Review of Terms of Service

[abstactlemon]

[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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Terms of Service by Craig W. Stanfill is a dystopian science fiction novel that will keep your eyes glued to the page from beginning to end. The book follows Kim, an AI trainer working at the Artificial Intelligence Company. The AIs control everything in this world, from the type of food you eat to how you dress. There are those that push back, however, individualists known as “selfists.” Kim is content with her job, but she’s slowly becoming jaded and disillusioned. She realizes her life is drained of excitement, and she starts to break a few rules with a friend. The story unfolds from there as Kim discovers the true nature of the world and tries to take her life back the only way she knows how.

I want to start off by saying that I read the second book in this series first, and while both were very capable of being separate stories, it was really interesting to see how some plot lines and character backstories came into being. Stanfill is very intentional in his work; everything has a purpose. No plot thread is forgotten. If I had to pick between the entries in the series, however, it would be the first book.

Terms of Service was able to create the sense of wonder I crave when discovering new science fiction and fantasy worlds, despite the world being on the dark side. I also mentioned this in the review of the second book, but it blends different iconic intellectual properties to create an eclectic mix that comes across as a very fresh idea. I like the elements of cyberpunk that were included, and I think Kim’s evolution throughout the book was handled very well.

That being said, the pacing at the start was too slow for me. I understand that most of the sacrificed pacing was used to build up the base of Kim’s character, but I also think a lot of it could be cut. It would make for a tight-knit, punchier novel. However, none of that is enough to deter me from giving this 5 out of 5 stars.

This is a wonderfully written novel. It is also cleaner than its sequel; I found no grammatical errors. I would recommend this to lovers of science fiction. I think a dystopian reader will also find some enjoyment if they pick up this book. Despite the slower pacing at the start, it will still be hard to put this down. Great read.

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Terms of Service
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[kampen]

This book seems to be a fascinating work of science fiction set in a dystopian society where artificial intelligence rules. I appreciate you for writing such a thoughtful review.