Operation Bounce House shows readers that Matt Dinniman is far from a one-trick pony. His brilliant combination of humor, fast-paced storytelling, and characterization is just as well-suited to standard narrative as it is to the LitRPG genre where he built not only a name for himself, but a devoted and passionate fanbase.
To best describe this story to fans of existing pop culture science fiction, it’s as if John Scalzi spent a few weeks hanging out with Ernest Cline, before tackling his own variation of Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. And, just as one might expect from Scalzi, Dinniman focuses on telling the story from the perspective of the underdogs.
The colonists of New Sonora have overcome a lot in just a few generations after settling the new planet and building small communities across the surface of one of humanity’s new homes. After a devastating setback wipes out the first generation of children born on planet, the population came together to find a solution, and they’re only finally on the verge of growing beyond the verge of failure into a thriving civilization.
Still years away from the opportunity to begin reintegrating with Earth, the sudden appearance of war machines on the planet’s surface comes as a big surprise. But that’s nothing compared to what’s on the near horizon, as the relationship between New Sonora and the homeworld takes on a whole new dynamic. Operation Bounce House is just getting started, and without a miracle, Oliver Lewis, his sister, and their friends have no chance of surviving another week.
This is a book that’s full of heart with a bit of heartbreak, intense and interesting action, and as much humor and social commentary as one should expect if they’ve already spent some time crawling through the dungeons that Dinniman lovingly mapped out.
Domus Necrophagous 