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| 386 | Awele Chiekwene

Terms of Service - Craig W. Stanfill

The story unfolds with an introduction of the daily routine of Kim, our protagonist, like every working class young lady. The only difference is the presence of AI, robots making her coffee, and a lot of societal boundaries. In a world where everyone is addressed by the same gender and self definition (the use of ‘I’) is deemed insulting or a form of pride, Kim goes through an unexpected adventure that changes her entire being as an individual.

Kim is your regular young woman striving to reach the top of the career ladder in her field of work. Despite the strict order of living put up by the world she lives such as pale gender neutral clothes and rules that determine everything a person can do from diet to childbirth and even relationships, she strives through to attain a sense of true neutrality of the world. Throughout her growth in the book, she fought the imposing societal norms which also unfortunately made her the number one person on the enemy list.

Terms of service by Craig W. Stanfill is a book that shows the future of our present world in a somewhat abstract way. I use the term ‘abstract’ because the unique factors in the books era are an enhanced reflection of issues which are gradually becoming widespread in today’s world; such as gender unification and lack of freedom or denial of the true meaning of privacy. It also illustrates the growth of AI to the extent that humans are under the rule of machines, which answers the present questions of what will our world turn into with our current progress in AI development. I believe it is safe to say Terms of Service is a glimpse into the future 200 years from now.

With the advanced nature of the era which the plot is set in, I found the book a bit complex and fast paced at some point. The author’s knowledge of the genre shone through by giving careful explanations of each scenario which I greatly appreciated. I also found the book emotionally provocative, which I think is a rare quality. Reading about how people in the city are separated from their parents at the early age of four and forced by mentors to suppress their emotions was heart wrenching and also an eye opener to what most disadvantaged youngsters go through while growing up. I really love how the book made me relate to so many different things directly and indirectly.

I found the book very well written with no grammatical errors. Although, I was not fond of its use of heavy drugs and alcohol which I strongly advocate against. In all, I still rate it a 4 out of 4.

I highly recommend this book to lovers of Sci-Fi, AI, robots and complex plots. Readers who also enjoy plots with strong women fighting through society will find this a good addition to their collection.

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