SeriesStack

Backyard Starship Books in Order

by J.N. ChaneyScience Fiction & Fantasy

30 books so far (book 31 is due November 3, 2026). They run from Backyard Starship (2021) to Birds of Prey (2026). Rated 4.7 across 27,183 listener reviews.

Next Backyard Starship book

Battle Born

Book 31 · out November 3, 2026 · preorder now

Kindle Paperback Audiobook

Reading order

  1. Backyard Starship

    Book 1 2021 4.4 (5.6k)

    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.

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  2. Red Bounty

    Book 2 2022 4.7 (2.8k)

    Van left his old life behind, but some things remain the same. Even in space, crime still exists. After taking a Peacemaker job to find missing fuel, Perry finds something far more sinister than simple theft - a voice, crying out in a…

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  3. Anvil Dark

    Book 3 2022 4.8 (2.3k)

    The guild is under attack, and Van is right in the middle of it all. When Master Yewlo is abducted by unknown forces, the Peacemakers are thrown into chaos as the rescue mission begins.

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  4. Legacy of Stars

    Book 4 2022 4.8 (1.9k)

    There are some things you simply can’t escape. For Van, it’s family. Out among the stars, his cousin, Carter Yost, drags Van and his team into a criminal ring run by the High Doctor—a dangerous con artist with delusions of grandeur.

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  5. Blue Shift

    Book 5 2022 4.8 (1.5k)

    When Van gains rank as a Peacemaker, he becomes a bigger target for the criminals scattered among the stars. And he wouldn’t have it any other way.

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  6. Distant Horizon

    Book 6 2022 4.8 (1.5k)

    The Universe is a bloody mess. Time to put on your cleaning gloves. During a routine arrest, Van discovers a stolen spacecraft, its importance far greater than it first appears.

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  7. Kingdom Come

    Book 7 2022 4.9 (1.3k)

    When the Fafnir responds to a desperate distress call, their act of kindness is turned against them, making Van the most wanted man in the known universe.

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  8. Blackest Ocean

    Book 8 2023 4.8 (746)

    Van is a veteran now, and the lessons are getting tougher. But so is he. When a ghost ship arrives in port, filled with the victims of a crime beyond imagination, Van and his crew will be drawn into a chase that goes beyond any star system…

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  9. Fields of Fire

    Book 9 2023 4.8 (775)

    Van's next mission has begun, and at the heart of it is the power to save lives. Meanwhile, a hungry galaxy looks to a brilliant young scientist for answers, making her the most wanted person in known space.

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  10. Severed Ties

    Book 10 2023 4.8 (593)

    The universe is hungry. For power. For money. For war. And—revenge. Stripping osmium from across the stars, thieves will stop at nothing to fuel the nightmarish industry of Stolen Persons, their souls locked away in chips made of the…

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  11. Echoes of Empire

    Book 11 2023 4.8 (657)

    Van and his crew have killed an empire. The problem is the empire doesn't know it's dead. Moving among the stars, the Peacemakers are faced with their greatest challenge—removing an evil so vast, it has a presence in every known star…

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  12. Song of Darkness

    Book 12 2023 4.9 (596)

    Helem Gauss is gone, but his legacy lives on. Calamity, the digital plague, is spreading, and where it strikes is both ruthless and random.

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  13. Path of Tyrants

    Book 13 2023 4.8 (583)

    With his new rank, secrets begin to unfold for Van as war and politics become one and the same. The Fafnir is no longer a mere ship—it's a force to be reckoned with, but it isn't complete.

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  14. Shattered Will

    Book 14 2024 4.8 (563)

    Earth is no longer alone, and Van isn't happy about it. When the Equal Grasp and other unsavory aliens launch their plot to open humanity up to the stars—in the name of profit, of course—Van and his crew spring into action, fearing the…

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  15. Constant Sorrow

    Book 15 2024 4.9 (717)

    Humans have been in the stars far longer than Van originally thought—and they've been busy. Not every visitor to or from Earth has good intentions, and the Peacemakers are faced with an uncomfortable reality.

