
Reboot
A Novel
Justin Taylor(Author)
Vintage Books (Publisher)
Will be published approx. on 13. January 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
304 pages
978-0-593-47105-0 (ISBN)
Description
A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW AND WASHINGTON POST NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR • A raucous and wickedly smart satire of Hollywood, toxic fandom, and our chronically online culture, following a washed-up actor on his quest to revive the cult TV show that catapulted him to teenage fame
"A performance full of wit and rigor"—New York Times Book Review
David Crader is a has-been. A former child actor from the hit teen drama Rev Beach, he now rotates between his new roles as deadbeat dad, recovering alcoholic, and occasional videogame voice actor. But when David is summoned to Los Angeles by Grace, his ex-wife and former co-star, he suddenly sees an opportunity for a reboot—not just of the show that made him famous, but also of his listless existence.
Hollywood, the Internet, and a fractured nation have other plans, however, and David soon drinks himself to a realization: this seemingly innocuous revival of an old Buffy rip-off could be the spark that sets ablaze a nation gripped by far-right conspiracy, climate catastrophe, and mass violence.
Reboot is a madcap speculative comedy for our era of glass-eyed doom-scrolling and Millennial nostalgia. It’s a tale of former teen heartthrobs, striving parents, internet edgelords, and fish-faced cryptids, for anyone who has looked back on their life and wanted—even if but for a moment—to hit “reset.”
"A performance full of wit and rigor"—New York Times Book Review
David Crader is a has-been. A former child actor from the hit teen drama Rev Beach, he now rotates between his new roles as deadbeat dad, recovering alcoholic, and occasional videogame voice actor. But when David is summoned to Los Angeles by Grace, his ex-wife and former co-star, he suddenly sees an opportunity for a reboot—not just of the show that made him famous, but also of his listless existence.
Hollywood, the Internet, and a fractured nation have other plans, however, and David soon drinks himself to a realization: this seemingly innocuous revival of an old Buffy rip-off could be the spark that sets ablaze a nation gripped by far-right conspiracy, climate catastrophe, and mass violence.
Reboot is a madcap speculative comedy for our era of glass-eyed doom-scrolling and Millennial nostalgia. It’s a tale of former teen heartthrobs, striving parents, internet edgelords, and fish-faced cryptids, for anyone who has looked back on their life and wanted—even if but for a moment—to hit “reset.”
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
Random House USA Inc
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 203 mm
Width: 130 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
227 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-593-47105-0 (9780593471050)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Person
JUSTIN TAYLOR is the author of the novel The Gospel of Anarchy, the story collections Everything Here Is the Best Thing Ever and Flings; and the memoir Riding with the Ghost, His work has appeared in The New Yorker, Harper’s, Bookforum, and the Oxford American. He is a contributing writer to The Washington Post Book World and the director of the Sewanee School of Letters. He lives in Portland, Oregon.