Reset
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15
Ratings1
Average rating3
Can you love someone you don’t remember? After the Last War destroyed most of the world, survivors form a new society in four self-sustaining cities in the Mojave Desert. In the utopia of the Four Cities, inspired by the lyrics of “Imagine” and Buddhist philosophy, everything is carefully planned and controlled: the seasons, the weather—and the residents. To prevent mankind from destroying each other again, its citizens undergo a memory wipe every four years in a process called tabula rasa, a blank slate, to remove learned prejudices. With each new cycle, they begin again with new names, jobs, homes, and lives. No memories. No attachments. No wars. Aris, a scientist who shuns love, embraces tabula rasa and the excitement of unknown futures. Walling herself off from emotional attachments, she sees relationships as pointless and avoids deep connections. But she is haunted by a recurring dream that becomes more frequent and vivid as time passes. After meeting Benja, a handsome free-spirited writer who believes his dreams of a past lover are memories, her world is turned upside down. Obsessed with finding the Dreamers, a secret organization thought to have a way to recover memories, Benja draws her down a dangerous path toward the past. When Metis, the leader of the Dreamers, appears in Aris’s life, everything she believes falls to pieces. With little time left before the next tabula rasa, they begin a bittersweet romance, navigating love in a world where names, lives, and moments are systematically destroyed. Thought-provoking and emotionally resonant, Reset will make you consider the haunting reality of love and loss, and the indelible marks they leave behind.
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An ARC of this book was given to me through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
What if society was reset every four years? That is the question Reset asks itself. Every fourth year, humans undergo “Tabula Rasa” in which their memories are wiped and they start a new cycle with a new name, job, home, friends. This helps in keeping the peace.
But what happens when people become interested in recovering their memories?
Story
I think the story is pretty interesting! I never really need a lot of detail on technicalities or specifics when it comes to sci-fi stuff, so I can't really judge on that, but I found it pretty complete! We get the origins of it, the consequences of it, and possibly the future of it.
The story flows very well. Not a lot of dull moments or chapters you really have to push through to get to “the good stuff”. There are no wasted scenes here.
Writing style
The first thing I noticed when I started is that it's in present tense! People sometimes feel iffy about that, but I felt it was a very deliberate choice, as the entire story is about making the most out of the present.
It reads very easy overall. It's very dialogue heavy, but not in a way that you get confused over who's talking. Exposition and info are given to you in a subtle manner.
Characters
There's quite a few characters, but they all feel very distinct from one another. Aris, Metis, Benja, Thane... They have their own quirks and personalities and their own voice. I can't say I got really attached to anyone in particular. That is something that is very hard to achieve though when it comes to action-packed stories.
Romance
So.... I'm not a very big fan of romance generally, and unfortunately this was no exception. I kept thinking about how I would feel about Aris and I would honestly just check out if there was ever so much pressure put on me by a man I'd only met about a week prior. The book deals with that a bit, but it's also quickly forgotten because there are more urgent things going on. I just felt it was a bit too fast. It felt more like infatuation instead of loving eachother for the person they were.
Other
I haven't mentioned it yet but THAT COVER. It's incredible.
This was a fun read! It's a bit out of my comfort zone. Would definitely recommend it if you like a light dystopian sci-fi with a bit of romance on the side.
