“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.”

Hello and welcome to damppebbles. Today I am delighted to hand the blog over to my guest reviewer, Ryan (my husband) who will be sharing his thoughts on Operation Bounce House. Operation Bounce House will be published by Penguin Michael Joseph later this week (on Thursday 12th February 2026) and will be available in hardcover, audio and digital formats. Ryan chose to read a free eARC but that has not influenced his review.

Here’s what he thought…

Operation Bounce House author, Matt Dinniman, is probably best known for his highly acclaimed Dungeon Crawler Carl series. In Operation Bounce House we move into a bleak future. Humans have colonised multiple planets vast distances away from the Earth. Using a combination of pioneer spirit and advanced technology they have created civilisations that to our current eyes look dated.  As I read this book set many years ahead, the setting often felt like the late 1800’s but with robots.

Oliver Lewis is a farmer. In all honesty, I doubt he had a wide choice of careers. Growing up on New Sonora with his younger sister, Lulu, he worked with his family to subsist. Many of the generation before him had been wiped out by a mysterious illness and the planet’s development had subsequently stalled. To farm Oliver uses an AI robot called ‘Roger’ to command and organise the few remaining bots from the original settler ships. It’s not an easy life, but with his few friends, and their band, he has enough.

The peace is shattered when Apex Industries war machines start appearing on the planet destroying everything and everyone in front of them. But it’s not an army the residents of New Sonora are fighting, it’s video game players distanced from understanding the reality and impact of their actions. And we all know nowadays, if you die in a video-game, you just respawn and go again.  Can a small farming community survive against the latest military hardware and players who often seem to have that extra-life? You’ll have to read the book to find out.

Operation Bounce House is an enjoyable read, splitting the narrative between the increasingly fortified home farm of Oliver, and flashbacks to the history of a community taken on his girlfriend’s recording devices. Rosita’s interviews provide a depth to the New Sonora inhabitants that means you increasingly root for their success as the outlook becomes bleaker.

Dinniman has taken a dark look at the future. The book takes swipes at our growing reliance on AI and the direction it may take us. He also cleverly opens a window into the increasing distance between us and the news we see, and how that is open to abuse from misleading reports. Coupling this with the apathy towards killing that video games give us and you can see why there are moments of darkness in the book. But, Dinniman writes a great story. He introduces irreverent humour into the characters interactions, and he seeds the plot with just enough hope to keep us going. Oliver and Lulu are well developed characters and lead the Sonoran side of the story. Special mention has to go to the writing of Roger – developing an AI into a full character without making it horrifically scary or Disneyfying it takes talent and throughout the book Dinniman has Roger walk a tightrope between HAL and WALL-E.

Would I recommend this book?  I would. It has a remarkable story, characters you will grow to care about, and thoughtful challenges on the way society treats gaming and AI. I’m fascinated to see where Dinniman goes next. Recommended.

Ryan chose to read and review a free eARC of Operation Bounce House. The above review is his own unbiased opinion.

Operation Bounce House by Matt Dinniman was published in the UK by Penguin Michael Joseph on 12th February 2026 and is available in hardcover, audio and digital formats (please note, the following links are affiliate links which means I receive a small percentage of the purchase price at no extra cost to you): | amazon.co.uk | Waterstones | bookshop.org | Goodreads | damppebbles bookshop.org shop | damppebbles amazon.co.uk shop | damppebbles amazon.com shop |

Matt Dinniman is a writer and artist from Gig Harbor, Washington. He is the author of the best-selling Dungeon Crawler Carl series along with several other books about the end of the world. He doesn’t really hate Cocker Spaniels, and he plays bass in two bands.