Max Sor - Cerebral Techno-Thriller With Emotional Punch

Max Sor is a Russian immigrant and entrepreneur who knows the true cost of freedom. NO CTRL is the culmination of a lifelong dream—a gritty cyberpunk thriller inspired by his own journey in the US. Max believes in achieving dreams even when others doubt you, and he poured that relentless motivation into his debut novel. NO CTRL explores a revolutionary VR system, a devastating betrayal, and the quest for total digital control. It serves as a powerful testament to never giving up on your vision, no matter the odds.  As our Author of the Day, he tells us all about NO CTRL.What originally pushed you toward writing a cyberpunk thriller rooted in VR, digital control, and the fragility of modern systems?The core idea came from my own journey as an immigrant and an entrepreneur: What is the true cost of freedom? I wanted to write a thriller where the tool built for liberation—Stan’s VR technology—is immediately corrupted and weaponized for total control. I believe the fragility of our modern digital systems makes that scenario terrifyingly plausible.Stanislav’s VR technology is a gift born from personal struggle. How did you shape the emotional and psychological reality of a protagonist whose greatest freedom exists only in a digital realm?Stan’s story is about personal necessity. For him, the system is not a game; it is a life raft. I shaped his reality around the psychological duality of being physically confined but digitally omnipotent. His greatest challenge isn't the external threat, but the tragedy of being betrayed by the one he trusts most—a betrayal that proves his own greatest invention is his greatest vulnerability.The novel explores the fine line between liberation and manipulation. What questions about technological dependence were you hoping readers would wrestle with?I want readers to question the price of convenience. The central question is: How easily do we surrender autonomy for comfort? When technology offers us flawless, simulated solutions to real-world problems, how much of our mind and personal control are we truly giving away? I want them to look at their smart devices and wonder if those 'glitches' are intentional.The betrayal in this story is devastating and intimate. How did you build tension around trust, loyalty, and the terrifying idea that the real enemy might be someone you care about?In a thriller, the highest stakes are personal. The tension is built on inherited trauma and ambition. The technological failure is a mere reflection of a deeper, emotional failure of trust. The tragedy is that the two friends, Stan and Victor, inherit a dark secret—the Ghost Protocol—and choose radically opposite paths, turning their lifetime of trust into the battlefield for the world's control.You portray a world where “glitches” spiral into real-world catastrophe. What kind of research or personal experience helped you craft such believable digital vulnerabilities?The research was based on current developments in neuroprosthetics and the concept of digital supply chain vulnerabilities. The threat of the Invisible IPX isn't about massive centralized power; it’s about a series of small, destabilizing failures (smart home errors, transport malfunctions) that, when scaled up, lead to total chaos. The most dangerous threats are often the quietest ones.Cyberpunk worlds often exaggerate tech-driven dystopias—but here the threat feels uncomfortably plausible. Did any current technologies or real-life events directly influence the plot?Yes. The rise of large-scale corporate surveillance and the race to dominate the metaverse were major influences. The threat wasn't built on robots taking over, but on people controlling perception—manipulating the VR experience to control the real world. That felt uncomfortably close to reality.Stan leads a team that blends raw expertise with guarded secrets. What was your approach to writing character dynamics in a setting where information itself can be weaponized?The team dynamics are built around interdependence and active suspicion. Their shared technical expertise forces them to cooperate, but every piece of information—whether it’s Victor's ambition or Dana's unique skillset—is a potential security risk. In NO CTRL, information is not power; information is ammunition.As an immigrant and entrepreneur, you bring a unique perspective. How much of your own journey shaped the novel’s themes of autonomy, resilience, and the cost of freedom?This is the core of the novel’s passion. As an immigrant, I've lived the true meaning of fighting for autonomy and resilience. The core message of the book comes from the line, “He who is born to crawl can never fly,” which became my own fuel. NO CTRL is a testament to the belief that you must fight for your dreams when everyone tells you it's impossible. Stan’s journey is a reflection of that relentless personal drive to seize control over one's own destiny.The story escalates from personal innovation to global threat. How did you balance intimate character stakes with large-scale disaster?The balance was maintained by rooting the global threat in the personal betrayal. The technological chaos always tracks back to the emotional state of Victor's cold ambition and Stan's desire for redemption. The reader is invested because the tragedy began intimately—it's not just the world at stake, but Stan’s soul.In No CTRL, the idea of “who controls the system” becomes a core conflict. What do you want readers to take away about power—digital, political, or personal?I want readers to understand that power is often inherited, but control must be earned and constantly defended. Digital power is fleeting. The final message is simple: The ability to say "No" to the system is the only true form of control.Many cyberpunk stories frame technology as inherently corrupting. Your book presents both empowerment and danger. Where do you personally stand on the future of human-tech integration?Technology itself is a powerful, neutral tool. My optimism comes from the belief that humans, like Stan, will always try to use it for empowerment (to walk, to connect). The danger, as shown by Victor, is that the truly corrupting element lies in human ambition and the thirst for absolute, centralized control.If you could see Stan’s VR system realized in the real world, what ethical safeguards would be non-negotiable?The non-negotiable safeguard would be absolute decentralization of data and control. No single entity—whether a corporation or government—should have access to the system that defines a person’s perceived reality. The "kill switch" must be permanently removed.The ending raises big questions about trust, autonomy, and the cost of innovation. Without spoiling anything, what emotional note did you hope readers would walk away with?I want readers to walk away feeling that dreams must absolutely come true. Even when it feels like the whole world is against you, and you think your dream will forever remain unattainable—the main thing is to never give up. You must fight for your dream until the very end.Are there hints in No CTRL that point toward a series or future exploration of this world?Yes, absolutely. No CTRL is merely the beginning of a much larger story. Attentive readers may have noticed that I deliberately avoid mentioning Artificial Intelligence (AI), even though it seems almost impossible in today's technological world. The reason is that the greatest confrontation is yet to come.