Operation Bounce House

To anyone that knows me, or has seen my posts on Instagram, it’ll be no surprise that Operation Bounce House is one of the 2026 standalone titles I’ve had the highest hopes for.

Operation Bounce House takes place on the planet New Sonora, where young farmer Oliver has descended from people sent from Earth to create colonies on new planets to test how hospitable the environments are.

He leads a straightforward life, farming during the day, spending time with his friends and band The Rhythm Mafia, and spending time with his girlfriend, Rosita.

Oliver’s grandfather, Lewis, has repurposed robots to tend to the farm, all overseen by fallout-esque Roger.

The connection to Earth is strained at the best of times, and due to this, Oliver and his cohort are caught unaware when the titular Operation Bounce House skirmish is launched, which has robots controlled by earth dwellers storm the planet to fight suspected insurgents.

If you worry that Matt Dinniman’s magic is in Dungeon Crawler Carl and Dungeon Crawler Carl alone, you’re thankfully VERY VERY wrong.

With the expected humour and wit, we’re taken on a high speed action packed fight to ensure the New Sonoran’s are safe at any cost.

Despite hat tips to Dungeon Crawler Carl fans, Operation Bounce House stands comfortably apart from it’s predecessors tall shadow, and is worthy of a read for fans of Matt or first time readers who may be put off by Dungeon Crawler Carls 7 book run at time of writing.

What you’ll find in Operation Bounce House is a remarkably poignant yet hilarious tale of love, community, and legacy in the face of fascism, propaganda, all wrapped up in a David and Goliath shaped bow.

As a massive Dungeon Crawler Carl fan, Operation Bounce House has firmly helped Matt Dinniman become my favourite author, knocking the late, great Terry Pratchett off the top of the list after a 25+ year lead.

Whilst I’m excited to see what happens next with A Parade Of Horribles this May, I’m very grateful to say that Matt doesn’t save all of his most creative ideas for Carl’s exploits.