The Prophecy of the Heron

Terms of Service, Book 2

By: Craig W. Stanfill

Narrated by: Gill Mills

Length: 12 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

Never trust the shadows. Or a stranger. Or a friend. Welcome to District 33, a crime-infested slum in which only the strongest and most savvy can hope to survive.

1984 meets The Matrix in this gripping tale of a future in which freedom is dead, love is forbidden, and the artificial intelligences (AIs) watch your every move.

Their power seems unshakable, but things are never as they seem in this world of lies and illusion. Slowly but surely, they are going mad, and only Kim can stop it.

What really happened in the AI war? Who controls the AIs? What secrets lurk in the dark corners of the virtual world? Kim never set out to be a rebel; all she ever wanted was to settle down with Shan, but the AIs caught them in a flagrant act of unsanctioned intimacy, and now she has been exiled to the dangerous and decrepit outer districts.

Unbowed and defiant, she struggles to survive, even as the dark master of the AIs schemes to draw her back into her web of deception. Kim disappears into the shadows and thinks she has escaped—until an unexpected encounter in the enigmatic parallel world of virtual reality draws her back, setting up an epic confrontation in which the fate of the AIs and civilization itself may hang in the balance.

Drawing on images of decaying civilizations from classics such as Blade Runner and The Hunger Games, Stanfill creates a dark and forbidding world in which nothing is ever as it seems and the only way to survive is to claim the shadows as your own.

©2022 Craig Wilson Stanfill (P)2022 Craig Wilson Stanfill

loved it

fascinating look into AI, loved the concepts and the story, I look forward to more

Great story, amazing narration, but sometimes a little confusing

I’ve finally finished both novels and I loved the concept, the characters and the superb voice acting, which made the story that much more immersive. The initial character development and story was a bit slow in the beginning, but halfway through the first book, I began to feel for Kim and her struggle.

The entire story is very plausible, especially given the ubiquity of AI and the exponential growth of ChatGPT over the last year. Craig Stanfil’s inspiration is obvious and if you’ve read novels like 1984, Brave New World or Fahrenheit 451 and even Anthem by Ayn Rand, these two books will feel like a modernized version of all of them.

As much as I loved both books, there are a few minor criticisms I feel I should voice. At times, the story dragged a bit and some of the details seem like they could’ve been omitted to make the story flow more smoothly. Also, as amazing a job as the narrator did, there were a few things about her voice I found slightly irritating, possibly because of her pronunciation of some words, but also because she seemed to overemphasize certain things and sometimes the dialogue sounded too melodramatic or forced. This was merely my own experience and as I’d said, her voice acting skills are top notch and she did an amazing job.

One thing I will say is that I can see this story becoming either a very popular Netflix or HBO-type series and I wouldn’t be surprised if there weren’t already talks about this very thing, as the timing is perfect and I think sci-fi audiences would eat it up, if it was produced correctly and not made too cheesy. It would also be great as a live action RPG video game, much like “Detroit Become Human” or “Cyberpunk”

All in all both books were excellent and apart from my small criticisms, I think if you like sci-fi that’s chock full of computers and Blade Runner type imagery, you’ll love the story.