Big Trouble, Little Earth

by J.N. Chaney, Jason Anspach

Long after Earth's destruction, Humanity is an endangered species...

When freighter pilot Dalton Thorne reunites with his old friend Kota at Little Earth's best noodle shop, he's expecting a straightforward job. Instead, he finds himself embroiled in a centuries-old mystery that could change humanity's place in the universe forever.

Little Earth is a decaying city carved into an alien planet where humans live as refugees.

Beneath its neon-lit streets and crowded markets lies a fragments of Earth's past, preserved by a mysterious race of aliens and hidden from the ruling Consortium.

Now, Dalton and his fledgling crew must uncover a vital piece of evidence, long buried in depths of Little Earth—one that might lead to a real home for humanity.

With combat-enhanced martial artists, power-hungry crime lords, and the iron fist of the Consortium all hot on their trail, Dalton must navigate a web of divided loyalties and hard choices.

If only he'd kept eating his noodles, none of this would have happened.

Grab your copy of "Big Trouble, Little Earth" today and join Dalton Thorne on a journey that will take him from the depths of Little Earth to the secrets of humanity's forgotten past.

Genres: Science Fiction, Audiobook, Fiction

474 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 20, 2025

About the author

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Reviews

[Dennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, that title is directly referencing the movie Big Trouble in Little China, and the authors have fun referencing it. I enjoyed the story and could picture half the cast in a remake or sequel to BTiLC. There was a potion scene that had me laughing while reading it, and I still chuckle thinking about it. I'm looking forward to any future books.

[Waring Abbott · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tried really hard but could not finish

Yes I know the inspiration (film Big Trouble In Little China) was filled with 1940s wisecracking dialog but it wears thin after all these years. Becomes pretty irritating. Kind of like eight hours of Alan Alda...

[Lonn Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sensational an ode to one of the greatest stories ever told

I thought I knew what direction this book
was going for a couple of chapters, then the story took a turn for the even better. All the nods to John Carpenter's masterpiece evoked such pleasant memories.

[Meenaz Lodhi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED IT! It was so much fun to read it. I love the characters, the world building and was wonderfully surprised by the fantasy elements, a deftly and creative combination.
5/5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Impatient to read book-2

[Timothy Grubbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since earth died, humanity has been homeless…and some groups are trying to keep it that way…

Big Trouble, Little Earth by J.N. Chaney and Jason Anspach is a quirky action scifi story that’s essentially Titan AE meets Big Trouble in Little China…

Fair warning…despite the cover…there is not much noodle eating or ramen talk in this three novella omnibus.

Our handsome lead is a starship captain offere the chance of a lifetime…locating a sanctuary world meant for humanity when earth was destroyed…

But it’s dangerous work with a lot of folks (aliens, humans, and…other stuff) that might pose a problem…

With a coterie is friends and frenemies…he’s gonna try and accomplish the mission…

Despite having some tossed around scifi world building and lots of action, it’s not tough to follow and has some decent flow to it…

[David Cluster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Big Fun; Little Sleep!

A non-stop trip (in multiple senses of the word!) of adventure, excitement, hilarity, romance through a mind bending history lesson that reveals humanity's true place in the Galaxy. Merging SF & Fantasy, Technology & Magic, Future Alien Overlords & Ancient Asian Ancestors, Turncoat Quislings & A Rising Resistance, lovingly overlaid with TV, Movie, and Historical Tropes.
Don't start reading this unless you're ready to lose yourself for at LEAST a few hours in a reality bending, time, place, & shape shifting story that always has you saying, "Just a few more lines..., paragraphs..., pages..., chapters....!"
Ok... Gotta go find Volume 2 !!!!

[Matt Coblentz · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting attempt at the movie

Overall, I enjoyed this book. The author goes to significant lengths to detail and describe reality-tearing scenes that I felt were too long and interfered with his action. Also, sometimes the dialogue was excessively gratuitous.

I’m still considering whether I’ll read the next one.

[༶ Laura ༶ · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5
ich mag ja action aber bitte auch bisschen mehr plot mit rein mixen

[Danielle Conly · Rating 2 out of 5]

the dialog is good. but the characters are just constantly in an action scene. there's no breaks there's no explanations. just constantly running and fighting.

[Shana Pare · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of fun for new series!

Snarky heroes, crafty sidekicks, stone lion dog guardians, truly evil bad guys, plot lines done in a refreshing way.

Why am I seeing Kurt Russell in the lead character role?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I am really glad to see that there are more books coming in this series. Highly recommended!

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Big Trouble, Little Earth is the first book in this series, and while it has some good scifi elements, especially, towards the end, the entire story got ruined by the mystical crap thrown in to complete the book. I'm not likely to continue with this series. Yes, this one was funny, and even made me laugh out loud several times, and there were some interesting mysteries tossed out there for solving, I just can't handle the hand waving that took place to solve the initial setup. I seriously thought there was plenty of better ways to handle that portion of things.
For what it's worth, I suspect many scifi fans will (mostly) like this one, but I'd also guess that many upon finishing this one might not want to continue the series either, just because the mystical BS involved in the resolution of this one does not lend itself to good scifi story telling.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Carpenter’s Big Trouble in Little China (1986) found a lasting cult audience. But is that enough to mean success for a space opera adaptation like Big Trouble, Little Earth? Beats me, but J. N. Chaney and Jason Anspach sure give it a whirl.

