Review of Final Notice

[andika]

[Following is an OnlineBookClub.org ARA Review of the book, Final Notice.]

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1 out of 5 stars

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This is an anti -gun message wrapped up in the interesting concept that new software has been developed and packaged into a wearable wrist-watch/monitor called VT2. In addition to telling the time, VT2 monitors the wearer’s health and can transmit the details to the owner’s general practitioner.

If a wearer’s health deteriorates seriously, VT2 will issue a “Final Notice”, meaning that the wearer’s failing health will result in their death within the specified period. The wearer can pre-set the warning to be sent out 10, 20 or 30 days before death will occur. This is intended to give people time to put their affairs in order before they die. The novel then explores how wearers react to such “Final Notices”.

In an “Author’s Note” at the end of the book, the author writes that “my intent in writing this book was to highlight a few of the many critical issues facing our country today …” The issues raised are mainly:

a) Prejudice against immigrants from the Middle East and the Indian sub-continent,
b) The inability or unwillingness of the US government to limit gun ownership by exerting greater control over who may hold a license to own a gun, and to limit the type of guns they may own. The author argues that this is due to the influence of the National Rifle Association (NRA), and
c) The perception that the far right of the Republican Party, and the current President of the United States, are entirely prepared to disregard truth, fairness and common decency in their pursuit of greater power.

The storyline explores the idea that if a person knows when in the near future their life will end, then they may feel released from certain moral constraints and act in unexpected ways, for instance by killing people who have wronged them or whom they consider to be a threat to their family or to society.

The book is billed as a Thriller. Unfortunately, although the events occurring in the novel cannot be foreseen by the reader, the consequences are almost entirely predictable. And herein lies the problem: a thriller should have you sitting on the edge of your chair, wondering what is coming next. Reading this novel, you can lean back and relax. You can guess what’s coming.

The predictability is endemic: immigrants are invariably described as handsome or beautiful, highly intelligent, decent, honest and caring. And many have come through harrowing life experiences.

By contrast many of the non-immigrants we meet tend to be white, insensitive bullies. Writing about some extreme alt-right men: “It was difficult to say why any of these low-functioning morons were interested in Alabama’s education future …” Readers are not encouraged to form their own opinion, instead, they are belted over the head with the author’s. This reviewer happens to agree with many of the author’s views, but a little subtlety would not have gone amiss.

The book introduces a fairly large number of characters, but characters are not developed. They are generally just given a short description. Thus, one of the main characters, Vijay, falls in love with a woman named Jennifer: “In their own ways, they both stood out in crowds. Vijay was very tall and well-muscled, like a lithe wide receiver, with a full head of rich, dark hair, honey-hued skin, deep dark eyes, and a smile that would make an orthodontist proud …. Jennifer was his blond, light-eyed counterpart: tall and extremely fit, along with a matching … smile. Think California girl, plus the powerful intellect that shone from her earnest grey eyes.”

You can no more identify with the characters or understand them than you can understand what people think or feel by looking at their photos. Even the other main, recurring characters, seem unreal, and although you may understand the way they react, they don’t emerge as real-life people.

The idea of the VT2 monitor is clever, and how it can affect people given ‘Final Notice’ has enormous potential. Sadly, the potential is not realized.

The book would also benefit from some rigorous editing, viz.

Location 4549 & 4567 vs 4586: Dr Felder becomes Dr Feldman
Location 20234: The author writes about the British custom of “…calling doctors “doctors” until they reach a specialist level, where they become “mister” again”. No, only surgeons are called “mister”, a leftover from when surgeons originally trained as butchers
Location 32703 “Although it’s the capitol of Alabama” No, Montgomery is the capital of Alabama.
Location 39630 Vince and Trudi agree to “get rid of that damn gun” They had two guns, not one, and grammatically I think it should be those “damned” guns

I didn’t especially look for such errors, so there could be more.

I can only rate the novel a 1 out of 5 because none of the characters to my mind came to life and engaged me. The author’s passion about the issues raised is never in doubt, but his views are belted out in the manner the NRA belts out their views: they are thrust upon us and brook no doubt or questioning.

Finally, the story simply did not present itself as a thriller – I was never thrilled or excited – just relieved when I reached the end.


John Bottern
25/03/2019