Space Opera Fans discussion

The January 2022 Limited Pick is Backyard Starship by J.N. Chaney and Terry Maggert. Please use this thread to post questions, comments, and reviews, at any time.

Official description:
When Van Tudor returns to his childhood home, he inherits more than the family farm.

His grandfather used to tell him fantastic stories of spacemen and monsters, princesses and galactic knights. Little did Van realize, the old man's tales were more than fiction. They were real.

Hidden beneath the old barn, Van’s legacy is waiting: a starship, not of this world.

With his combat AI, an android bird named Perry, Van takes his first steps into the wider galaxy. He soon finds that space is far busier and more dangerous than he could have ever conceived.

Destiny is calling. His grandfather's legacy awaits.

Hey - I wasn't sure where else to ask this so sorry if it shouldn't have been here but - Backyard Starship is the limited pick - Does that mean there is no Reader pick for January 2022? That thread seemed to end with Backyard Starship which ended up as the Limited, having not qualified for Reader due to limited availability.

Thanks!

There’s no Reader Pick for January because none of the qualifying books were seconded. None of the books on the Limited nominations thread were seconded either, so Backyard Starship as the only book seconded was our only possible pick of whatever kind. Yes it’s confusing.

Thanks for the clarification Teresa! I'm gonna give Backyard Starship a go. I should be more active in nominating things but I'm insecure about nominating something no one likes. Guess it's better than nothing though - there's so much great space opera out there.

What’s even worse is nominating a book that gets seconded and chosen but then multiple people comment about how bad it is. Luckily that doesn’t happen often - most of us go by “if you can’t say something nice don’t say anything at all”.

Getting this thread back on track:
I started reading Backyard Starship yesterday. It’s readable but not holding my attention very well. This is not something wrong with the book just with the type of book that appeals to me. It might improve so I’ll continue a while longer. I’m at 23%.

The sample seemed well-written but overlong. That might have something to do with it.

This series was recommended by Nathan Lowell in his latest newsletter. I might try it later, but at the moment it's not tempting me.

Teresa wrote: "Getting this thread back on track:
I started reading Backyard Starship yesterday. It’s readable but not holding my attention very well. This is not something wrong with the book just with the type ..."

It's funny I actually finished the book yesterday and am already a third of the way through book 2.

Probably for the first third of this book I was kind of trudging through, and thinking "this is going to end up on my can't finish shelf"

And then I started laughing out loud and I've already bought book 3 in the series.

So I really enjoy this book, but really slow start. I will say I think it's fairly original, although we do have some of the usual tropes, the whole concept is unique.

I will say I've come to really like Perry -- although he gets snarkier in the second book. There's a definite focus on how the AIs are more ruthless than other sentient beings.

I also like the interaction with Torina and Van and like how she appears to be an actual character and not just a romantic foil.

What I do wonder though is JN Chaney is a prolific author and it feels like he releases a new book every month or two. I wonder if he is acting as an editor / rewriter with some of these books with less productive authors. That to me would explain the way the books play.

The first chunk is clearly the author trying to get his feet under him to tell the story.

But once he gets in the groove it's really enjoyable, and I'm looking forward to completing the series...

So far (42%) so good. Feels like Harry Potter goes into space, but the story is progressing nicely.
However, at the same time I am listening to Pandoras Star on Audible and I see the differences between space opera and Space Opera. The confidence PFH has in spending a chapter describing the fly over the volcanoes on Far Away and the minute details is stunning.
Backyard Starship completely lacks these details so the universe doesn't feel complete. Anyway, keeping fingers crossed!

I'm half way through, it feels YA and reads like a AAA game pitch bible.

I sort of agree with d above - it’s not really grabbing me, however given Teresa’s comment maybe I’ll keep going with the promise of something better ahead!

I read it last fall and it didn't grab me. It felt to simple and too young, l, but I did give it 4 stars. I was surprised I didn't like it more as I have read other series by Chaney that I did like (Renegade and Variant). I did not like the author's Galactic Law first book because it felt too much like a western without enough space opera for my tastes.

Maybe as mentioned above by Dan, there are other authors contributing or maybe I am just not his target audience.