After losing an interstellar war, the entire human race has been given refugee status on “hand-me-down planets and second-rate space stations.” One of the second-rate planets is a planetoid called Little Earth. Dalton Thorne pilots a freighter that sometimes carries sketchy cargoes for sketchy clients, one of whom is Kota, whose family runs a sketchy noodle shop.

Can they find missing technology from ancient Earth? You betcha, maybe.

[Paul Ataua · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s the future and Dalton Thomas is a freighter pilot who gets involved in a mystery in the decaying city of Little Earth where Humanity lives as refugees. It takes about two pages to realize that this novel is the movie ‘Big Trouble in Little China’ (a movie I loved and still love) taken into space. There are several differences in the storyline, but so much of it follows the movie in its characters and its humor. Having seen the movie made it good for me and I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I would have liked it to have seen signs of a little more originality.

Read in the long book challenge.

[Donovan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sloppy sloppy sloppy

It was fun at first but… The writing is sloppy, intra-paragraph sentences that conflict with each other, characters with minimal real internal experience. Every single person is some kind of trope. They went for Big Trouble in Little China but didn’t realize that an entire book of jagged barely thought out hyper technicolor action just doesn’t hold very well.

I almost think this thing is ghost written. It’s not Vogon poetry but it’s the worst book I’ve seen from either of these authors. I’m amazed they wrote 2 more… ugh.

[Travis Herink · Rating 5 out of 5]

Indiana Jones meets Han Solo

This was a fun read! Dalton Thorne is a clever mix of Han Solo and Indiana Jones, along with maybe Stifler from American Pie because his random quips throughout are somewhat annoying. Great book though. Fun action, very interesting plot, and like-able characters. I really enjoyed this read. Although, if I’d have taken a shot for every “just a cargo hauler…” line, I’d have to sign up for AA.

[Gaylord · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little disappointment.

I have enjoyed the two authors' work the last couple of years. This has plenty of action plus a weird mix of sci-fi and magic to its credit. However, it reads as if it needs another round of rewrite and then re-edited. These authors are much more capable than this.

[Torii · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is exactly as fun a read as the title implies! If you’re looking for a light, action-packed joyride in space this is a really good read that I didn’t want to put down. Chaney’s world is easy to get sucked into and his writing style keeps the pages turning. Having just blown through Big Trouble, Little Earth 2, I’m twiddling my thumbs until the third book releases in December.

[Matthew P · Rating 1 out of 5]

Started out loving this but as I continued to read it felt more and more like AI was used to write this. The author claims not to use AI for cover art but I'm not sure about the actual writing. if AI didn't have a hand in this then it's just bad and sloppy work. I was really excited to read this but I cannot continue.

[Charles E Shirey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is it October yet????

So much fun…action….history…..and how can you not love a stone dog???
Ohhh well guess I’ll have to enjoy some of the other great key clickers I so enjoy.
Thank’s for another series Gents.

[Virginia Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable. Looking forward to the next one

Took a minute to get past Dalton's crusty attitude. Don't give up on him. Lots of action, mixed with mythology, and attitude. Different enough you know it's not gonna be a cookie cutter story.

[Jake B · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a tough read. Starts out a lot more fantasy than sci-fi, seems to follow a lot of AI writing conventions, tired and repetitive dialogue and the protagonist confesses their love for noodles 31 times throughout (we get it- noodles)

[James E. Darrough · Rating 5 out of 5]

An action packed combination of SciFi and Magic

This was a very interesting work with the weaving together of SciFi and Fantasy. Really enjoyed it and can't wait to read the next boom.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Took a bit to get into it for me, but hilarious. The author was possessed by the spirit of Jack Burton and it was a great time. My only regret is that the second book isn't out, though this one ties up neat enough to almost stand on its own.

[David Tomlinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unconvincing dialog

Stealing a bit from Big Trouble in Little China and Douglas Adams Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, the action scenes go on for page after page after page. The dialog is unconvincing and forced. Maybe the next volume won't put me to sleep.

[Gary Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

I gave it 5 stars mostly to honor the work the author put in. It started out good but after a few chapters I found myself scanning. The same stuff over and over again. I've read and enjoyed other of his books... So maybe the next one won't bore me.

[Daybreak · Rating 2 out of 5]

childish and unreasonable writing. everything feels like bunch of children playing in the kindergarten backyard instead of serious syfy adventure that involves life and death. comedy is stale and annoying in its overuse, mc is treated like shit even by his own ship, DNF.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very amusing reimagining, can't wait to see where they take the story.

[Mark Trundle · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit too much fantasy

A rollicking yarn, easy to read but a bit to removed from my hard SF preferences to be truly enjoyable.

[Michael Hackerott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of Action and Humor

If you like action and humor then this is the book for you! I really enjoyed the story and characters.

[James Hurst · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am glad to say that this book was not typical of the mass of books flowing out of the Chaneyversy. I couldn't finish it. I stopped after I finished chapter 27, feeling like I had read the same chapter 27 times. All action, no story line.