Review of Terms of Service
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Nofita Sindi Pratikasari
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- Latest Review: Terms of Service by Craig W. Stanfill
Review of Terms of Service
[Following is a volunteer review of "Terms of Service" by Craig W. Stanfill.]
Terms of service is a science fiction novel written by Craig W. Stanfill. The story focuses on the main character, Kim who was working as an AI trainer. Taking the background of a story from the future, the world has experienced significant changes, especially in the fields of technology and government. At the time in this novel's story, all human life is regulated by the government using highly advanced AI technology. Community life is monitored and regulated to the smallest level. The food they are allowed to consume, clothing, work, and sexual activity have all been determined. The slightest violation will result in punishment by the authorities. For Kim, her life is fine even with so many rules and restrictions. But that changed when her old friend returned to town and indirectly caused her to break the rules. It wasn't a prison sentence that she got, she was even offered a high-level job to create her AI. Equal to the quality of life she gets from the job, the risks that haunt her are just as big as the benefit. When Kim finds herself only liking one particular gender, which is against the rules, life becomes even more dangerous.
This novel might not be the best futuristic novel I've read, but the story has a uniqueness that makes it different from other novels with the same theme. The condition of society in this novel depicts many ideas that many people currently echo, such as gender equality, but their application is at an extreme level. Like everyone is supposed to do sex with any kind of gender. Liking a particular gender in building a relationship is considered a serious offense. I like how the author describes many ideas that are actually very positive but can still end badly if overly implemented. The details given in each scene are very neat and flowing. I think it's not easy to make details that can be imagined by readers, especially for stories about the future that humans have never experienced, and the writer managed to create every situation perfectly.
Overall this is an interesting and well-written novel. There are only a few things that made me confused while reading it. As I explained earlier, the story in this novel does not recognize the man and woman. All characters use the pronoun she, and even when a character talks about herself, she uses the word we. The problem is that this was not made clear in the first place. Even the problem of not using gender determiners was revealed when the novel was almost finished. Even though I can understand the story well and understand the reasons for the pronouns, I can't help but be a little confused about the identities of the characters. That's probably fine for the movie because of the rendered visuals. But since this is a novel I need to imagine what the characters are like and the similarity of pronouns makes it a bit difficult.
I give this novel a perfect rating of 5 out of 5 stars because the story is unique and quite intriguing. This novel is only the first in the series and you could say this is just the beginning of the story. And from the first book, I was very curious about the continuation of Kim and her best friend's story. This novel is also written with excellent grammar and unusual science-fiction imagination.
If you like stories set in the distant future with advanced technology then this novel will be the perfect read for you. Not only about technology and the future, but the society described in this novel is also one of the most interesting points of the novel. The characters might seem boring at first but that's what makes this story make sense because the government makes their people like that but just like our nature as humans, somehow we're going to resist.
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Terms of Service
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Terms of service is a science fiction novel written by Craig W. Stanfill. The story focuses on the main character, Kim who was working as an AI trainer. Taking the background of a story from the future, the world has experienced significant changes, especially in the fields of technology and government. At the time in this novel's story, all human life is regulated by the government using highly advanced AI technology. Community life is monitored and regulated to the smallest level. The food they are allowed to consume, clothing, work, and sexual activity have all been determined. The slightest violation will result in punishment by the authorities. For Kim, her life is fine even with so many rules and restrictions. But that changed when her old friend returned to town and indirectly caused her to break the rules. It wasn't a prison sentence that she got, she was even offered a high-level job to create her AI. Equal to the quality of life she gets from the job, the risks that haunt her are just as big as the benefit. When Kim finds herself only liking one particular gender, which is against the rules, life becomes even more dangerous.
This novel might not be the best futuristic novel I've read, but the story has a uniqueness that makes it different from other novels with the same theme. The condition of society in this novel depicts many ideas that many people currently echo, such as gender equality, but their application is at an extreme level. Like everyone is supposed to do sex with any kind of gender. Liking a particular gender in building a relationship is considered a serious offense. I like how the author describes many ideas that are actually very positive but can still end badly if overly implemented. The details given in each scene are very neat and flowing. I think it's not easy to make details that can be imagined by readers, especially for stories about the future that humans have never experienced, and the writer managed to create every situation perfectly.
Overall this is an interesting and well-written novel. There are only a few things that made me confused while reading it. As I explained earlier, the story in this novel does not recognize the man and woman. All characters use the pronoun she, and even when a character talks about herself, she uses the word we. The problem is that this was not made clear in the first place. Even the problem of not using gender determiners was revealed when the novel was almost finished. Even though I can understand the story well and understand the reasons for the pronouns, I can't help but be a little confused about the identities of the characters. That's probably fine for the movie because of the rendered visuals. But since this is a novel I need to imagine what the characters are like and the similarity of pronouns makes it a bit difficult.
I give this novel a perfect rating of 5 out of 5 stars because the story is unique and quite intriguing. This novel is only the first in the series and you could say this is just the beginning of the story. And from the first book, I was very curious about the continuation of Kim and her best friend's story. This novel is also written with excellent grammar and unusual science-fiction imagination.
If you like stories set in the distant future with advanced technology then this novel will be the perfect read for you. Not only about technology and the future, but the society described in this novel is also one of the most interesting points of the novel. The characters might seem boring at first but that's what makes this story make sense because the government makes their people like that but just like our nature as humans, somehow we're going to resist.
******
Terms of Service
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Latest Review: Terms of Service by Craig W. Stanfill
