TERMS OF SERVICE by Ciel Pierlot (BOOK REVIEW)

When her cousin gets kidnapped by a dastardly trickster, Luzia is forced to sell herself in servitude to the Eoi in exchange for his life. But the terms of the deal turn out to be much more complicated than she ever imagined…

Luzia N.E. Drainway never really thought too much about the Astrosi. They lurk above and below Bastion City – a giant multileveled megalopolis she calls her home – and they tend to keep to themselves. On the rare occasions they use their magics to meddle with human affairs, most people with an ounce of sense steer clear of whichever unfortunate soul happens to be their victim. Luzia is far too dedicated to repairing and maintaining the frequently-damaged Bastion to pay them much attention, and prefers to ignore the Astrosi just like everyone else.

That disregard gets blown out of the water when a rogue Astrosi and nefarious trickster named Carrion kidnaps her nephew and sells him to the Eoi, one of the Astrosi courts.

With no other options to save her nephew, Luzia trades her life for his and finds herself in service to the Eoi. Unfortunately for her, Astrosi logic is acrobatic in ways even the most devious human mind can barely comprehend. It’s not until the deal is struck that she realizes she’s trapped in the most abstruse verbal contract imaginable. She is essentially conscripted into their ranks, and her devotion to her city becomes stretched to breaking point by her new masters’ orders.

As she struggles under this weight, she begins to uncover the secrets of the Astrosi people – the internal battles for power between the two kingdoms, the never-ending conflict between them, the trickster Carrion who somehow bridges that gap, and the very nature of the Bastion itself.

Ciel Pierlot is fast becoming one of my favourite authors. I was extremely keen to read Terms of Service after enjoying The Hunter’s Gambit immensely, and while this is a very different book, it’s just as much fun.

Following heroine Luzia into the depths below her heavily industrial city in search of her lost cousin, we discover that this isn’t just a protagonist ‘going outside’ to discover the truth about their world. This is more akin to Dorothy finding Oz – if it were beneath her feet!

Issues of class, wealth, politics as a whole and other such important ‘real-world’ matters unfold with an almost Dickensian flair, never becoming overwhelming, simply seen through the eyes of a very confused – albeit smart – woman. The characters are relatable (if sometimes weird!) and the fantasy worlds that we encounter, both above and below ground, are incredibly well-realised. I’m pretty sure I could draw a rough map of the areas that Luzia encounters, including the departments, camps and ‘families’ along the way.

The plot moves forward at a brisk pace but never feels rushed. There’s the urgency of Luzia’s constantly-changing quest, as multi-faceted as the societies she discovers, and I honestly felt as if I was there with her in spirit: yes, often lost, but also focused and determined to do her best amidst the strangeness. I found myself cheering her victories more than once.

Unusual in the best way, Terms of Service is extremely original, so very imaginative, and always human. A definite recommend, and an author to watch enthusiastically.

Fantasy-Hive

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TERMS OF SERVICE by Ciel Pierlot (BOOK REVIEW)

Terms of Service is available now – you can order your copy on Bookshop.org

Cat Treadwell

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