Review of Terms of Service

[Kristina Hvarchilova]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Terms of Service" by Craig W. Stanfill.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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In a post-individual, AI-controlled world, is it possible to know your own mind and desires? Or even possess enough self-awareness to have those? Terms of Service: Subject to Change Without Notice by Craig W. Stanfill is an excellent study of a scary future that is controlled not by people, but by machines.

The book very appropriately starts with A Note on Pronouns, where the author explains a major difference in the future, where personal pronouns have significantly changed. Instead of using words such as I/me/my, polite society only refer to themselves as we/us/our. Strangely enough, this is not true for AIs, who use personal pronouns without hesitation. Similarly, this future society does not differentiate between male and female people, but everyone is referred to as she. This is so ingrained in society, that even romantic and sexual relationships are monitored and a preference for one kind or the other is forbidden.

Furthermore, the author gives us a list of Customer agreements which shows exactly how tightly controlled life is by the AIs. There is a foreboding in the very beginning, even though the machine and appliances are considered a nuisance or even helpful. Kim, the main character, leads us through her life and the challenges she meets as she struggles to appease the AIs, while at the same time coming to terms with her individuality. We are presented with an expectation of perfection and when that is not met by Kim, she is forced deeper and deeper into the machine that controls even the mundane and profoundly private aspects of every person's life and is prone to severely punishing the slightest step out of line.

There is no privacy and no individuality, and the novel is so detailed and well-crafted, that I had no trouble falling head first into a world, intricately designed to make a person "completely unexceptional". Kim has a tight-knit friend group, yet she cannot help but be depressed by vague memories of her birthgiver, in whose arms she was truly loved. However, she quickly learns that her whole life was stolen from her from birth and directed by the AIs. Because this is a stark contrast to the complete equality that society strives for, Kim slowly starts growing into the special individual that she was chosen to be. She experiences the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, even experiences real and pure romantic love, and all throughout her journey we sympathize and root for her.

The novel ends on a cliffhanger and I am eagerly awaiting the next installment. We never really learn if Kim is a male or female character and the author was very careful not to drop any hints, as I came to expect, due to his utter excellence. The story and plot are wonderfully developed, unexpected and disturbingly honest, expertly weaving truth and doubt.

I am happy to give this novel a 5 out of 5 stars, because it is excellently edited, contains no mistakes and is an altogether excellent read.

I would highly recommend the book to any reader, who is interested in the intricacies of human psychology or science fiction. But even if they aren't, they'll still be taken in and turn each page with great satisfaction.

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Terms of Service
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[Sara Nóbrega Bartolomeu]

Ah great review! I completely agree that the author never gives any hints on Kim's gender. Majority of readers imagine Kim as female because of her AI name too. I think the author is leaving that up to the reader. I read the sequel and I'm still not certain