Review of Terms of Service

[Reema Aydieh]

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

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4 out of 5 stars

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Every aspect of Kim’s life is decided for her, from what she eats, wears and watches to whom she dates. When she signed up with The Artificial Intelligence Company, she was excited. But with the terms of service being subject to change without notice, no privacy, and everything monitored (and dogs are outlawed!), people are likely to rebel.

Kim received a warning after riding her bike into strange farmlands with her friend Shan. Using her phone to look up the odd small town, the AI denied her access to that database. Her curiosity got the AI’s attention, and getting the AI’s attention is always a bad thing. Now Kim is being watched more carefully. After what happened, the AI alerted her to a meeting with the director. Thinking the worst, Kim didn’t expect them to offer her the chance to become a creator. Kimberly, her AI, will need to be trained for her to join the AI realm. Will Kim be able to pull it off, or will both she and her AI go insane? Kim believes there’s a catch to this whole thing, and she has no choice but to comply.

As visual reality is an essential part of the story, this dystopia combines elements of both The Matrix and Blade Runner. It was also similar to Brave New World, with a utopian world turning out to be dystopian (and the beige clothes). Because of the few triggering subjects that may be of discomfort to some readers, such as drinking, violence and sexual encounters, this sci-fi fantasy novel feels more appropriate for adults.

Terms of Service by Craig W. Stanfill is written in three parts: Spring, Summer, and Fall. Each part has chapters with captivating titles that convinced me to read each chapter word for word to learn what’s in store for Kim. With AI being a concept of conflict these days, some people being against it and others enjoying it, this book shows that conflict perfectly.

The book begins slowly, introducing the main character, Kim, and the rules of the world she lives in. The world-building is captivating and more realistic, with all the rules and guidelines AI demands people to follow. Craig W. Stanfill created the world and made it feel realistic with its language and a few references from the real world, like music lyrics. I enjoyed the metaphors and figurative language used, such as when Kim imagined a spider sitting on a web, ready to strike. It demonstrated Kim's awareness of the AI's plot, their control over her life, and what was going on.

Kim's emotions were well-written, and it was easy to see them throughout the book. The lack of description of how Kim looked at first seemed odd, but then there were descriptions of her VR form. It made the whole Virtual Reality and avatars thing sound fun. However, as the story unfolded, it became obvious why people had turned against AI. Kim and Kimberly represent that conflict, making me wonder which one is really the VR and which is the human.

When I got to the part where Kim is meeting with an AI, the use of “I” and “We” made it more clear why this book is a fantasy dystopia. For Kim, a human, referring to herself as “we” is considered appropriate, whereas saying “I” is viewed as rude and selfish. “If anything, it was the AIs that should use ‘we’ and the humans that should use ‘I.’ There was clearly something backward here, but social conventions were not required to make sense.” Also, race and gender are suppressed, with females and males both referred to as She/her/hers.

I found no errors or typos, which suggests that the book was professionally edited. I gave this book a 4 out of 5 stars rating because I felt that if the plot had started earlier and the introduction to the world and rules were mixed in with it, that would have made this book more captivating. It was a great book and I believe that the second one in the series will have all the answers, and it will have an exciting plot to pick up where this one left off.

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Terms of Service
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[Omneya Shakeep]

I read the book, and I found the summary you wrote to be very good. Well done with the review. I enjoyed reading it.

[Hazel Mae Bagarinao]

Shan, Kim's best friend, always brings her into trouble. When they had a bicycle trip, I thought that was the end of the suspense, but no way, a lot more coming up. I'm halfway to the book, and I enjoyed it.