Review of Final Notice

[Yasmine ZM]

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

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5 out of 5 stars

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Final Notice by Van Fleisher is a work of fiction that gets hold of you, captivates you, and you can’t put it down.

A medical doctor who is also a fitness enthusiast developed a fitness tracking device VitalTech2, or commonly known as VT2. It monitors your health 24/7, and comes with a one-of-a-kind function, the Final Notice. This function predicts your death 30 days, 20 days, or 10 days prior depending on the setting you choose. The watch is still on trial, and was given to a limited number of people in a study. Major complications arose, and the FBI got involved; although the watch could monitor people’s health perfectly to the point of predicting an accurate day of death, there is no way to predict how people will ever react to the dreadful notice of their own death. The question in the prologue sums it well: what would you do if you knew – for certain – that you had one week to live?

In American cities, many senior citizens are victims of unprovoked physical, or verbal abuse. They feel pushed over, and disrespected by the youth. In response to these acts of violence, the NRA (National Rifle Association) launched a promotion for senior citizens; they can buy a gun at a discounted, attractive price.

Vince and Trudi, a retired couple, are contemplating owning a gun after realizing how vulnerable they could be against any attack, or if anyone breaks into their home.

The author kept the suspense alive, and the pace high; there are unexpected twists and turns, nothing was predictable, and the reader will be kept intrigued until the end.

The author’s writing style is powerful. He makes everything so real and palpable. Van Fleisher did a brilliant job with this book, I wonder if he will be able to keep up the good work with the other two books of the trilogy; I cannot wait to read all of them.

The important characters are well-developed. In overall I am impressed at the number of themes the author managed to include in his book. All are relevant in the modern day, and to the American society. These themes include gun control, safety, retirement, healthcare, death, technology, corporate world, crimes and investigation, immigration, and the list goes on. The present social and political atmosphere in the US is presented through interesting dialogues between people from different walks of life. I like the fact that he gives us an insight through multiple sets of characters into people's lives, their challenges, their fears, their achievements, and the consequences of their actions. Luckily it is not a grim picture of an ailing society; the author did not dwell on the macabre side of death, no! There are happy couples, successful people, achievements, and praises as well as failures, and disappointments. The story has a constant and good pace. Whether you live in a society with similar issues or not, the characters in the book can be relatable at various degrees.

The book has a prologue, a table of content, an epilogue, an author’s note, and finally an excerpt from the sequel. I like that there is also a questionnaire from the author for book clubs, nice touch!

What I didn't like much, there was much praise for Apple products; I wondered if Apple was sponsoring the book. I wish the author was neutral about this.

Here is an interesting fact about the author, Van Fleisher; he had two previous long careers with an airline, and in management consulting during which he spent a lot of time on planes and airports. His first novel came after retirement. He wrote: “the antidote to terminal boredom was reading, and I judged authors by how well they distracted me… and how short they could make a long flight feel”.
I guess he achieved this goal for his novel which, I am sure, will assist many passengers in enduring their long flights.

I rate Final Notice by Van Fleisher 5 out of 5 stars. There is no reason to reduce the rating. The book is professionally edited, and I absolutely enjoyed reading this novel. I also learned a lot and it gave me a different perspective on the reason why so many Americans want to carry guns. I would also like to add that it would make a very good movie.

I would recommend this book to all readers because there is a mix of genres near-future science-fiction, thriller, etc. But, it is not for young readers as the themes might be too sensible, there is also a brief sexual scene and some profanity towards the end. Readers who experienced trauma related to shooting should also avoid it.

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Final Notice
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[witcherTOM]

Wow, your review is interesting. Totally love the way you put this.

[Nkem Blessing]

Your review is great. I gave much details about the book.. imagine someone knowing when he or she will die. I will go for this book.

[Diana Lowery]

I also wondered about the Apple endorsement when I read this book, but I still enjoyed the story.

[Navera A]

All that praise for Apple sounds odd indeed, but I'm glad you enjoyed the rest of the story. Thanks for the great review!

[Kajori Sheryl Paul]

A very detailed review. Thank you!
I, too, felt that the endorsement for Apple was a tad too much.