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Backyard Starship #29

Splinter Faction

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Money and power.

Van knows it makes the stars go around, but in the wrong hands, it can lead to disaster.

Armed with new ships, new fighters, and an iron will, he'll lead the Fist of Orion to one last fight against an ancient enemy—the Stillness.

For three generations, the Tudors have battled an organization dedicated to power at any cost, but as the war heats up, the Stillness have partnered with a race who regard humanity as more than an enemy.

Humans are. . . an opportunity.

It's going to take more than ships and guns to beat the Stillness—the job requires money. Lots and lots of money. But the Fist has a friend in the banking industry, and with Dayna, and Tor, and Kay, earth will enter a second kind of war.

A war to control the economy of the stars.

Using their new comms, their old ways, and their own grit, the crew of the Fafnir enter a final desperate battle to keep Earth free from tyranny— -- If they can convince the leaders of Earth to play fair.

It's a tall order, but Van is used to big jobs, and this time, he's not playing defense. For the Fist, it's time. . . to attack.

350 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 28, 2025

790 people are currently reading
57 people want to read

About the author

J.N. Chaney

468 books9,624 followers
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Community Reviews

5 stars
722 (76%)
4 stars
180 (19%)
3 stars
33 (3%)
2 stars
3 (<1%)
1 star
2 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
58 reviews1 follower
October 4, 2025
Another great read from JNC and company.

As always a home run and his references to Pink Floyd, brought memories to this old guy! As always I was riveted to my reading chair and lamp. I appreciate a good story and the continuing saga of the Farmer and crew is worthy of my time and my anticipation for the next installment!!
353 reviews4 followers
October 3, 2025
Preparing for battle!

The first peacemaker, Alex, puts in an appearance with grave news, a new ally is identified, a Stillness fleet is uncovered, twist capable ships are being built and launched from Earth and a target for the Stillness fleet may have been identified and it is clear that battle will commence at some point...
Intrigue, suspense, mystery, humor, detective work, and planning occur before a great battle... But what's the target? What's real and what's a feint? What will be the cost and who will emerge the least 'unscathed' and 'win'...
492 reviews25 followers
October 13, 2025
Endless Morass of Navel-Gazing Continues

“Splinter Faction (Backyard Starship Book 29)” continues the endless morass of navel-gazing by the ‘soft’ protagonist, a hallmark of this series and other Variant Publishing content. The authors and their apparent AI-driven writing software templates have also rediscovered their italics coding from earlier books as “Splinter Factor” is infested with italics.

Read fully via KU with some observations via Notes & Highlights on Goodreads.

Profile Image for Richard.
194 reviews
January 13, 2026
Exciting

I am always happy to get a new installment to the Backyard Starship and this one does not disappoint. Van is still being plagued by the Stillness. Just the baddest of the bad. While dealing with all the day to day problems that a Master of the guild has to deal with, he has this uneasy sense of impending doom. Well, a little luck and a lot of planning and hard work pay off when Van finds a Stillness stronghold. What are they up to and how will the Fist of Orion respond. And who will help? Action packed and a great read!
428 reviews3 followers
November 17, 2025
Unending great story telling.

I don't know what I expected when I started this series, 29 volumes ago, but it wasn't such a great time as I received. How in the world can these two keep up with the pace, such great plots, innovations, quirks, and all the rest. And the characters. How can they make them so consistently great. Keep it up guys, I like to read, and you make it hard to stop.
337 reviews
October 8, 2025
Unexpected.

