective, it has to be consistent. For whatever reason, this installment felt like it was written by someone else who was only vaguely familiar with the story so far. Having come this far, it's incredibly frustrating to see well established mechanisms casually ignored or seemingly forgotten. It's tough reading about characters that you've come to know behaving oddly for no apparent reason. And while the plot armor and deus-ex-machina has always run a bit thick with this series, this time it's too much to ignore. The last book wasn't a horrible place to end the story. Maybe stop there.
The Star Scrapper series was never a masterpiece, but it was still pretty good. It was good enough for me to read 13 of these books back-to-back. But this is the last one for me. A big part of the appeal of this story is the world building. For it to be effective, it has to be consistent. For whatever reason, this installment felt like it was written by someone else who was only vaguely familiar with the story so far. Having come this far, it's incredibly frustrating to see well established mechanisms casually ignored or seemingly forgotten. It's tough reading about characters that you've come to know behaving oddly for no apparent reason. And while the plot armor and deus-ex-machina has always run a bit thick with this series, this time it's too much to ignore. The last book wasn't a horrible place to end the story. Maybe stop there.
August 27, 2025
Top Notch Science Fiction!
October 20, 2025
This is probably my least favourite of the the series so far, felt like it was lacking something. I still enjoyed it but it wasn't as good as the previous books.
January 7, 2026
just read it.
The story continues in a very well laid out direction. Looking forward to the next book. just read it now.
The story continues in a very well laid out direction. Looking forward to the next book. just read it now.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews