The Torus Run Review
Author: Harry Buck
Rating: 9.0 AMAZING
What’s it About?
Four months after the Blackout, San Francisco is back to its old habits—building the future by day and worrying about it by night. Stash Novak has done his share of both, but now he’s out of time. Zero, his AI Twin, is weeks away from upgrading. The new version will make him smarter than Stash, smarter than anyone, and some of them are not amused. With the NSA, tech rivals, and an elusive hacker network closing in, Stash is ready to gamble on unlikely allies. Zero tried to talk him out of it, but Stash wouldn’t listen. Convinced there’s a way to protect his Twin and save humanity’s future, he’s ready to do whatever it takes: join forces with his enemies, make new ones, or even dive into the Torus—the AIs’ churning new world.
Review
The Torus Run is a top-tier science fiction thriller featuring artificial intelligence that felt like it was custom crafted just for me. It’s a fast, thrilling, and smart cautionary tale centered around the very real questions surrounding artificial intelligence we’re facing today. Full disclosure, I am a tech nerd down to my core. It’s been a passion of mine my entire life. When I’m not slinging book reviews over at The Tome Tavern, my other career is in technology. So much of my enjoyment from The Torus Run came straight from this interest. It touches on themes like humanity and the ethics within the integration of A.I. in society. Author, Harry Buck takes a topic that’s often looked at as dry and unapproachable and makes it accessible, vibrant and captivating. I was laughing one moment then deep in thought the next. I’ll be contemplating and dissecting my time with The Torus Run for the foreseeable future and will never look at CHAT GPT the same way…
“You’re going out on your first date in five years, and you want to dress up as a math homework powered by magic? I think I know why your single.”
The Torus Run asks big questions surrounding artificial intelligence right from the start. Will A.I. be used as a tool? Or is it our replacement? As a society, we’re so busy pushing things forward and always looking towards the next big thing, all the while pushing ourselves right off a cliff. We ask ourselves if it can be done, but rarely ask if it should be done. This is just some of the inner monologue I had with myself within the opening chapters. But author, Harry Buck isn’t content to just ask the large questions then walk away. They are faced head on, revealing the good, bad, and ugly side of technology and the push to advance it. Within The Torus Run, there are many different moving parts within Silicon Valley and throughout the world, all vying for superiority and/or control. The scary part, is that they all feel like their way is not just the best way, but the morally superior way. This had me thinking about our own real-world tech companies and how A.I. is being developed. They can’t all be right…can they? These feelings are conveyed through the stellar character development and the twisting and turning plot that had me reading late into the night.
The characters are brimming with personality and are well developed. I wouldn’t call them “relatable,” at least in the traditional sense. They are the elite professionals within the tech industry living in Silicon Valley. I cannot relate to this. However, their drive to create and strive for something better, is something I can relate to. Main protagonists, Stash and Zero felt so fully realized and brought to life. I also really enjoyed the moments within Stash’s family dynamics. To me, they were a beacon of humanity in a sea of robots. They were a reminder that A.I. truly cannot replace humans. Whether it’s a soulful hug or the cold shoulder, it brought life to the narrative in more ways than one. Zero, is Stash’s A.I. companion and I often forgot that it wasn’t a real person. However, Buck’s writing is so nuanced that there’s little tells within their banter that lets you know that Zero is too quick and accurate to be human. It’s so entertaining to read and it elevated every encounter. Whether it’s competing organizations, government agencies, or shady anti A.I. groups, The Torus Run is at it’s finest when Stash and Zero are together. Also, there’s a fantastic robot butler named Bolts. Bolts’ character will have you looking at your Google Home or Alexa with disappointment and distain. Each character felt so fully realized and fit so well within the context of the world.
The plot moves along at a rapid pace. It always felt like there was something going on or some new revelation I wanted to see through. The only times the story bogged down was within the technical details. There is a decent amount of hard science throughout the narrative that will delight the tech nerds but may put off others due to it’s dry nature. I really respect the author for doubling down on these moments and digging into the details when it called for it. I would argue that these technical details are a feature, not a criticism, but your milage may vary. At times, my own knowledge of technology felt so dated and inferior in every regard. I always felt like I was several steps behind, frantically trying to catch up. Additionally, the brilliantly orchestrated heists made the book so entertaining and pushed me forward. The structure of the book was perfect. The chapters are short in length with little breaks and mini chapters within them. It allowed me to take everything in, piece by piece, instead of large info dumps. This also made the slower sections flow, instead of grind to a halt. Overall, I thought that the writing was excellent.
I’ve never read a more relevant book than The Torus Run. It’s ironic that I was so invested in a story regarding A.I. and A.R. (Augmented Reality) replacing the human experience and it was all conceptualized and vividly brought to life by a human author. On the back cover of the book, Harry Buck states, “It’s a true story. It just hasn’t happened yet.” This statement rings true in every detail throughout The Torus Run. It’s a hairs breadth away from having to be re-categorized as non-fiction. Maybe some day, it’ll happen. Expertly straddling this line made the book more engaging and had me feeling like I was at the forefront of some monumental breakthrough in technology. The lines between human and machine have never been more blurred. It was a joy to read. So if you're really into tech like I am, I highly recommend The Torus Run by Harry Buck.