Review of Terms of Service

Silvia Idahosa · Post by **Silvia Idahosa** » 17 Apr 2023, 15:46

[Following is a volunteer review of "Terms of Service" by Craig W. Stanfill.]

5 out of 5 stars

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The idea of my every move being controlled is highly suffocating. Mind you, this is just the idea. Now, imagine the reality. That reality is Kim's life.

Terms of Service by Craig W. Stanfill follows the life of Kim, who is a seemingly average human. She works with the Artificial Intelligence company and longs for an opportunity to work with higher-level AIs. The setting of her world is deeply rooted in artificial intelligence. Her hangouts with her friends happen more in Virtual Reality (VR) than in real life. The AIs oversee every aspect of the society, from transportation to food to recreational activities. Every aspect of their human life is monitored. On a fateful day, Kim and her best friend, Shan, veer off the designated path for their bike ride. The seemingly predictable life of Kim takes a very different turn.

Craig did a great job of establishing the story setup and setting. In the first few chapters, he established the existing structure of Kim's world. I got a solid understanding of the UCE zealots, the Hierarchy, and how the system operated. For a futuristic book with technical terms, this was a necessity, and a highly appreciated one. It aided my understanding of certain descriptions in the book and answered certain questions before they came up.

I was intrigued by the futuristic setting of the book, and the different idea of human beings the author presented. I came across the word 'selfist' and my first reaction was of a possible error. Subsequently, I encountered the word again and realised it was intentional. It was an intriguing idea indeed; the idea of a person or group being called selfist. It seemed like the Hierarchy was trying to strip the people of everything that made them human. As the author revealed through the characters, this is probably the most impossible thing to do.

Terms of Service has a technical nature, and resultantly, I didn't fully understand some elements. This did not inhibit my understanding of the book, rather I could not picture some Virtual Reality (VR) scenarios in my mind's eye. I did not encounter any negative aspects of this book. The author seemed to clearly understand what he wanted to present to his readers. Despite the futuristic elements and my unfamiliarity with them, I was able to read this book as comfortably as I would any other. The author did a great job. This book was exceptionally edited as I did not encounter any errors.

I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars because of the reasons I stated in the previous paragraph. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy futuristic fiction. They would no doubt enjoy the author's use of imagination with the human portrayal and the presence of the AIs.

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Terms of Service
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Jane Honda · Post by **Jane Honda** » 24 Apr 2023, 10:54

I kind of enjoy the energy of this book. Though somethings are unclear I can understand that it's not the full book. Your review is awesome.

Amy Luman · Post by **Amy Luman** » 24 Apr 2023, 14:48

I really liked this book. The fact that Kim fit so perfectly into this society shows how much humans had changed by then. It is so much easier to take your privacy for granted when you have it. But Kim had never had it so they didn’t miss it.

Silvia Idahosa · Post by **Silvia Idahosa** » 24 Apr 2023, 15:37

Jane Honda wrote: ↑24 Apr 2023, 10:54 I kind of enjoy the energy of this book. Though somethings are unclear I can understand that it's not the full book. Your review is awesome.

Thank you.

Silvia Idahosa · Post by **Silvia Idahosa** » 24 Apr 2023, 15:43

Amy Luman wrote: ↑24 Apr 2023, 14:48 I really liked this book. The fact that Kim fit so perfectly into this society shows how much humans had changed by then. It is so much easier to take your privacy for granted when you have it. But Kim had never had it so they didn’t miss it.

Honestly. The AIs made it so that nothing was private. Thanks for your comment.

Blessing Chi Peculiar · Post by **Blessing Chi Peculiar** » 26 Apr 2023, 01:13

Terms of Service by Craig W. Stanfill is one of the book that opened my eyes to understand better on how to use AI. The author went into detail to explain each chapter of this book. God's job on this review.

Silvia Idahosa · Post by **Silvia Idahosa** » 26 Apr 2023, 01:29

Blessing Chi Peculiar wrote: ↑26 Apr 2023, 01:13 Terms of Service by Craig W. Stanfill is one of the book that opened my eyes to understand better on how to use AI. The author went into detail to explain each chapter of this book. God's job on this review.

Yeah, the author's explanation detail was extremely helpful in understanding his AI pov. Thank you.

Oluebube Prisca · Post by **Oluebube Prisca** » 28 Apr 2023, 03:39

Just like the reviewer the idea of my life bring controlled is suffocating but I am as well intrigued with by the concept of a society controlled by AI. Thanks for the review.

Silvia Idahosa · Post by **Silvia Idahosa** » 28 Apr 2023, 06:46

Oluebube Prisca wrote: ↑28 Apr 2023, 03:39 Just like the reviewer the idea of my life bring controlled is suffocating but I am as well intrigued with by the concept of a society controlled by AI. Thanks for the review.

The concept was really an intriguing one. The environment though was extremely restrictive. Thanks for your comment.

Goodness Azuka · Post by **Goodness Azuka** » 03 May 2023, 03:33

The first paragraph of your review was captivating. I really wondered how Kim had coped with the whole situation. Nice review

Melbie Bie · Post by **Melbie Bie** » 16 May 2023, 03:56

A well written review. I enjoyed reading this book too. I love Kim's personality and how she got out of the situation with the AI.

CHUKWUMA AGOHUKOH · Post by **CHUKWUMA AGOHUKOH** » 16 May 2023, 09:28

A book on how the future might look seems interesting. The character Kim sounds like one who wouldn't bore the readers. I like how you justified your perfect rating of the book. Thanks for your review.