Review of Terms of Service
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michaelade
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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 sci-fi book set in a futuristic dystopia, one where AIs dictate and control all aspects of society as we know it.
For all the shortcomings that this society has, there is a very thin silver lining to it—order. In exchange for the seamless and precise order the AIs via the Terms of Service bring into people's lives, their privacy and the majority of control over their lives are waived.
Despite the occasional misfits, Kim has always lived by the book and tries to stay out of the radar of the AI. Drowning herself in alcohol to shut out the echoes of her traumatic past and the tedium of her job, her life seems to be on a dangerous trajectory. When she receives news that Shan, her best friend, is coming to town, apprehension over the shenanigans she may be drawn into and excitement about the reunion builds up within her. And just as she feared, their reunion expedition ends in a debacle, as she and Shan were caught contravening the Terms of Service by the AIs. Knowing that the little she had painstakingly built for herself would be wiped away, Kim resigns to her fate, but she gets the shock of her life, as she is offered the opportunity for a second chance with even more privileges. Because she is well aware of the unforgiving nature of the AIs, a little digging yields that the AIs have more strings behind the scenes, controlling her life to a degree even more personal than she could ever imagine.
Like everyone who has ever watched the Terminator movie, I have simulated a world run by AI in my head, so when I saw this book's description, I was intrigued. And after reading it, I wasn't disappointed. This book took off to a slow start, as it was until the middle of the book that the main plot started to unfold. The transition from an almost monotonous storyline to a thoroughly engaging one made it worth the wait. Man has only been the dominant party in his relationship with machines, so the reversal of this dominance in this novel made for an interesting plot.
The amount of mind-boggling notions in this book can only be made possible by the author's vast experience and knowledge of the computer world. I am a bit of an IT enthusiast, so reading this book also afforded me the chance to buffer my knowledge in it, albeit in a truly unconventional style. It is also commendable that the author can conceptualize such vivid technological innovations, based on the trajectory that modern society is traveling.
The value of something is ofttimes unknown until it is lost. The stifling of individuality in exchange for a well-oiled society, as portrayed in this book, caused me to better appreciate the innateness of us humans to make simple everyday decisions. And as the author so cleverly shows, such a society is bound for a vicious cycle in which creativity is rare to find and tedium is the norm.
I found nothing to dislike about this book. This book is exceptionally well edited, as I found no notable spelling or grammatical errors in it. For this book's intriguing plot and unconventional storytelling, I am rating it 5 out of 5. I would recommend this book to fans of the science fiction genre.
******
Terms of Service
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Terms of Service by Craig W. Stanfill is a sci-fi book set in a futuristic dystopia, one where AIs dictate and control all aspects of society as we know it.
For all the shortcomings that this society has, there is a very thin silver lining to it—order. In exchange for the seamless and precise order the AIs via the Terms of Service bring into people's lives, their privacy and the majority of control over their lives are waived.
Despite the occasional misfits, Kim has always lived by the book and tries to stay out of the radar of the AI. Drowning herself in alcohol to shut out the echoes of her traumatic past and the tedium of her job, her life seems to be on a dangerous trajectory. When she receives news that Shan, her best friend, is coming to town, apprehension over the shenanigans she may be drawn into and excitement about the reunion builds up within her. And just as she feared, their reunion expedition ends in a debacle, as she and Shan were caught contravening the Terms of Service by the AIs. Knowing that the little she had painstakingly built for herself would be wiped away, Kim resigns to her fate, but she gets the shock of her life, as she is offered the opportunity for a second chance with even more privileges. Because she is well aware of the unforgiving nature of the AIs, a little digging yields that the AIs have more strings behind the scenes, controlling her life to a degree even more personal than she could ever imagine.
Like everyone who has ever watched the Terminator movie, I have simulated a world run by AI in my head, so when I saw this book's description, I was intrigued. And after reading it, I wasn't disappointed. This book took off to a slow start, as it was until the middle of the book that the main plot started to unfold. The transition from an almost monotonous storyline to a thoroughly engaging one made it worth the wait. Man has only been the dominant party in his relationship with machines, so the reversal of this dominance in this novel made for an interesting plot.
The amount of mind-boggling notions in this book can only be made possible by the author's vast experience and knowledge of the computer world. I am a bit of an IT enthusiast, so reading this book also afforded me the chance to buffer my knowledge in it, albeit in a truly unconventional style. It is also commendable that the author can conceptualize such vivid technological innovations, based on the trajectory that modern society is traveling.
The value of something is ofttimes unknown until it is lost. The stifling of individuality in exchange for a well-oiled society, as portrayed in this book, caused me to better appreciate the innateness of us humans to make simple everyday decisions. And as the author so cleverly shows, such a society is bound for a vicious cycle in which creativity is rare to find and tedium is the norm.
I found nothing to dislike about this book. This book is exceptionally well edited, as I found no notable spelling or grammatical errors in it. For this book's intriguing plot and unconventional storytelling, I am rating it 5 out of 5. I would recommend this book to fans of the science fiction genre.
******
Terms of Service
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Latest Review: Man Mission by Eytan Uliel
