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RESET: Science Fiction Thriller
The new page-turner from USA Today bestselling author Joshua T. Calvert!
At the dawn of 2026, twenty passenger jets crash across the U.S. within minutes. Japan goes dark. Europe’s banking systems freeze. And that’s just the opening move.
While authorities scramble to blame hackers, computer scientist and journalist James Miller suspects something far worse—an AI-driven cyber weapon targeting global infrastructure. When a message from the darknet thrusts him into the crosshairs of intelligence agencies, James becomes the target in a high-stakes shadow war.
As chaos spreads and powerful forces close in, James must confront a secret buried in his past—one that might be the key to saving humanity... or ending it.
A pulse-pounding techno-thriller where the future isn’t coming—it’s already here.
At the dawn of 2026, twenty passenger jets crash across the U.S. within minutes. Japan goes dark. Europe’s banking systems freeze. And that’s just the opening move.
While authorities scramble to blame hackers, computer scientist and journalist James Miller suspects something far worse—an AI-driven cyber weapon targeting global infrastructure. When a message from the darknet thrusts him into the crosshairs of intelligence agencies, James becomes the target in a high-stakes shadow war.
As chaos spreads and powerful forces close in, James must confront a secret buried in his past—one that might be the key to saving humanity... or ending it.
A pulse-pounding techno-thriller where the future isn’t coming—it’s already here.
- GenresScience FictionAudiobook
311 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 2, 2025
About the author
Joshua T. Calvert
63 books297 followersJoshua T. Calvert has traveled the world--on foot, by Jeep, by bicycle, by motorcycle, and lots of other ways besides. As you might imagine, he's seen many things most people never see - including an Iranian prison cell, from the inside! In Kyrgyzstan, he fared slightly better, narrowly avoiding being kidnapped for ransom. Skydiver, scuba diver, martial artist, adventurer - his goal is to experience everything possible, and then make it real to you in his books. And he's made a good run of it so far: in the Philippines, he did police training on multiple types of firearms (despite being no fan of guns himself); dove in Asian waters among sharks and shipwrecks; and patrolled with Sumatran jungle rangers.
That's what defines Calvert's approach to method writing: pushing himself beyond his own limits, to experience first-hand what his characters experience, to make your immersion in his stories as deep as it can be.
For Ganymede Rises, after a slight detour with some smugglers in the deserts of Uzbekistan and the steppes of Mongolia, he traveled by dogsled and snowshoe to the Arctic Circle to experience first-hand what it's like to be utterly isolated in the coldest place on Earth. For his book The Fossil, he sat with professional pilots in flight simulators for Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 aircraft to learn what it's like to fly a passenger jet. His latest adventure: a parabolic flight with European Space Agency astronauts, to experience zero-gravity. All so he can describe it to you, in his own words.
That's what defines Calvert's approach to method writing: pushing himself beyond his own limits, to experience first-hand what his characters experience, to make your immersion in his stories as deep as it can be.
For Ganymede Rises, after a slight detour with some smugglers in the deserts of Uzbekistan and the steppes of Mongolia, he traveled by dogsled and snowshoe to the Arctic Circle to experience first-hand what it's like to be utterly isolated in the coldest place on Earth. For his book The Fossil, he sat with professional pilots in flight simulators for Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 aircraft to learn what it's like to fly a passenger jet. His latest adventure: a parabolic flight with European Space Agency astronauts, to experience zero-gravity. All so he can describe it to you, in his own words.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
September 10, 2026
Not Another Post-apocalyptic Book
Joshua T. Calvert has written a dystopian novel for the thinking person. What a refreshing take on TEOTWAWKI through the growth of Artificial General Intelligence. He puts plenty of thrills and suspense in the plot. Enough to keep you engaged until the end.
However, in my opinion, the gleaming gem at the heart of RESET is that when the reader finishes the book, they will have gone through a process of critical analysis for themselves and decided why the author chose the ending they did, and whether they agree or not.
Entertainment is often when an Author leads you somewhere, and you gain a different experience. That is fun, and has its place in the world. Better still, to be encouraged to participate in the creation or remaking of this world we live in, and learn a life lesson at the same time.
Excellent book by Joshua T. Calvert. I think it deserves all 5 stars. Grab this one while you can; it's worth it!
Joshua T. Calvert has written a dystopian novel for the thinking person. What a refreshing take on TEOTWAWKI through the growth of Artificial General Intelligence. He puts plenty of thrills and suspense in the plot. Enough to keep you engaged until the end.
However, in my opinion, the gleaming gem at the heart of RESET is that when the reader finishes the book, they will have gone through a process of critical analysis for themselves and decided why the author chose the ending they did, and whether they agree or not.
