Matt Dinniman is fast becoming a must-read author after being catapulted into the stratosphere with his Dungeon Crawler Carl Series. Operation Bounce House is a tad bit different in that it is a completely different genre from the LitRPG books he is more recently known for. Operation Bounce House is a sci-fi dystopian novel set in a time when humans have colonised several planets but unlike most other novels of this nature, these colonies aren’t sprawling metropolises. Colonies are scattered across the galaxy with transfer gates through which these colonists can get supplies but with the hope that one day these gates wll work both ways allowing them to also visit Earth.

One such planet is that of New Sonora where we meet our protagonist Oliver after a rather drunken night out. He’s being assisted by his bot helper that was left by his grandfather to look after him and his sister as they run the farm in their small colony. Guided by a very useful set of rules left behind and enforced by the AI bot helper much to the annoyance of Oliver and his sister. While things seem pretty relaxed and ordinary with our Oliver looking to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps of looking after the farm with his agricultural bots, things take a turn when he encounters a remote controlled mech that seems to be looking to just blow shit up. It doesn’t help that it is being remotely controlled by what can only be described as a rebellious morally lacking but financially well off adult baby on Earth that seems to be moaning about the lack of things to blow up on this supposed backwater planet.

This first interaction sets the tone for the rest of the book as it appears the planet Earth, and its mega corporations, are planning on culling the population on these colony planets but through the ruse of a game, Operation Bounce House. This way they not only enforce this eviction action, but also strain less of their resources if the bored people on Earth do the job for them; while also making a lot of money streaming the entire operation. They make it appear that the people on earth are liberating these colonies from terrorists that have infiltrated and taken over, when in fact they are killing the population. Yeah, shit hits the fan and gets serious pretty quickly.

The book follows the events of Operation Bounce House over the course of the five days it is intended to last. We see the rise of a rebellion, making use of emotional manipulation in warfare, and an AI that is willing to go the distance; even if that leads all the way back to Earth. This is all tied together quite nicely for a majority of the book by a myriad of characters that are all basically young adults who have to now save their home and community. There is a bit of disconnect when it comes to the story as the kids are just that, kids, but the fact that they are in the middle of a war in their own backyard with people dying around them makes the shift from light and humorous to oddly dark and tragic feel like a ping pong match at times. Through all this, we have our cast of characters that are lovable and endearing, which makes this operation all the more horrific; especially when all some of them want to do is to just relax and jam out with their friends.

The use of the agricultural AI bots as workers on the farm reminded me of Adrian Tchaikovski’s novel Dogs of War, even more so once Operation Bounce House actually begins. There are definitely plot holes and the reliance on a smart AI as the ultimate catch-all fix is soon going to become an outdated trope, but luckily the personality of the characters we’re introduced to (AI included), and their interactions, help keep the focus away from the AI’s machinations on the grand scale.

Fast, quirky, occasional profanity, and a randomness that adds to its charm, Operation Bounce House may not be a book one would read twice, but the one time you do read it, you will have a good time. Recommended for sci-fi fans and of course, fans of the Dungeon Crawler Carl series in general.

Links:

• Goodreads: Operation Bounce House – Matt Dinniman