Synopsis:
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.
Review:
Zany, profound, fun, relevant.
Oliver is a colonist farmer on the planet New Sonora. Instead of pursuing a quiet life with his friends, sister, and girlfriend, he must stage a defence against the Apex Corporation, which is erasing the colony for the sake of real estate and easy money.
Xenophobic, misinformed humans from Earth, a light-gate away, remotely pilot war machines.
With the help of an AI who still has his nanny system installed, Oliver and friends must grapple with the selfishness of corporations, the spiral of human morality and interactions, and the glaring impact of propaganda and controlling information and visuals.
As you can tell: very relevant for our current time.
Apex is getting paid by the Republic to fight their wars. People are paying a ton of money to design these war machines and control them. So money is pouring in from both sides. Think about it. Imagine a war where all the soldiers are actually paying money for the chance to fight in it.
It is undeniable that having a narrow worldview just adds to outside control, influence, and fear. This balances huge implications on a smaller scale of just a tight-knit community wanting to just get by.
I would say that this is very unrealistic and unbelievable at times. It isn’t speculative sci fi – it is messy and fun. It doesn’t have the humour of Dungeon Crawler Carl, but it has moments of levity to balance out a dark story.
The ending itself almost dropped this to a three stars because it just felt too shallow and easy. However, I have to admit to feeling almost hopeful.
Overall, a fun time that didn’t balance the deeper themes quite as well.
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