Entertainment is often when an Author leads you somewhere, and you gain a different experience. That is fun, and has its place in the world. Better still, to be encouraged to participate in the creation or remaking of this world we live in, and learn a life lesson at the same time.
Excellent book by Joshua T. Calvert. I think it deserves all 5 stars. Grab this one while you can; it's worth it!
November 15, 2025
This is a wonderful book. It is a little slow at first, but it really picks up the end. It calls into question a lot of what we are doing with technology, and whether it is hindering or helping us. There is quite a lot to think about here.
December 22, 2025
I need a reset after Reset
Did a ten year old kid write this? Bad sentence structure, incomplete thoughts, it was hard to read. It just went on and on. No more Calvert for me.
Did a ten year old kid write this? Bad sentence structure, incomplete thoughts, it was hard to read. It just went on and on. No more Calvert for me.
February 22, 2026
This is a difficult book to review for me. At times, I was absolutely absorbed, but at others, I struggled to keep my attention on it and follow all the details if I was cooking or cleaning while listening. I don’t read thrillers very often and think that maybe ebooks might be a better format fit for me for that genre specifically.
The mystery itself was interesting because it was something I can see playing out in the future at some point and there were several plot points I thought were really fun. I didn’t always enjoy the interludes as I felt they gave away things too easily. The main story was told from one perspective, but here and there we got those from other POVs. The switches worked better at the beginning to aid in fueling the chaos of the attack, but I would’ve preferred if the rest of the book would’ve stuck to only the one character.
That being said, the beginning of the audiobook had me wondering whether I should be reading this at all. The emotions of the characters felt so on point and as a frequent flier, I wasn’t sure if I wanted that scenario in my head the next time we lift off. That same emotional intensity was replicated several other times during this story and is why I’m thinking about trying another book by Calvert in the future. I love books that make me feel, though maybe I’ll avoid one with plane crashes next time.
Thank you to Podium Audio for the review copy!
Narration: I have mixed feelings about the narration. In general, he did a good job. But I’m from Germany and with parts of the book being set there, there were of course some German terms included, such as street names. I’m very picky with pronunciations sometimes and thought those could’ve been researched better.
The mystery itself was interesting because it was something I can see playing out in the future at some point and there were several plot points I thought were really fun. I didn’t always enjoy the interludes as I felt they gave away things too easily. The main story was told from one perspective, but here and there we got those from other POVs. The switches worked better at the beginning to aid in fueling the chaos of the attack, but I would’ve preferred if the rest of the book would’ve stuck to only the one character.
That being said, the beginning of the audiobook had me wondering whether I should be reading this at all. The emotions of the characters felt so on point and as a frequent flier, I wasn’t sure if I wanted that scenario in my head the next time we lift off. That same emotional intensity was replicated several other times during this story and is why I’m thinking about trying another book by Calvert in the future. I love books that make me feel, though maybe I’ll avoid one with plane crashes next time.
Thank you to Podium Audio for the review copy!
Narration: I have mixed feelings about the narration. In general, he did a good job. But I’m from Germany and with parts of the book being set there, there were of course some German terms included, such as street names. I’m very picky with pronunciations sometimes and thought those could’ve been researched better.
September 26, 2026
An interesting and horrifying concept, which is easily imaginable given our current infatuation with everything AI.
This is about a hacker gang who decides to bring about the end of the world as we know it by destroying our digital infrastructure. They set things in motion and then devise a way to erase their memories so they will be unable to stop things.
Except they also build a "kill switch" in their system so that one of them has a choice in how to implement the execution of the plan.
A very interesting premise. Unfortunately, much of this is bogged down in ruminations and somewhat implausible sequences. Kudos to the author, though, for plucking current events and inserting them into the story which DID lend some relevance and realism.
I listened to the audiobook version of this and found the narrator's voice, cadence and inflections really annoying. Perhaps it was an AI?
This is about a hacker gang who decides to bring about the end of the world as we know it by destroying our digital infrastructure. They set things in motion and then devise a way to erase their memories so they will be unable to stop things.
Except they also build a "kill switch" in their system so that one of them has a choice in how to implement the execution of the plan.
A very interesting premise. Unfortunately, much of this is bogged down in ruminations and somewhat implausible sequences. Kudos to the author, though, for plucking current events and inserting them into the story which DID lend some relevance and realism.
I listened to the audiobook version of this and found the narrator's voice, cadence and inflections really annoying. Perhaps it was an AI?
November 6, 2025
A chilling piece of speculative fiction
Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2025
Format: Kindle
RESET is a story about a hacker-created AGI which infiltrates every piece of digital technology and seizes control of it, leaving it to 3 white hat hackers to try to find a way to stop it. James, the primary protagonist, works as an investigative journalist after being arrested for his hacking activities, works to warn the world of just such a threat. The book is exceptional and impossible to predict, with an ending I didn't expect. 5/5 stars, highly recommended for anyone who enjoys science fiction and/or thrillers!
Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2025
Format: Kindle
RESET is a story about a hacker-created AGI which infiltrates every piece of digital technology and seizes control of it, leaving it to 3 white hat hackers to try to find a way to stop it. James, the primary protagonist, works as an investigative journalist after being arrested for his hacking activities, works to warn the world of just such a threat. The book is exceptional and impossible to predict, with an ending I didn't expect. 5/5 stars, highly recommended for anyone who enjoys science fiction and/or thrillers!
August 6, 2026
Need to read!
I had some hesitation about whether I really wanted to keep going with this one, so I decided to set it down for a bit. But then, after a couple of weeks had passed, I figured I'd give it another shot. And honestly, I'm really glad I did—this turned out to be one of the most meaningful and thought-provoking books I've come across in years, and it genuinely got me thinking deeply about what lies ahead. Once I reached the final page, I cast my vote for A. Fair warning though: you're going to need to push all the way through to the very end if you want to be in a position to cast your own vote.
I had some hesitation about whether I really wanted to keep going with this one, so I decided to set it down for a bit. But then, after a couple of weeks had passed, I figured I'd give it another shot. And honestly, I'm really glad I did—this turned out to be one of the most meaningful and thought-provoking books I've come across in years, and it genuinely got me thinking deeply about what lies ahead. Once I reached the final page, I cast my vote for A. Fair warning though: you're going to need to push all the way through to the very end if you want to be in a position to cast your own vote.
January 24, 2026
I was expecting this to be a continuous from “The Vanished” but it was a completely different story. I was rather board with this one. It didn’t hold my attention as much as the first one. It had the same adventure, but I feel like the connection of characters just wasn’t there.
The audio for this book was very well done. The narrator did such a good job with the different voices for each character. Podium did an amazing job producing this!
The audio for this book was very well done. The narrator did such a good job with the different voices for each character. Podium did an amazing job producing this!
February 15, 2026
3.5 ⭐️s rounded up to 4 ⭐️s
This was an action-packed listen! 🙌
Definitely fast-paced and an interesting concept! Could I see something along these lines happening sometime in the future? Yes, and that’s kind of chilling to think about! Narration was pretty solid too! I just wish I would have connected with the characters a bit more. Check it out if you enjoy techno-thrillers! 👏
Thank you partner Podium Audio for the gifted ALC in exchange for my honest review! ❤️
This was an action-packed listen! 🙌
Definitely fast-paced and an interesting concept! Could I see something along these lines happening sometime in the future? Yes, and that’s kind of chilling to think about! Narration was pretty solid too! I just wish I would have connected with the characters a bit more. Check it out if you enjoy techno-thrillers! 👏
Thank you partner Podium Audio for the gifted ALC in exchange for my honest review! ❤️
June 15, 2026
Reset The deterioration of Human Ingenuity
The novel addresses the conundrum of humanity: once basic needs are satisfied, humans seem to lose direction and purpose wasting idle time in nonsensical boring activities. The decline of past civilizations have demonstrated this reality,repeatedly.
I enjoyed the novel overall. The start was a bit confusing. It could have lost readers if they were not persistent and intrigued with the title.
The novel addresses the conundrum of humanity: once basic needs are satisfied, humans seem to lose direction and purpose wasting idle time in nonsensical boring activities. The decline of past civilizations have demonstrated this reality,repeatedly.
I enjoyed the novel overall. The start was a bit confusing. It could have lost readers if they were not persistent and intrigued with the title.
September 3, 2026
Dumb
The story warns us of the scourge of technology, the rampant isolation caused by social media and screen-time and proposes the solution is surrendering human choice to AI. Sure thing. And the cure for drug addiction is ... Better heroin. The end where tech nerds & hackers celebrate physical labor is particularly stupid. If the tech nerds & hackers wanted to engage in physical labor prior to the takeover by benevolent AI, they could have done so. Guess what? They didn't.
The story warns us of the scourge of technology, the rampant isolation caused by social media and screen-time and proposes the solution is surrendering human choice to AI. Sure thing. And the cure for drug addiction is ... Better heroin. The end where tech nerds & hackers celebrate physical labor is particularly stupid. If the tech nerds & hackers wanted to engage in physical labor prior to the takeover by benevolent AI, they could have done so. Guess what? They didn't.
November 10, 2025
Excellent
And scary!!! How close are we to exactly what is described in the story? Unfortunately I don't see a way to avoid it. And the ending as told in the story is not the ending I believe we'll see. I can only be thankful for the fact that I think it's far enough in the future (I hope) that I'll be long gone. Good luck to all the rest of you...
