Review of Final Notice

[Stephen Christopher 1]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Final Notice" by Van Fleisher.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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If you knew for sure that you only had 10 days left to live, what would you do? Would you party like it was 1999? Would you donate everything you had to the homeless? Or would you seek revenge on people who had hurt you?

This question is the premise for Van Fleisher’s Final Notice, the first book in The Final Trilogy series. The novel centers around gun ownership, the escalating gun violence in the US, and the far-reaching power of the NRA.

The Final Notice concept of the book comes from a smartwatch named the VT2, which continually analyzes a person’s blood and can predict for certainty when they’ll die — from natural causes only. As people in the story get their Final Notice, they make choices they wouldn’t ordinarily make.

What I enjoyed about the book was the topical subject of gun ownership in the US, and the author’s feelings about the NRA are solid and evident throughout. The other thing I loved was the VT2 smartwatch. This kind of technology isn’t far off, and this is an exciting concept to base a series of novels around.

The relationship between the two protagonists is a joy to experience; the humor they share, matched with years of companionship, is a delight to read. Their story will have readers grinning from ear to ear one moment, then fighting back the tears the next.

What I didn’t like so much was that I found the overt product placement a little off-putting. Do we need to know that Vince specifically went to Starbucks minutes after buying an iMac at the Apple store, closely followed by his wife, who’d just bought a new pair of Nikes? It continued most of the first half of the book but died off after that.

Also, some of the characters were ‘too good to be true.’ For example, the head of the tech company has a Ph.D. from MIT, a medical degree from Harvard, and can run the Boston Marathon in the top 15th percentile. The business development executive has a finance degree from Stanford, an MBA from Harvard, and almost qualified for the US Olympic team, oh and she also happens to be ‘drop-dead gorgeous.’ None of these people have any flaws; they’re too perfect. This trend continues throughout the book, and at times I felt myself rolling my eyes, thinking, “Oh, here we go again.”

It’s for these reasons that I can’t rate the book with the highest score possible. Despite the fascinating storyline that kept my interest to the very end, these other things detracted too much from my enjoyment, so I’m giving it 4 out of 5 stars.

As I spotted only one punctuation error, I appreciate that the book was well edited.

This story would suit readers who are interested to know more about gun violence in the US and/or lovers of new gadgets. I wouldn’t recommend this to younger readers as there are adult themes that may be inappropriate. Also, anyone sensitive to school or nursing home shootings may be best to give this one a miss. Despite the detractions, I plan to continue reading the rest of the series as the plot has me hooked.

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Final Notice
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[Bettny Andrade]

I was just going to review this book, but there was an error when downloading it. I really like action novels and I found it very interesting.

According to your review this is a very good read full of emotion. It is a very good recommendation and I would like to read it soon.

[Stephen Christopher 1]

I was just going to review this book, but there was an error when downloading it. I really like action novels and I found it very interesting.

According to your review this is a very good read full of emotion. It is a very good recommendation and I would like to read it soon.

Oh I hope you can sort out the download problem as it's a great book. I've just reviewed the sequel Final Act which I thought was even better than the first book. I'd love to hear your thoughts once you finish it.

[Catalina Isabel]

This sounds like an interesting book, and I can imagine having a VT2 would be intriguing but scary at the same time. I like the plot, but interesting to hear about the product placement and too-perfect people. Thanks for a great and informative review!

[Stephen Christopher 1]

This sounds like an interesting book, and I can imagine having a VT2 would be intriguing but scary at the same time. I like the plot, but interesting to hear about the product placement and too-perfect people. Thanks for a great and informative review!

Yes, the VT2 is a fantastic idea, but as you say, it's a bit scary. It gets an 'upgrade' in book 2 and that's actually quite exciting, I hope they bring it to the real market some day. Thanks for reading my review.

[Nisha DSouza]

What I didn’t like so much was that I found the overt product placement a little off-putting. Do we need to know that Vince specifically went to Starbucks minutes after buying an iMac at the Apple store, closely followed by his wife, who’d just bought a new pair of Nikes? It continued most of the first half of the book but died off after that.

