Operation Bounce House .jpg
Operation Bounce House .jpg

Operation Bounce House by Matt Dinniman

from $12.80
Hardcover:

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • 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.

Praised as "a giddy, thrilling, exhilarating, and fun escape that isn't afraid to go dark" by Fantasy Hive, with further praise from FanFiAddict and The BiblioSanctum.

On the colony world of New Sonora, farmer Oliver Lewis wakes up to war. Earth's Apex Industries has found a new way to profit from planetary conquest: turn the invasion into a video game. Paying subscribers log in from the comfort of their living rooms to pilot war machines against New Sonora's colonists, and the whole operation has a name: Operation Bounce House.

Oliver and his family don't have military-grade mechs or Earth's endless resources. What they do have is Roger, a wildly unhinged AI defending the family farm, and a colony's worth of scrappy ingenuity. As gamers log on looking for an easy invasion, they find something else entirely: a planet that fights dirty, and refuses to lose.

Beneath the mecha battles and gallows humor, Operation Bounce House is a story about who gets treated as disposable, and who gets to fight back. Dinniman balances brutal stakes with the same anarchic energy that made Dungeon Crawler Carl a phenomenon, folding in sharp commentary on corporate greed, xenophobia, and the cost of being someone else's entertainment.

Standing alone from his Dungeon Crawler Carl series, Operation Bounce House is Matt Dinniman at his most urgent: a giddy, cinematic, unapologetically dark science fiction thriller about a family, a farm, and a fight that was never supposed to be fair.

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • 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.

Praised as "a giddy, thrilling, exhilarating, and fun escape that isn't afraid to go dark" by Fantasy Hive, with further praise from FanFiAddict and The BiblioSanctum.

On the colony world of New Sonora, farmer Oliver Lewis wakes up to war. Earth's Apex Industries has found a new way to profit from planetary conquest: turn the invasion into a video game. Paying subscribers log in from the comfort of their living rooms to pilot war machines against New Sonora's colonists, and the whole operation has a name: Operation Bounce House.

Oliver and his family don't have military-grade mechs or Earth's endless resources. What they do have is Roger, a wildly unhinged AI defending the family farm, and a colony's worth of scrappy ingenuity. As gamers log on looking for an easy invasion, they find something else entirely: a planet that fights dirty, and refuses to lose.

Beneath the mecha battles and gallows humor, Operation Bounce House is a story about who gets treated as disposable, and who gets to fight back. Dinniman balances brutal stakes with the same anarchic energy that made Dungeon Crawler Carl a phenomenon, folding in sharp commentary on corporate greed, xenophobia, and the cost of being someone else's entertainment.

Standing alone from his Dungeon Crawler Carl series, Operation Bounce House is Matt Dinniman at his most urgent: a giddy, cinematic, unapologetically dark science fiction thriller about a family, a farm, and a fight that was never supposed to be fair.

  • Publisher: Ace

    Title: Operation Bounce House

    Author: Matt Dinniman

    On Sale Date: February 10, 2026

    ISBN 13: 9780593820308

    ISBN 10: 0593820304

    Format: Hardcover

    Retail Price: $32.00

    BISAC: Science Fiction / Military | Suspense & Thriller

    Page Count: 448

    Dimensions: 6 in W | 9 in H

  • Matt Dinniman is a writer, artist, and musician from Gig Harbor, Washington, and the author of the New York Times bestselling Dungeon Crawler Carl series. He has written several other books about the end of the world, including the Dominion of Blades series and Kaiju: Battlefield Surgeon. A self-described "pantser," Dinniman writes without an outline, keeping meticulous notes to make sure every thread pays off. When he is not writing, he plays bass in a band and spends his time with his cats, hippos, and dogs.

  • Readers are calling it electric, unhinged, and unputdownable:

    • Readers say Roger the AI steals the whole book and are already asking for a spinoff.

    • Many reviewers call it Dinniman's most confident writing yet, sharper and more focused than ever.

    • Fans of Dungeon Crawler Carl say this standalone works even better if you've never read the series.

    • Readers are recommending it as the sci-fi comfort read for anyone who wants to root for the underdog.

This book is for you if

  • You loved Dungeon Crawler Carl and want more of Dinniman's unhinged AI sidekicks and dark humor.

  • You're drawn to underdog stories where the good guys have to get creative to survive.

  • You want military sci-fi with a satirical edge about corporate greed and capitalism.

  • You like found-family stories tested under fire.

  • You're here for a scrappy, over-the-top AI sidekick who steals every scene.

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