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  16. Heavy Is the Crown

    Book 16 2024 4.8 (587)

    Awash with loss and surrounded by enemies, Van and his crew are faced with the same challenge Mark Tudor dealt with decades earlier. Does Van accept the crown and become a Master? The Guild is in shambles. The 32 might be a myth.

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  17. Ghost in the Deep

    Book 17 2024 4.9 (546)

    For Van and his crew, danger is no longer just among the stars. On earth, the Fafnir has drawn the attention of the most dangerous predator known to humanity—Bureaucrats.

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  18. Distant Warning

    Book 18 2024 4.9 (510)

    In a clandestine meeting on Earth, Van learns a critical bit of family history when he meets his secret benefactor. From the halls of power in Washington to the vastness of space, the Guild moves closer to outright war as shifting…

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  19. Gone Nova

    Book 19 2025 4.9 (543)

    Van is proving that with power comes danger. From the shores of a secret planet to the halls of power in Washington, Van navigates a complex web of lies, law, and politics, all so that Earth can be saved from the clutches of ruthless…

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  20. Point of Impact

    Book 20 2025 4.8 (459)

    Awash with conflict and a building war, the known stars align against Van and his wing of the Guild in a fight for ultimate control.

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  21. Hand of Fate

    Book 21 2025 4.9 (422)

    For the first time ever, Van has to deliver the remains of fallen comrades. At the Starsmith, he's presented with an opportunity to change the face of the war, even as Torina and Van begin planning for the ultimate shift in their galaxy:…

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  22. Bright Red Line

    Book 22 2025 4.9 (406)

    When a running battle brings the Fafnir home to Earth, it ends with the death of a trusted friend—and a new focus on what comes next for Van and his crew. The Guild is rotten. It must be changed. It must be healed.

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  23. Killing Stroke

    Book 23 2025 4.8 (356)

    The stars have come to Iowa, and Earth will never be the same. With the Nexus up and running, Van and crew become interstellar players in the fight for Earth, but their enemies aren't just from out in the black.

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  24. The Enemy Within

    Book 24 2025 4.9 (318)

    The final enemy has been revealed, and it's more insidious than Van could ever imagine, spanning space and time with the patience of immortality—and an utter disregard for all forms of life.

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  25. Fist of Orion

    Book 25 2025 4.9 (329)

    It's all come down to this. A war for control of all civilization, pitting organic life against an ancient evil that knows no fear, no kindness, and no limits.

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  26. Wolves Among the Stars

    Book 26 2026 4.6 (160)

    After two decades of learning at the Nexus, the children of Van and his crew are ready to take their first steps out in the big black.

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  27. Forged in Stillness

    Book 27 2026 4.8 (145)

    Reformed, repackaged, and re-engineered, the Stillness reveal that they never went away. They merely waited. Watching. Planning. And those plans will collide with the rising stars of an empire based on justice and action.

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  28. A Rumor of War

    Book 28 2026 by J. N. Chaney 4.7 (116)

    Everything old... is new again. With the Stillness and their Wulgor allies growing in power, Van and the Fist of Orion reach a crossroads of epic proportions.

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  29. Splinter Faction

    Book 29 2026 4.9 (133)

    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…

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  30. Birds of Prey

    Book 30 2026 4.9 (87)

    High in Earth's orbit, the Fist of Orion has been busy. With new Shrike attack craft, Van decides it's time to go on the offensive.

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  31. Battle Born

    Book 31 Out November 3, 2026

    As Earth reaches back out to the stars, there are new ships. And new sheriffs. Riding a wave of exploration and profit, earth governments jockey for position in the new wild west—but there's danger.

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

Collections and companions

About this reading order

Books are listed in the series' own numbering, which for Backyard Starship is also the best order to read them in. Years are first publication where we could confirm it, and otherwise the first audiobook release.

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