Also, some of the characters were ‘too good to be true.’ For example, the head of the tech company has a Ph.D. from MIT, a medical degree from Harvard, and can run the Boston Marathon in the top 15th percentile. The business development executive has a finance degree from Stanford, an MBA from Harvard, and almost qualified for the US Olympic team, oh and she also happens to be ‘drop-dead gorgeous.’ None of these people have any flaws; they’re too perfect. This trend continues throughout the book, and at times I felt myself rolling my eyes, thinking, “Oh, here we go again.”

I must say these are some keen observations. I am impressed.

Although I like the storyline, I am against gun violence. So I think I will skip this one. Thank you for this incredible review.

[Stephen Christopher 1]

What I didn’t like so much was that I found the overt product placement a little off-putting. Do we need to know that Vince specifically went to Starbucks minutes after buying an iMac at the Apple store, closely followed by his wife, who’d just bought a new pair of Nikes? It continued most of the first half of the book but died off after that.

Also, some of the characters were ‘too good to be true.’ For example, the head of the tech company has a Ph.D. from MIT, a medical degree from Harvard, and can run the Boston Marathon in the top 15th percentile. The business development executive has a finance degree from Stanford, an MBA from Harvard, and almost qualified for the US Olympic team, oh and she also happens to be ‘drop-dead gorgeous.’ None of these people have any flaws; they’re too perfect. This trend continues throughout the book, and at times I felt myself rolling my eyes, thinking, “Oh, here we go again.”

I must say these are some keen observations. I am impressed.

Although I like the storyline, I am against gun violence. So I think I will skip this one. Thank you for this incredible review.

Yes, all of these things annoyed me so much in this book. Thankfully, in the sequel, there's no more product placement, the characters now have flaws, and the gun violence takes a back seat to internet privacy. I highly recommend the second one.

[Nisha DSouza]

It's really commendable that the author listened to his readers' feedback and implemented the changes in his next book.

[MAHAD BAIG MIRZA]

This review adeptly navigates the novel's exploration of topical issues like gun violence while balancing praise for its technological concepts and character dynamics, though noting some reservations about product placement and character idealization, ultimately leading to a balanced assessment.

[Harshitha G B]

Some themes of the book are enjoyable to certain audience, soo this review gives picture of storyline, development and guns being main character of the book.

[Kshitija Sonawane]

Wait! The idea is so good! Why has it not popped up so many times already. It sounds such an obvious thing that there should be a sub-genre about this within sci-fi but wow I liked this book. Yes, the characters you mentioned do sound one dimensional with no flaws in them.

[Following is a volunteer review of "Final Notice" by Van Fleisher.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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Share This Review

---

If you knew for sure that you only had 10 days left to live, what would you do? Would you party like it was 1999? Would you donate everything you had to the homeless? Or would you seek revenge on people who had hurt you?

This question is the premise for Van Fleisher’s Final Notice, the first book in The Final Trilogy series. The novel centers around gun ownership, the escalating gun violence in the US, and the far-reaching power of the NRA.

The Final Notice concept of the book comes from a smartwatch named the VT2, which continually analyzes a person’s blood and can predict for certainty when they’ll die — from natural causes only. As people in the story get their Final Notice, they make choices they wouldn’t ordinarily make.

What I enjoyed about the book was the topical subject of gun ownership in the US, and the author’s feelings about the NRA are solid and evident throughout. The other thing I loved was the VT2 smartwatch. This kind of technology isn’t far off, and this is an exciting concept to base a series of novels around.

The relationship between the two protagonists is a joy to experience; the humor they share, matched with years of companionship, is a delight to read. Their story will have readers grinning from ear to ear one moment, then fighting back the tears the next.

What I didn’t like so much was that I found the overt product placement a little off-putting. Do we need to know that Vince specifically went to Starbucks minutes after buying an iMac at the Apple store, closely followed by his wife, who’d just bought a new pair of Nikes? It continued most of the first half of the book but died off after that.

Also, some of the characters were ‘too good to be true.’ For example, the head of the tech company has a Ph.D. from MIT, a medical degree from Harvard, and can run the Boston Marathon in the top 15th percentile. The business development executive has a finance degree from Stanford, an MBA from Harvard, and almost qualified for the US Olympic team, oh and she also happens to be ‘drop-dead gorgeous.’ None of these people have any flaws; they’re too perfect. This trend continues throughout the book, and at times I felt myself rolling my eyes, thinking, “Oh, here we go again.”

