Operation Bounce House
-
- $13.99
Publisher Description
A man must fight for his planet against impossible odds when gamers from Earth attempt to remotely annihilate it in this epic, fast-paced novel from the New York Times bestselling author of the smash-hit Dungeon Crawler Carl.
All colonist Oliver Lewis ever wanted to do was run the family ranch with his sister, maybe play a gig or two with his band, and keep his family’s aging fleet of intelligent agriculture bots ticking as long as possible. He figures it will be a good thing when the transfer gate finally opens all the way and restores instant travel and full communication between Earth and his planet, New Sonora. But there’s a complication.
Even though the settlers were promised they’d be left in peace, Earth’s government now has other plans. The colossal Apex Industries is hired to commence an “eviction action.” But maximizing profits will always be Apex’s number one priority. Why spend money printing and deploying AI soldiers when they can turn it into a game? Why not charge bored Earthers for the opportunity to design their own war machines and remotely pilot them from the comfort of their homes?
The game is called Operation Bounce House.
Oliver and his friends soon find themselves fighting for their lives against machines piloted by gamers who’ve paid a premium for the privilege. With the help of an old book from his grandfather and a bucket of rusty parts, Oliver is determined to defend the only home he’s ever known.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
This darkly satiric David-vs.-Goliath science-fiction adventure from the author of the popular LitRPG series Dungeon Crawler Carl reads like a sardonic mix of Ender’s Game and Ready Player One. Earth’s government wants the independent planet of New Sonora for themselves. A corporation’s gaming division figures out how to get rid of the planet’s inconvenient inhabitants and turn a profit at the same time: Claim the planet’s peaceful farmers are subhuman terrorists and allow avid Earth gamers to virtually pilot mechs on New Sonora and compete to pick off its inhabitants. Somehow, a group of twentysomething New Sonorans—and their loyal, quirky, and very illegal AI—must repel the trigger-happy marauders and spread the truth about their situation. Matt Dinniman turns this absurd-sounding setup into a powerful meditation on issues of corporate greed, the spread of false and filtered information, toxic social media, and how people become desensitized to violence. Operation Bounce House is a great read, but despite its title, it’s no children’s party.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bestseller Dinniman (the Dungeon Crawler Carl series) creatively tweaks sci-fi tropes in this addictive war story. Two-hundred years after human colonists left Earth to settle New Sonora, the planet's residents are considered "subhuman" by those back on Earth because of the minor, invisible genetic alterations they needed to survive. With the aid of advanced robots, the New Sonorans have established a peaceful agrarian society, but this achievement is threatened by propaganda, manufactured by the powerful Apex Industries, falsely labeling New Sonorans terrorists. Apex launches Operation Bounce House, a video game in which Earthers pay to remotely pilot war machines that attack New Sonoran settlers. The resistance to this onslaught is recounted from the perspective of Oliver Lewis, a rancher and musician, who chooses to fight the overwhelming forces, despite the absence of any planetary defense systems. The stakes are sky-high, and the Ender's Game–esque plot moves at a rapid clip, but Dinniman still makes space for character development (partly through excerpted interviews with Oliver's band) and manages to inject the tale with his signature humor. Fans will not be disappointed.
