Review of Terms of Service
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Tracy Harris 1
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- Latest Review: Terms of Service by Craig W. Stanfill
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Review of Terms of Service
[Following is a volunteer review of "Terms of Service" by Craig W. Stanfill.]
"Terms of Service" by Craig W Stanfill is a fantastic read. I rate it 5 out of 5. It had me enraptured from the very beginning. The creation of the futuristic world, controlled by the Heirachy and its terms of service are laid out in a very palatable way. From the inclusion of "Chit Chat", VR rendezvous, and Matchmaker encounters, all strictly sanctioned and monitored by the AI's, sets the scene of great character development and plot setting, all while inducing thought provoking concepts and paralells to todays society.
The main protagonist in the story, Kim, begins as a law abiding anti-selfist functioning member of society. She lives her life doing everything possible to do what is expected of her and does her absolute best to avoid any behaviours that could label her a selfist in any way. Since the unfortunate incident at school that ended her friend Shan's career before it had even begun, she has always walked the UCE path in all aspects of her life and with the potential prospect of promotion at work looming, it seems like her blind adherence is starting to pay off.
As an AI trainer, it becomes apparent early on that Kim's understanding of the way the world works is significantly more developed than that of many of her friends, who on occasion partake in boarderline cultist or selfist behaviours. These tendancies left Kim struggling to understand their motivation, for example Quinn's love of archaic music and need to push limits that could have her potentially dubbed as an aficionado, and Keli with her choice to pair off with a life partner straight out of high school and then later deciding to be a birth giver despite the emotional turmoil she knew would endure at "the parting" when the child would be placed forever with their Mentor. Such selfist tendencies left Kim confused, dispite her own troubled feelings of emptiness and loneliness she endured daily. All however would become terrifying clear to Kim after one fateful day when she herself gave into a little rebellion during a face to face catch up at 'The Park' with her best-friend Shan.
Shan had always been overly curious and slightly rebellious, which had what gotten them both in trouble as high schoolers, because Kim could never say no to Shan, even back then. What was meant to be a fun day cycling quickly throws Kim into a whirl wind of events, that not only has the main character questioning the world, her existence, and the life she has lead, but also leaves the reader making parallel connections to much of todays society and also asking similar philosophical questions, such as "Is freedom and free-will an actual construct, or are they illusions we hold onto in the face of control by socital heirachies and the 'term of service' we abide by as a whole?
In summary Craig W Stanfill has done an amazing job to portray a futuristic world that uses Unity, Community and Equality as a fantastic lie to control society and individuals, while providing an illusion of free will to it's subjects. All while maintaining the exclusion of political rhetoric throughout the book and keeping the reader enthralled in the world and the characters he has created. I must admitt I am looking forward to the next instalment of Kim's story.
******
Terms of Service
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
"Terms of Service" by Craig W Stanfill is a fantastic read. I rate it 5 out of 5. It had me enraptured from the very beginning. The creation of the futuristic world, controlled by the Heirachy and its terms of service are laid out in a very palatable way. From the inclusion of "Chit Chat", VR rendezvous, and Matchmaker encounters, all strictly sanctioned and monitored by the AI's, sets the scene of great character development and plot setting, all while inducing thought provoking concepts and paralells to todays society.
The main protagonist in the story, Kim, begins as a law abiding anti-selfist functioning member of society. She lives her life doing everything possible to do what is expected of her and does her absolute best to avoid any behaviours that could label her a selfist in any way. Since the unfortunate incident at school that ended her friend Shan's career before it had even begun, she has always walked the UCE path in all aspects of her life and with the potential prospect of promotion at work looming, it seems like her blind adherence is starting to pay off.
As an AI trainer, it becomes apparent early on that Kim's understanding of the way the world works is significantly more developed than that of many of her friends, who on occasion partake in boarderline cultist or selfist behaviours. These tendancies left Kim struggling to understand their motivation, for example Quinn's love of archaic music and need to push limits that could have her potentially dubbed as an aficionado, and Keli with her choice to pair off with a life partner straight out of high school and then later deciding to be a birth giver despite the emotional turmoil she knew would endure at "the parting" when the child would be placed forever with their Mentor. Such selfist tendencies left Kim confused, dispite her own troubled feelings of emptiness and loneliness she endured daily. All however would become terrifying clear to Kim after one fateful day when she herself gave into a little rebellion during a face to face catch up at 'The Park' with her best-friend Shan.
Shan had always been overly curious and slightly rebellious, which had what gotten them both in trouble as high schoolers, because Kim could never say no to Shan, even back then. What was meant to be a fun day cycling quickly throws Kim into a whirl wind of events, that not only has the main character questioning the world, her existence, and the life she has lead, but also leaves the reader making parallel connections to much of todays society and also asking similar philosophical questions, such as "Is freedom and free-will an actual construct, or are they illusions we hold onto in the face of control by socital heirachies and the 'term of service' we abide by as a whole?
In summary Craig W Stanfill has done an amazing job to portray a futuristic world that uses Unity, Community and Equality as a fantastic lie to control society and individuals, while providing an illusion of free will to it's subjects. All while maintaining the exclusion of political rhetoric throughout the book and keeping the reader enthralled in the world and the characters he has created. I must admitt I am looking forward to the next instalment of Kim's story.
******
Terms of Service
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Latest Review: Terms of Service by Craig W. Stanfill
