Review of Terms of Service

[Oluwatobilola Olu-awe]

[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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The novel Terms of Service by author Dr. Craig W. Stanfill is a dystopian sci-fi fantasy about a world in the distant future, one where the fate of civilization hangs in the hands of artificial intelligence companies. The world looks perfect at first glance, but could a world where mothers are referred to as "birth-givers" and forced to hand over their children at the age of four, a world where all genders are forced to identify as a singular gender, and any deviation from the rules would be seen as a selfish act, attracting dire consequences, Could such a world really be referred to as "perfect"?. These are thoughts that regularly go through the mind of our protagonist, Kim; she knows it’s wrong to question the rules of the society she lives in, but she can’t help herself.

I’ve read a lot of sci-fi novels, and honestly, going into this, I was expecting sort of a Hunger Games or Star Wars kind of vibe from it, but it was way better than that. I really didn’t expect to like this as much as I do. What really does it for me is the character development; seeing Kim go from passively watching life go past her, doing her job without asking questions, spending her nights blacking out on alcohol, constantly trying to figure out why her life always felt like it was missing a piece, and hating herself for feeling that way, to finally accepting herself and fighting for what and who she believes in, was a beautiful journey.

It does pick up slowly, though, and it isn’t until after Chapter 4 that things really start to happen. It’s not all bad, as the first few chapters are essentially just a run-through of what daily life looked like for Kim, which was great for world building and really helped in making sense of the workings of their world.

I wish I could rate this higher than five out of five stars. It surpassed my expectations, as a sci-fi novel should; it was positioned right along the edge of fantasy and reality and had me asking questions like "what if" as well as being informative. I also love the subtle social commentary on our nature as human beings—even in the most advanced environments, we still lie, cheat, and manipulate to the point you start to think it’s almost as though we’re the problem.

I recommend this book for lovers of the sci-fi and fantasy genres, and for the romance lovers, there's a little something for you too.

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Terms of Service
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