Review of Terms of Service

matina99 · Post by **matina99** » 27 Mar 2022, 07:50

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

4 out of 4 stars

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Imagine if the Matrix met Orwell's 1984, in a science fiction tale that seems to foresee the future. Craig W. Stanfill's Terms of Service fits perfectly in that category. Kim, an aspiring programmer, works for the train company, programming AIs to identify and stop anyone who violates their terms of service. Her life, even though from the outside seems perfectly normal, is in fact void, making Kim turn to the bottle for comfort. As we learn more about Kim, we realize that every aspect of the world is controlled by an oligarchy, the Hierarchy, and that terms of service apply to every aspect of the citizens' lives, regulating their food, their transport, even their romantic partners. When Kim's childhood best friend, Shan, returns to the city, the two get up in trouble, uncovering secrets that were never meant to be found and forcing Kim to face truths about herself and the society she had long been ignoring.

Stanfill's novel, even though it deals with themes that are no longer a novelty, does so in a refreshing way. The tone of his writing is astute and to the point. By having the reader follow Kim, who begins the novel as a completely obedient citizen and slowly becomes disillusioned with the faults of the society she lives in, the author invokes his readers to slowly uncover the faults of their own, very real, society. The fact that we get a glimpse into the inner workings of AI is something I found very interesting, as well as their portrayal as neutral, or even kind, rather than destructive forces. The humans are the real villains here.

Even though there were no aspects of the novel I did not enjoy, I would have loved it if the author had given us a bit more background information on the world- how did the Hierarchy come into power? What happened to the old human cities? It would have been interesting to see what the prevalent narrative was, regarding the fall of humanity, in a totalitarian hegemony. Even though Stanfill alludes to some historical events that have taken place in the novel’s universe, detail was lacking. Perhaps he will explore these concepts more in the upcoming sequel.

I found no typographical or grammatical mistakes in the novel.The plot and the characters were well written, so I rate this book four out of four stars. I really enjoyed reading it.

If you are interested in science fiction with a sapphic twist, if you love novels set in dystopian futures and have an interest in seeing an artistic take of AI creation, this book might be for you.

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Terms of Service
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Judy_Akha · Post by **Judy_Akha** » 03 Apr 2022, 06:29

I love novels about dystopian future, but I am glad you mentioned that the author did not provide enough background information. Thanks for your review.

marta baglioni · Post by **marta baglioni** » 03 Aug 2022, 02:37

This seems like a nightmare world. It's nothing new, but if the author did the good job you mentioned, it's a worthy read. Thank you for the great review