Review of Terms of Service
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Abbi Holz
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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 dystopian novel depicting a future where artificial intelligence controls everything. AIs control everything about people's lives and society, such as what they eat, what they wear, who they're intimate with, and their jobs. Some control methods are obvious, but others are more indirect and create an illusion that people have some control. Kim is the protagonist. She works for the Artificial Intelligence Company as a trainer. Her job is to train automatons, devices incapable of thinking for themselves, to respond better to situations. She hopes to one day work with higher-level AIs. After exploring the wrong trail on a biking adventure, Kim discovers the truth about the companies and AIs. She also starts to question her role in all of it.
I absolutely loved this book. This book was the stuff of nightmares, and it was amazing. I was expecting AIs to rule the world and was pleasantly surprised to find that AIs were merely a tool people used to control the world and keep society flowing. This book feels like a horror novel at times. Gender is nonexistent, and everyone uses feminine pronouns. You only really know if someone is male or female during intimacy. But it's not like it matters because people aren't allowed to have gender preferences. The companies fabricate shortages to control the citizens. People don't create art because AIs do, and AI art is cheaper. This book is nightmare fuel, but it's also a warning about what could happen if we aren't careful. The author did a great job creating a well-planned society that is off-putting to the reader.
I don't have many negative things to say about the book. I didn't like how the author indicated that the characters were speaking in English instead of Panglobal, the language of the world. When characters spoke English, the phrase was preceded by "[English]." The author needed a way to separate Panglobal from English, but it pulled me out of the story. I also wished the author would have created new, gender-neutral pronouns instead of always using "she." That led me to imagine every character as female unless otherwise described. Other than that, there was nothing else I disliked about the book.
I rate this book 5 out of 5. Terms of Service is one of my top five favorite dystopian novels. It reminds me of some of my favorite 20th-century dystopian novels while still having modern themes. I love that this novel focuses on a scenario that might be the next thing that threatens the world as we know it. I've heard some warnings about the quick progression of AI, and I've seen a lot of debate over whether or not AI art is real art. It is very well-edited, and I couldn't find any errors. Terms of Service is a great book.
I would have loved this book during my dystopian phase during my teenage years. The main character uses alcohol to cope with life, and society and the companies expect people to use drugs. The main character also has sex in the book. It's not graphic, and the focus is mainly on how it makes the character feel and helps to progress the plot. These themes are vital to the novel as they illustrate how companies control people and show when someone is starting to struggle emotionally. I would definitely recommend this to any adult that enjoys dystopian novels. I think mature teenagers would enjoy this as well. If they're mature enough to read any of George Orwell's writing, they're mature enough to read this. I would only be hesitant to recommend this book to teenagers because drugs, alcohol, and sex tend to get books like this placed on banned books lists in schools, and I would hate to see a teenager get in trouble for reading. This book is fantastic and sure to be a favorite of dystopian lovers.
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Terms of Service
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Terms of Service by Craig W Stanfill is a dystopian novel depicting a future where artificial intelligence controls everything. AIs control everything about people's lives and society, such as what they eat, what they wear, who they're intimate with, and their jobs. Some control methods are obvious, but others are more indirect and create an illusion that people have some control. Kim is the protagonist. She works for the Artificial Intelligence Company as a trainer. Her job is to train automatons, devices incapable of thinking for themselves, to respond better to situations. She hopes to one day work with higher-level AIs. After exploring the wrong trail on a biking adventure, Kim discovers the truth about the companies and AIs. She also starts to question her role in all of it.
I absolutely loved this book. This book was the stuff of nightmares, and it was amazing. I was expecting AIs to rule the world and was pleasantly surprised to find that AIs were merely a tool people used to control the world and keep society flowing. This book feels like a horror novel at times. Gender is nonexistent, and everyone uses feminine pronouns. You only really know if someone is male or female during intimacy. But it's not like it matters because people aren't allowed to have gender preferences. The companies fabricate shortages to control the citizens. People don't create art because AIs do, and AI art is cheaper. This book is nightmare fuel, but it's also a warning about what could happen if we aren't careful. The author did a great job creating a well-planned society that is off-putting to the reader.
I don't have many negative things to say about the book. I didn't like how the author indicated that the characters were speaking in English instead of Panglobal, the language of the world. When characters spoke English, the phrase was preceded by "[English]." The author needed a way to separate Panglobal from English, but it pulled me out of the story. I also wished the author would have created new, gender-neutral pronouns instead of always using "she." That led me to imagine every character as female unless otherwise described. Other than that, there was nothing else I disliked about the book.
I rate this book 5 out of 5. Terms of Service is one of my top five favorite dystopian novels. It reminds me of some of my favorite 20th-century dystopian novels while still having modern themes. I love that this novel focuses on a scenario that might be the next thing that threatens the world as we know it. I've heard some warnings about the quick progression of AI, and I've seen a lot of debate over whether or not AI art is real art. It is very well-edited, and I couldn't find any errors. Terms of Service is a great book.
I would have loved this book during my dystopian phase during my teenage years. The main character uses alcohol to cope with life, and society and the companies expect people to use drugs. The main character also has sex in the book. It's not graphic, and the focus is mainly on how it makes the character feel and helps to progress the plot. These themes are vital to the novel as they illustrate how companies control people and show when someone is starting to struggle emotionally. I would definitely recommend this to any adult that enjoys dystopian novels. I think mature teenagers would enjoy this as well. If they're mature enough to read any of George Orwell's writing, they're mature enough to read this. I would only be hesitant to recommend this book to teenagers because drugs, alcohol, and sex tend to get books like this placed on banned books lists in schools, and I would hate to see a teenager get in trouble for reading. This book is fantastic and sure to be a favorite of dystopian lovers.
******
Terms of Service
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Latest Review: Taken by Twilight by Tricia Barr