And scary!!! How close are we to exactly what is described in the story? Unfortunately I don't see a way to avoid it. And the ending as told in the story is not the ending I believe we'll see. I can only be thankful for the fact that I think it's far enough in the future (I hope) that I'll be long gone. Good luck to all the rest of you...
September 17, 2026
Tough to Read
I liked the premise of this book and the message was top notch. What I couldn't get past was the writing style. The story felt choppy and overdrawn. I also did not care for the main character. I had very little empathy for their situation and the path they followed became more and more unbelievable as the story progressed.
I liked the premise of this book and the message was top notch. What I couldn't get past was the writing style. The story felt choppy and overdrawn. I also did not care for the main character. I had very little empathy for their situation and the path they followed became more and more unbelievable as the story progressed.
October 30, 2026
A Story of Apocalyptic Techno Endings
I haven't read a book so close to my own thoughts and worries in a long time. I felt the story led to a very thought provoking conclusion and a very real solution to a very ingrained problem with our technology that is tearing humanity apart! Great writing Joshua Calvert!
I haven't read a book so close to my own thoughts and worries in a long time. I felt the story led to a very thought provoking conclusion and a very real solution to a very ingrained problem with our technology that is tearing humanity apart! Great writing Joshua Calvert!
November 15, 2025
Contrived and preachy
Sufficient technology details were fine, the.dialogue well done.
Not sure if I can make the inferential leap from wonk to killer to copout god/saviour of humanity.
Long data dumps.
Sufficient technology details were fine, the.dialogue well done.
Not sure if I can make the inferential leap from wonk to killer to copout god/saviour of humanity.
Long data dumps.
November 15, 2025
Chilling but excellent!
Chillingly logical dissection of a bleak future that "Social Media" is driving humanity towards if unchecked!
Captivating well-developed plot that kept me turning pages deep past midnight - bravo!
Chillingly logical dissection of a bleak future that "Social Media" is driving humanity towards if unchecked!
Captivating well-developed plot that kept me turning pages deep past midnight - bravo!
December 12, 2025
I couldn’t put the book down!
A sci-fi thriller mixed with a spy novel and a mystery story! After a long busy day, I couldn’t wait to read the next pages before sleeping. 4 hours later, I had to put it down before passing out. Fun!
A sci-fi thriller mixed with a spy novel and a mystery story! After a long busy day, I couldn’t wait to read the next pages before sleeping. 4 hours later, I had to put it down before passing out. Fun!
December 23, 2025
Great book
Wow does this book ever make your brain work. I think if something like this ever happened I would love it. It is also filled with lots of action and suspense. Loved the cast of characters. I recommend reading this to all that use the internet and love fiction.
Wow does this book ever make your brain work. I think if something like this ever happened I would love it. It is also filled with lots of action and suspense. Loved the cast of characters. I recommend reading this to all that use the internet and love fiction.
January 19, 2026
Based on a scary but fascinating idea, this cautionary tale held was hard to put down. Calvert knows how to write. I'm looking forward to reading more of his books. While a knowledge of computer systems isn't necessary to enjoy "Reset", it does help.
June 18, 2026
A Waste of Time and Money
Undoubtedly the most ridiculous, pointless and incomprehensible collection of tripe that I’ve read in years … If Amazon prompts you to “Read Now,” by all means, politely decline.
Undoubtedly the most ridiculous, pointless and incomprehensible collection of tripe that I’ve read in years … If Amazon prompts you to “Read Now,” by all means, politely decline.
January 24, 2026
Good book. Interesting concept.
March 28, 2026
good but for typos
I think a good proofreader or editor would have been helpful. The story is great if you don’t mind the typos.
I think a good proofreader or editor would have been helpful. The story is great if you don’t mind the typos.
May 7, 2026
good read
As always, Calvert is a good storyteller and kept my interest throughout. Don’t let the first couple paragraphs fool you, this is a very good book! Enjoy the tale.
As always, Calvert is a good storyteller and kept my interest throughout. Don’t let the first couple paragraphs fool you, this is a very good book! Enjoy the tale.
June 24, 2026
This is very disjointed and poorly written. It said record for me to shut it and return it to kindle.
October 12, 2026
amusing read, profound in the finale
The writing was a little sophomoric but the story was amusing. And it lead to a lot of fund discussions
The writing was a little sophomoric but the story was amusing. And it lead to a lot of fund discussions
February 10, 2026
Although this is another fast paced nov3el by an outstanding author that I have been following for quite some time, I suspect AI may be part of his tool box. There are several mistakes that appear to be the behavior associated with a LLM AI which would normally not be made by a human writer. Although the concept of the story is clearly from a human mind. Well worth the read.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews