Review of Terms of Service
Posted: 12 Jan 2023, 14:46
[Following is a volunteer review of "Terms of Service" by Craig W. Stanfill.]
What if you couldn't use gendered pronouns, even if you wanted to and they were appropriate? What if there was no way to distinguish you from anyone else? What if every single aspect of your life was planned? I mean by this, that you ate what you were told to, wore what you were told to, took the route to work you were told to, interacted with who you were told to, thought what you were told to, etc. Could you handle being so regimented? In Terms of Service, by Craig W. Stanfill, all of these things really happen.
Kim had done these things all of her life. She didn’t even know her mother (birth-giver), since such things were highly regulated. Everything was. She wore a headset to guide her movements so she could get to the subway on time, and when she reached her train, an AI told her which line to wait in. After boarding the train, the same AI told her where to stand, and her headset guided her to her place of work when she left the transportation system. Her refrigerator even decided what she would eat.
Nobody in this world had a say in what they did, and nothing was left to chance. Even the baseball games that Kim enjoyed attending through VR were rigged. This ensured an exciting experience for the attendees, as well as making sure the "correct" team won. The worst thing in this world was to stand out. Everyone wore beige clothing of exactly the same style, or they stood out. Being better or worse than anyone else was frowned upon.
If this is the way life is going to be in the future, I don’t want any part of it. No privacy, no relationships, and no real decision-making ability doesn't sound like a good time to me. I don't like Mr. Stanfill's pessimistic view of the future. A few people were allowed to become couples, but most weren’t. Almost everything depended on your economic status, even more so than now. I am not sure of Kim’s gender. Everyone in the book was referred to as “she/her” regardless of their actual gender. I couldn’t really tell about anyone.
I have always been a fan of AI technology. There are so many things in this novel that they do so much more efficiently than humans, and they do their jobs without complaining. I also appreciate that there are multiple ways to connect with those you are close to. This novel made use of VR, ChitChat (probably another name for Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat), as well as in-person visits to keep up with others.
I enthusiastically rate this novel 5 out of 5 stars. Not only am I impressed with the use of AI technology in all facets of life, from a morning shower to outdoor recreation, but the characters were made to seem real, with real emotions. The novel had also been very well edited, I assume by a professional.
I seriously recommend this book to all mature readers. While it contained a minimum amount of profanity, there were numerous sex scenes. It is not suitable for a young audience. I would specifically recommend it to lovers of technology and its uses and to those who enjoy dystopian novels. I found no errors in this book. It appears to have been exceptionally well edited.
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Terms of Service
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
What if you couldn't use gendered pronouns, even if you wanted to and they were appropriate? What if there was no way to distinguish you from anyone else? What if every single aspect of your life was planned? I mean by this, that you ate what you were told to, wore what you were told to, took the route to work you were told to, interacted with who you were told to, thought what you were told to, etc. Could you handle being so regimented? In Terms of Service, by Craig W. Stanfill, all of these things really happen.
Kim had done these things all of her life. She didn’t even know her mother (birth-giver), since such things were highly regulated. Everything was. She wore a headset to guide her movements so she could get to the subway on time, and when she reached her train, an AI told her which line to wait in. After boarding the train, the same AI told her where to stand, and her headset guided her to her place of work when she left the transportation system. Her refrigerator even decided what she would eat.
Nobody in this world had a say in what they did, and nothing was left to chance. Even the baseball games that Kim enjoyed attending through VR were rigged. This ensured an exciting experience for the attendees, as well as making sure the "correct" team won. The worst thing in this world was to stand out. Everyone wore beige clothing of exactly the same style, or they stood out. Being better or worse than anyone else was frowned upon.
If this is the way life is going to be in the future, I don’t want any part of it. No privacy, no relationships, and no real decision-making ability doesn't sound like a good time to me. I don't like Mr. Stanfill's pessimistic view of the future. A few people were allowed to become couples, but most weren’t. Almost everything depended on your economic status, even more so than now. I am not sure of Kim’s gender. Everyone in the book was referred to as “she/her” regardless of their actual gender. I couldn’t really tell about anyone.
I have always been a fan of AI technology. There are so many things in this novel that they do so much more efficiently than humans, and they do their jobs without complaining. I also appreciate that there are multiple ways to connect with those you are close to. This novel made use of VR, ChitChat (probably another name for Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat), as well as in-person visits to keep up with others.
I enthusiastically rate this novel 5 out of 5 stars. Not only am I impressed with the use of AI technology in all facets of life, from a morning shower to outdoor recreation, but the characters were made to seem real, with real emotions. The novel had also been very well edited, I assume by a professional.
I seriously recommend this book to all mature readers. While it contained a minimum amount of profanity, there were numerous sex scenes. It is not suitable for a young audience. I would specifically recommend it to lovers of technology and its uses and to those who enjoy dystopian novels. I found no errors in this book. It appears to have been exceptionally well edited.
******
Terms of Service
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