Never a dull moment for Van. New life changing, world threatening disasters, all the time. It's catching up to him. But he's still the wise-cracking, hard fighting Peacekeeper he's always been. There's one for the record books coming up, soon. Well they all seem to fit that description.
Can't wait.
18 reviews
October 23, 2025
This is a cracker

Non stop action. New and old characters. This episode canters along at a pace and brings with it quite a few storyline threads. Enjoy. I have loved every book in this and the spin-off series. Do yourself a favour. Go start at Book one and join us on this great journey
11 reviews
December 4, 2025
There will soon be a clearance sale

I wish I could cite happenings in more detail when I write these reviews, but spoilers are just wrong.
Let me just say that this latest installment only took me a few hours to read (hint hint, you guys. Make them twice as long!).
It was very good.
29 reviews
December 12, 2025
frustrating and boring

I am getting frustrated and bored. Authors can’t help injecting more and more mystery boxes into the plot. Over 30 books they are tying up one plot every ten books but each book introduces a handful more plots. The rest of the content is side quests which do little in moving things forward.
41 reviews
October 17, 2025
This was a great read

So many different players involved as earth ships begin twisting out of Sol for the first time ever. Love that the bad guys are being more elaborate and the battles and rescues are I tense.
95 reviews
October 31, 2025
Thourough Fun

Really enjoyed reading this episode and knew it was going to be different from some of the story line. This was a good mixture of characters that make up the difference between a great story and what ever is not possible.
7 reviews
December 4, 2025
The continuing saga

Strange how Van and his group devastated the whole Stillness fleet but didn’t show interest in finishing the job by taking out their main base.
Must be a prelude for another book
Author 2 books1 follower
December 16, 2025
Strong as always...but miss more characters' personalities!

Having a bit of battle fatigue... It all feels inevitable, of course, but it crowds out the great characters and their uniquely individual personalities, interacting...
Profile Image for Mick Bird.
830 reviews12 followers
January 17, 2026
It's never dull for Van and his crew. Earth is getting into space, but the stillness is out there waiting. But as a new threat been awaken? I've read all the available books in this series. This continues to remain one of my all time favourites.
Profile Image for Lilith Revnik.
12 reviews2 followers
October 2, 2025
as good as space battle as I’ve ever read

I’m really quite impressed. It’s exciting. It’s pretty heart pounding. I’d go for it. Says here I need six more words so there’s seven.
1,038 reviews4 followers
October 5, 2025
Great read...

I always enjoy getting to come back to Van and the gang. The Swens are a great addition. I can't wait to see how they're going to add to the story line.
11 reviews
October 5, 2025
the saga continues

Great writing and the twist at the end left us wanting more…for readers of the series this one integrates the next generation in a wonderful manner.
7 reviews
October 18, 2025
another great read

Here we go again, another great story that keeps us coming back for more. The never ending challenges they have to overcome.
16 reviews
October 19, 2025
The Saga Continues

Van keeps pulling rabbits out of his hat and succeeds with the help of his many friends. This is a great read for the triumph of good over evil.
8 reviews
October 24, 2025
29 Books In…

… and still earning 5 stars with each one.

I’m looking forward to assigning 5 stars to the next one as well.
Profile Image for Jessica Ashley.
177 reviews5 followers
October 25, 2025
AI

Seems to be. Who knows what is Chaney doing to release so much at once. If if if who knows or cares?
19 reviews
November 3, 2025
Good Read as always

This did not seem to move as fast, but Van and his crew and his family were spread a bit thin.
250 reviews2 followers
November 16, 2025
Awesome!!

Hey book. Story flows great, and it ties a lot of things together. Definitely worth reading if you've liked his old books.
454 reviews3 followers
December 1, 2025
Battle closer!

Deadly space battle to save Earth was jarring and darkly exciting. The patches on the ship must almost outnumber the original Hull. Looking forward to the next book.
24 reviews
December 1, 2025
"Known space. The Final Frontier."

The continuing saga of Van Tudor and his crew, family and associations, keep me interested.
Just like serial TV used to be.
28 reviews
December 2, 2025
Swens for the Win

More good story telling. Keep it going JN and TM. I am looking forward to the next installment in this series.
Profile Image for Keith Sellers.
46 reviews
January 23, 2026
I can’t believe I’m about ready to start book 30 in this series. Each book was great and its own way. Can’t wait to see what happens next.🤓
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews

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