ARA Review by Linnea Tanner of Final Notice
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Linnea Tanner
- Posts: 104
- Joined: 13 May 2017, 15:49
- Favorite Book: Apollo's Raven
- Currently Reading: Shadow of the Raven (Book I of Sons of Kings trilogy)
- Bookshelf Size: 360
ARA Review by Linnea Tanner of Final Notice
[Following is an OnlineBookClub.org ARA Review of the book, Final Notice.]
The Prologue asks, “What would you do if you knew – for certain – that you had one week to live.” Van Fleisher’s science fiction thriller, Final Notice, explores this possibility when a technological guru, Vijay Patel, invents the ground-breaking watch, VT2. This is a user friendly device that can measure, analyze, diagnose, and even predict complex health issues. This is a dream come true. The device is ahead of its time and could lead to one of the largest IPOs in recent histories. But there is a fierce debate on whether to include a controversial capability: give the user “Final Notice” that death will occur within a selected number of days based on irreversible trends in the person’s health.
Based on initial testing in one hundred people between the ages of 65 and 90 around the country, there are disturbing findings that a few of the participants were involved in murders shortly after they received their 7-day Final Notices. The murders draw the attention of the FBI and news reporters. Are these murders random coincidences or a potential risk the developers had not expected? The intrigue heightens when the developers decide to expand the number of participants in their beta testing and to test whether the variable of gun ownership increases the risk of participants choosing revenge as their last act before they die.
The story is effectively told from an omniscient view point of the narrator, i.e the author, who holds strong political beliefs regarding gun control. The author weaves several sub-plots together by using the perspectives of VT2 developers, law enforcement, news agencies, participants in the study, and survivors of these murders. The story kept me in suspense on what participants would choose as their final act before they died. There were some unexpected twists I had not anticipated.
In the beginning, it was difficult to get into the story because the points of views changed frequently, sometimes in the same chapter. However, after the myriad of characters were introduced, I found them engaging. By the end of the story, I cared about each of these characters and understood what motivated them. At one point, I chuckled when the narrator openly said he didn’t know how to handle a sex scene between Vijay and one of his associates. The book was well edited, and I only found a couple of editorial mistakes.
Although this is a science fiction book, it has modern-day relevance on the issues of gun control. It highlights marketing practices of gun manufacturers and some of the ramifications that survivors of mass murder suffer afterwards, including harassment from NRA members. At times, the narrator’s political viewpoint comes across as heavy. This is definitely a thought-provoking book that gun rights activists would consider controversial. Nonetheless, the author demonstrates that he has done extensive research to support his writing.
Overall, I found Final Notice to be an intriguing and thought-providing read that explores the universal question that, if you only had a few days to live, what would be your last act. It has political intrigue culminating in unexpected twists. Without hesitation, I give this novel 5 out of 5 stars. I recommend it to readers who enjoy suspense with the modern day relevance of gun control.
***
View Final Notice on Bookshelves
The Prologue asks, “What would you do if you knew – for certain – that you had one week to live.” Van Fleisher’s science fiction thriller, Final Notice, explores this possibility when a technological guru, Vijay Patel, invents the ground-breaking watch, VT2. This is a user friendly device that can measure, analyze, diagnose, and even predict complex health issues. This is a dream come true. The device is ahead of its time and could lead to one of the largest IPOs in recent histories. But there is a fierce debate on whether to include a controversial capability: give the user “Final Notice” that death will occur within a selected number of days based on irreversible trends in the person’s health.
Based on initial testing in one hundred people between the ages of 65 and 90 around the country, there are disturbing findings that a few of the participants were involved in murders shortly after they received their 7-day Final Notices. The murders draw the attention of the FBI and news reporters. Are these murders random coincidences or a potential risk the developers had not expected? The intrigue heightens when the developers decide to expand the number of participants in their beta testing and to test whether the variable of gun ownership increases the risk of participants choosing revenge as their last act before they die.
The story is effectively told from an omniscient view point of the narrator, i.e the author, who holds strong political beliefs regarding gun control. The author weaves several sub-plots together by using the perspectives of VT2 developers, law enforcement, news agencies, participants in the study, and survivors of these murders. The story kept me in suspense on what participants would choose as their final act before they died. There were some unexpected twists I had not anticipated.
In the beginning, it was difficult to get into the story because the points of views changed frequently, sometimes in the same chapter. However, after the myriad of characters were introduced, I found them engaging. By the end of the story, I cared about each of these characters and understood what motivated them. At one point, I chuckled when the narrator openly said he didn’t know how to handle a sex scene between Vijay and one of his associates. The book was well edited, and I only found a couple of editorial mistakes.
Although this is a science fiction book, it has modern-day relevance on the issues of gun control. It highlights marketing practices of gun manufacturers and some of the ramifications that survivors of mass murder suffer afterwards, including harassment from NRA members. At times, the narrator’s political viewpoint comes across as heavy. This is definitely a thought-provoking book that gun rights activists would consider controversial. Nonetheless, the author demonstrates that he has done extensive research to support his writing.
Overall, I found Final Notice to be an intriguing and thought-providing read that explores the universal question that, if you only had a few days to live, what would be your last act. It has political intrigue culminating in unexpected twists. Without hesitation, I give this novel 5 out of 5 stars. I recommend it to readers who enjoy suspense with the modern day relevance of gun control.
***
View Final Notice on Bookshelves
