Review of Terms of Service
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Rianna Brown
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Review of Terms of Service
[Following is a volunteer review of "Terms of Service" by Craig W. Stanfill.]
I’d give this book a 3 out of 5 or a 3.5 if possible. A 3.5 purely because while I don’t think this book is above average, I do think this book is better than just fine, especially since throughout my reading I didn’t see any typos or any grammatical errors. Though there were a few times that I thought there was an error but it was either a spelling specific to the story itself or a secondary spelling of a word I was not aware of until I read it. For example, there are apparently two spellings for the plural of persona, personas and personae. Besides that, there were no issues that I noticed. I enjoyed how much world-building there is in the book and the fact that at the start of the book, the author added a section labeled “About the AI Dystopia” where he tells the reader he has a world guide and a glossary on his website. At the end of the section, it gives content notes explaining how the book is “written for mature, though not exclusively adult, readers.” I really enjoy how the author provides, for lack of a better word, a disclaimer that would help prevent people who wouldn’t want to read some of the content from reading said content. That said some of the more mature content includes characters indulging in alcohol and drugs. Sexual content that isn’t graphic but might still make someone uncomfortable reading it without the foreknowledge that it’s there is also in this book multiple times. When the story starts to pick up, my enjoyment while reading started picking up quite a lot as well. I loved the characterization of the human characters and the AIs that work with the main character and how the main character, Kim, interacts with the different AI in her home. Her interactions with her fridge’s AI are one of my favorite things that could be comedic and help with world-building. All of that said I do think the beginning of the story was too slow for my tastes. When I finished the book and was thinking back to how slow the beginning was, I was kind of shocked when I looked back and the part that I had trouble reading, because of how slow it was, was only 54 pages of the book on my Kindle. Now I had to stop reading multiple times in those 54 pages because the story progression was not holding my attention, I would force myself to try to get to the end of a chapter, unsuccessfully, and the book didn’t hold my attention well till around page 64 and 65 when an old friend of Kim’s is introduced. From there the story is something I truly enjoyed reading. The ending, without giving spoilers, wasn’t something that I enjoyed but knowing that the author is working on a sequel, made the ending not as upsetting to me. That said, if you go into the book expecting a happily ever after with rainbows and butterflies, you will be disappointed but still happy with the book as a whole.
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Terms of Service
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
I’d give this book a 3 out of 5 or a 3.5 if possible. A 3.5 purely because while I don’t think this book is above average, I do think this book is better than just fine, especially since throughout my reading I didn’t see any typos or any grammatical errors. Though there were a few times that I thought there was an error but it was either a spelling specific to the story itself or a secondary spelling of a word I was not aware of until I read it. For example, there are apparently two spellings for the plural of persona, personas and personae. Besides that, there were no issues that I noticed. I enjoyed how much world-building there is in the book and the fact that at the start of the book, the author added a section labeled “About the AI Dystopia” where he tells the reader he has a world guide and a glossary on his website. At the end of the section, it gives content notes explaining how the book is “written for mature, though not exclusively adult, readers.” I really enjoy how the author provides, for lack of a better word, a disclaimer that would help prevent people who wouldn’t want to read some of the content from reading said content. That said some of the more mature content includes characters indulging in alcohol and drugs. Sexual content that isn’t graphic but might still make someone uncomfortable reading it without the foreknowledge that it’s there is also in this book multiple times. When the story starts to pick up, my enjoyment while reading started picking up quite a lot as well. I loved the characterization of the human characters and the AIs that work with the main character and how the main character, Kim, interacts with the different AI in her home. Her interactions with her fridge’s AI are one of my favorite things that could be comedic and help with world-building. All of that said I do think the beginning of the story was too slow for my tastes. When I finished the book and was thinking back to how slow the beginning was, I was kind of shocked when I looked back and the part that I had trouble reading, because of how slow it was, was only 54 pages of the book on my Kindle. Now I had to stop reading multiple times in those 54 pages because the story progression was not holding my attention, I would force myself to try to get to the end of a chapter, unsuccessfully, and the book didn’t hold my attention well till around page 64 and 65 when an old friend of Kim’s is introduced. From there the story is something I truly enjoyed reading. The ending, without giving spoilers, wasn’t something that I enjoyed but knowing that the author is working on a sequel, made the ending not as upsetting to me. That said, if you go into the book expecting a happily ever after with rainbows and butterflies, you will be disappointed but still happy with the book as a whole.
******
Terms of Service
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Latest Review: Breksta's Academy by Natasha Quay
