Preset, Sarina Dahlan
Preset, Sarina Dahlan
List: $19.95 | Sale: $13.97
Club: $9.97

Preset
A Novel

Author: Sarina Dahlan

Narrator: Shiromi Arserio

Unabridged: 11 hr 33 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/23/2023

Synopsis

Inception meets Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind in this captivating prequel to the acclaimed, bestselling science fiction romance Reset by Sarina DahlanCan you give up a love you can’t forget?After the Last War destroyed most of the world, survivors formed a new society in four self-sustaining cities in the Mojave Desert. To halt extinction, everything in the Four Cities is carefully predicted and carefully controlled … even love.But how can you control love and freedom? In the engrossing prequel to Reset, Preset weaves the tales of Eleanor, the Crone, and Eli, the Planner, before and after the creation of the Four Cities. Much has changed in the world and their relationship, but there are some truths that have yet to come to light.Fighting for change yet still loving her husband Eli, the scientist Eleanor travels to Elara, the lone city resisting fully bending to Eli’s control. There she must separate reality from lies, memories from desires, as she tries to piece together the truth about what is happening in the Four Cities.But the gulf between love and freedom, between the past and the now, between what we remember and what we strive to become can be as vast as the break between two hearts bound together. It is here, in the dark fissure left by loss, where Eleanor discovers the true cost that has been paid to save humanity.

About Sarina Dahlan

Sarina Dahlan was born into an Indonesian family in Thailand and immigrated to the California desert at the age of twelve. While children in the West grew up on fairy tales, she learned parables through ghost stories, mythologies, and Japanese manga.A graduate of the University of California, San Diego, with degrees in psychology and visual arts, she has blended both disciplines in careers as an advertising producer, a corporate marketing strategist, and a writer. She lives in San Diego with her young family and a senior cat. Her debut novel, Reset, was an instant bestseller.

About Shiromi Arserio

Shiromi Arserio is an author, stage actor, voice talent, and audiobook narrator from London. She holds a BA in theater from Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance. In addition to narrating dozens of audiobooks, her voice can be heard in documentaries, e-learning projects, and video games. Prior to venturing into audiobook narration, she worked as a freelance writer for publications such as Renaissance Magazine and Northwest Magazine.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Sarina

Author’s Note: This book is the 2nd of the series set in the Four Cities, a post apocalyptic Utopia where memories are erased in the name of peace. It reads, however, like a standalone as I intend my books in this series to be. You can even read this before RESET, the first book. Each is a story abo......more

Goodreads review by Shannon

4.5* I really enjoyed the author’s first book in this world, Reset. I mean clearly, otherwise I’d not have requested this one, eh? Anyway, this is a prequel if we’re being technical, but it can be read as a standalone. Regardless of HOW you read it, you should read it because it’s pretty great. I enj......more

Goodreads review by Dante

What a delightful mindfuck of a book. Thank you to the publishers at Blackstone publishing for a chance to read the ARC in exchange for a review! Honestly, I’m still recovering from some of the revelations of this book. I can’t wait to get my hands on Reset to understand the world of the four cities......more

Goodreads review by Kelli

While the author states this is a prequel to Reset just as much as it is a stand-alone, I definitely feel like I would have enjoyed it more re-reading Reset beforehand.......more

Goodreads review by Matthew Bell

"Preset" is the prequel to "Reset". It builds the world that "Reset" lives in. But it's not just building a world for stories to exist in; it's building a reality that you will simultaneously occupy and suspect. I've said it before and it remains truer now than ever: Sarina Dahlan is an author that......more

Quotes

“A collision of our era’s catastrophes fuses a new world, becoming something rich and strange.” Kim Stanley Robinson, Hugo Award–winning novelist

“Intricate, imaginative, and often surprising, Preset propels you through a future of warning, danger, and possibilities.” David Brin, New York Times bestselling author

“What risks will we take to hold on to each other and ourselves, this elegant and ethereal novel asks. Through her sage storytelling, Sarina Dahlan richly weaves philosophy, science, and dystopia through the complexities of the human psyche, relationships, and the desire to protect what we hold dearest. This dazzling prequel clutches its secrets tightly as seeds in the palm, cleverly scattering them for us enchanted readers to follow until the novel’s bittersweet end, which, of course, is only the beginning. Preset offers a trenchant meditation on what we both lose and gain when we choose to remember.”    Jennifer Givhan, author of River Woman, River Demon

“Dahlan once again works magic with her prose…Preset is deeply emotional and deeply thoughtful. Heartwarming and heartbreaking. The characters Eleanor and Eli, and so many of the side characters, will live with you long after you have finished their story.” S. L. Choi, author of the Blood Fae Druid series

“Sarina Dahlan wraps moments of clarity and meaning in beautiful prose while exploring themes of love, heartbreak, and the aftermath of war. She’s never afraid to ask the big questions and consider what survival costs us, as individuals, or as humans on the edge of extinction.” David R. Slayton, author of the Adam Binder Series

“Preset grabs you by the heart and doesn’t let go until it’s wrung every emotion dry. Sarina Dahlan has a gift for weaving fresh postapocalyptic worlds that capture the imagination in the most beautiful and tragic of ways.” Kristy Gardner, author of The Stars in Their Eyes

“A dystopian world, true love, and flickers of mystery…this imaginative saga has it all.” Woman’s World

“Preset is a sobering exploration of memory, loss, and disconnection between those in power and those they serve…Almost more reminiscent of classic works from authors like Ray Bradbury rather than your more typical voice-driven modern sci-fi…A powerful addition to the Four Cities series.” FanSided’s Winter Is Coming

Awards

  • Gizmodo Pick
  • New Reads Blog
  • Woman's World Pick
  • Fansided
  • Bookstr Pick
  • Publishers Weekly Pick
  • Books of Brilliance Pick
  • BIPOC Writers of SFF Pick
  • Barnes & Noble Favorite Indie Book
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