Operation Bounce House - Matt Dinniman

OPERATION BOUNCE HOUSE

MATT DINNIMAN

*****

All New Sonoran colonist Oliver Lewis ever wanted to do is run the family ranch and keep their aging fleet of intelligent agriculture bots ticking.

But now the colossal Apex Corporation has been hired to commence an “eviction action” – exterminate all life on New Sonora in preparation for a reboot. And they charge bored Earthers for the opportunity to design their own war machines, remotely pilot them, and make it a game.

The game is called Operation Bounce House . . .

And New Sonora is its playing field.

Determined to defend the only home he’s ever known, Oliver and his friends find themselves fighting for their lives against these machines.

To earth its a game, but to Oliver, it's war.

MY REVIEW

*****

I was introduced to the Dungeon Crawler Carl series this year and devoured the entire 7 book series in about a month. It was easily my book of the year for 2025, and I was so excited to read Operation Bounce House – Matt Dinniman’s next standalone sci-fi.

Ollie is a colonist on New Sonora - he has inherited his grandfather’s farm and is using their agricultural bots to help with the harvest. Earth has other ideas for the colonists though, as their planet becomes host to Operation Bounce House – an eviction event where Earth citizens can pay to slaughter his friends and family and destroy his home. But Earth weren’t planning on meeting such strong resistance…

There are many similarities to the Dungeon Crawler Carl series in these books, although they are set in a completely different place and about very different characters (minus one very fun Easter Egg which made me gasp when I read it!). Ollie is very much like Carl – a protagonist who is the little guy, trying to fight back against a corrupt regime who seem intent on destroying his people in the name of entertainment. We also have a slightly erratic and very clever AI, although Roger prefers animals to feet and even a list of rules and a book which holds secrets which felt very familiar. I do think that a ‘Princess Donut’ sidekick was missing in this book though - although there’s a main group of friends, I didn’t feel like they were all as fleshed out or as quirky as the ones in the DCC universe and this led to a lack of empathy in places.

Although DCC is LitRPG for those who enjoy Dungeons and Dragons or World of Warcraft, Operation Bounce House is more on the Call of Duty or Halo spectrum (apologies for the outdated references, I don’t really play first person shooters!). There are mechs and robots, there’s a lot of descriptions of battles and war, with no real achievement or skill building mechanics.

I did love the plot though – it’s a brilliant premise and the twists and turns we are lead on throughout were well paced and had me hooked. There is Dinniman’s classic style in here of using humour to draw you in, as well as complicated plots that aren’t always spelt out to the reader and only become apparent when the conclusion to them is revealed. It’s hard to create standalone sci-fi, but I felt genuinely moved by the end and I enjoyed the progression of the plot. The interlude chapters which describe scenes from a homemade documentary about the civilians was a really nice touch to give additional backstory, and became extra moving as the plot developed.

Overall, if you love the DCC universe and can’t wait for your next fix, this book will tide you over nicely. It’s a great plot, well written and I’m sure will be another hit for the very talented Matt Dinniman. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House – Michael Joseph for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

LINKS TO BUY

Amazon UK

Waterstones