It’s for these reasons that I can’t rate the book with the highest score possible. Despite the fascinating storyline that kept my interest to the very end, these other things detracted too much from my enjoyment, so I’m giving it 4 out of 5 stars.

As I spotted only one punctuation error, I appreciate that the book was well edited.

This story would suit readers who are interested to know more about gun violence in the US and/or lovers of new gadgets. I wouldn’t recommend this to younger readers as there are adult themes that may be inappropriate. Also, anyone sensitive to school or nursing home shootings may be best to give this one a miss. Despite the detractions, I plan to continue reading the rest of the series as the plot has me hooked.

******
Final Notice
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[Stephen Christopher 1]

Wait! The idea is so good! Why has it not popped up so many times already. It sounds such an obvious thing that there should be a sub-genre about this within sci-fi but wow I liked this book. Yes, the characters you mentioned do sound one dimensional with no flaws in them.

I think we'll have this device in our lifetime, maybe it's already been developed. Yes the characters are much more fleshed out in the second book, and I'm excited for the third.

[Chi Chiu Michael Mak]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Final Notice" by Van Fleisher.]

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4 out of 5 stars

---

Share This Review

---

If you knew for sure that you only had 10 days left to live, what would you do? Would you party like it was 1999? Would you donate everything you had to the homeless? Or would you seek revenge on people who had hurt you?

This question is the premise for Van Fleisher’s Final Notice, the first book in The Final Trilogy series. The novel centers around gun ownership, the escalating gun violence in the US, and the far-reaching power of the NRA.

The Final Notice concept of the book comes from a smartwatch named the VT2, which continually analyzes a person’s blood and can predict for certainty when they’ll die — from natural causes only. As people in the story get their Final Notice, they make choices they wouldn’t ordinarily make.

What I enjoyed about the book was the topical subject of gun ownership in the US, and the author’s feelings about the NRA are solid and evident throughout. The other thing I loved was the VT2 smartwatch. This kind of technology isn’t far off, and this is an exciting concept to base a series of novels around.

The relationship between the two protagonists is a joy to experience; the humor they share, matched with years of companionship, is a delight to read. Their story will have readers grinning from ear to ear one moment, then fighting back the tears the next.

What I didn’t like so much was that I found the overt product placement a little off-putting. Do we need to know that Vince specifically went to Starbucks minutes after buying an iMac at the Apple store, closely followed by his wife, who’d just bought a new pair of Nikes? It continued most of the first half of the book but died off after that.

Also, some of the characters were ‘too good to be true.’ For example, the head of the tech company has a Ph.D. from MIT, a medical degree from Harvard, and can run the Boston Marathon in the top 15th percentile. The business development executive has a finance degree from Stanford, an MBA from Harvard, and almost qualified for the US Olympic team, oh and she also happens to be ‘drop-dead gorgeous.’ None of these people have any flaws; they’re too perfect. This trend continues throughout the book, and at times I felt myself rolling my eyes, thinking, “Oh, here we go again.”

It’s for these reasons that I can’t rate the book with the highest score possible. Despite the fascinating storyline that kept my interest to the very end, these other things detracted too much from my enjoyment, so I’m giving it 4 out of 5 stars.

As I spotted only one punctuation error, I appreciate that the book was well edited.

This story would suit readers who are interested to know more about gun violence in the US and/or lovers of new gadgets. I wouldn’t recommend this to younger readers as there are adult themes that may be inappropriate. Also, anyone sensitive to school or nursing home shootings may be best to give this one a miss. Despite the detractions, I plan to continue reading the rest of the series as the plot has me hooked.

******
Final Notice
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

I have been watching a cartoon series about a boy heroing with his watch. What's the deal with making watches supernatural and plot relevant? I am curious to know how this watch connects with the issues of guns.

[Stephen Christopher 1]

I have been watching a cartoon series about a boy heroing with his watch. What's the deal with making watches supernatural and plot relevant? I am curious to know how this watch connects with the issues of guns.

I use my sportswatch to monitor my sleep, breathing, heart rate etc, so the concept of it being able to do more resonated with me so much. The gun violence is the author's comment on the US's right to bear arms which means many people have guns and may not be responsible enough to know right from wrong.