Overall rating and opinion of "Final Notice" by Van Fleisher

VictoriaMcMillen · Post by **VictoriaMcMillen** » 25 Mar 2018, 21:05

mnmueller wrote: ↑07 Mar 2018, 14:51 I have read through a good portion of the book, but I don't think I'll finish it. I don't find the writing style engaging. While the premise was originally interesting, I think the whole thing has been handled badly. I can't say that I've connected to a single character, for good or bad.

The only impending death I was at all interested in was Vince and that was only because that is not something you hear about people in the US dying from very often, even though it's something that you hear mentioned fairly often. That may be because I lived in a rural community for a long time and they take such situations seriously.

Other than that, I didn't care. I couldn't understand some of the motivations given by people for various decisions they made. From what I read, there seems to be an anti-gun sentiment to the book, but the deaths lacked enough emotional power to make a good case.

Since I didn't finish it, I can't give it a rating. I can say that it felt like a waste of potential.

Having read your take on things, I now agree with you. I loved the book, it was interesting to me. The problem for me was the thick layer of anti-NRA, caked on each page. It was hard to try to get around to really "feel" the characters because of the allegations against the NRA were unrealistic to me. It seemed the characters blamed the NRA more than any one person. They didn't even hardly blame the government for the situation. It seemed to be all the NRA... That was the bothersome issue for me.

lesler · Post by **lesler** » 25 Mar 2018, 22:47

It was excellent. It hit a lot of nerves, especially on gun ownership and school shootings, but the author did a great job writing without offending everyone.

R-g-R · Post by **R-g-R** » 26 Mar 2018, 06:38

I enjoyed the sample and was intrigued by the plot and concept so bought the book to read. It’s been great; very thought-provoking, with its range of issues explored, such as: gun usage, immigration, seniors, technology, and the Final Notice. I found the book was appropriately measured, with realistic and interesting characters, who discussed some of the major issues and were also thrown into the middle of them. I liked that the main couple are seniors and readers view the world from their perspective. While I enjoyed the non-traditional pairing of strong cover art gun image with seniors and technological advances, I wonder if some readers may expect faster paced action with younger characters? If so, it potentially shows a stereotypical perspective, whereas I am glad to see stereotypes being broken.

Those who are interested in exploring current issues and end-of-life questions within a crime/thriller context will enjoy this book. Readers interested in future technology should definitely have a look, and seniors will love the story.

kfwilson6 · Post by **kfwilson6** » 26 Mar 2018, 10:58

Eileen R wrote: ↑18 Mar 2018, 03:13 This book is in my "want to read list". It seems interesting. I love a good thriller!

I think the term "thriller" is a little misleading. I would not have considered this a thriller although the concept of people committing homicides after receiving their impending death warning and the cover art definitely give the impression it is a thriller. It is still a wonderful book, but please be warned it's not like your typical murder mystery or psychological thriller. It has heavy political commentary intermingled with the action. Check out some of the reviews to make sure you aren't misguided about what this book is about. I recommend it but not from the perspective of a fan of thrillers.

Emmanae · Post by **Emmanae** » 27 Mar 2018, 13:20

kfwilson6 wrote: ↑26 Mar 2018, 10:58
Eileen R wrote: ↑18 Mar 2018, 03:13 This book is in my "want to read list". It seems interesting. I love a good thriller!
I think the term "thriller" is a little misleading. I would not have considered this a thriller although the concept of people committing homicides after receiving their impending death warning and the cover art definitely give the impression it is a thriller. It is still a wonderful book, but please be warned it's not like your typical murder mystery or psychological thriller. It has heavy political commentary intermingled with the action. Check out some of the reviews to make sure you aren't misguided about what this book is about. I recommend it but not from the perspective of a fan of thrillers.

See, and I felt like it was a thriller, because the whole time I was like "What's Vince going to do? Is he going to survive, is he going to kill someone?!"

VictoriaMcMillen · Post by **VictoriaMcMillen** » 28 Mar 2018, 14:57

Farmgurl1 wrote: ↑05 Mar 2018, 17:22 This book is an emotional roller coaster. The book is on the surface about a doctor who creates a watch that monitors a person's health and alters them if they are soon going to die. However, the social messages in this book go way beyond the watch. This book is about corrupt politicians, the media and "fake news", and definitely portrays the NRA as a vile and evil entity. I like the fact that the book really makes you think about gun control laws but the book is really slow at some points and seems to drag on in parts unnecessarily.

I like your take on the book. I also agree about the emotional roller coaster. That part was what had me flipping pages. Some parts did seem to drag on, building my anticipation from the last chapters events to unfold... I like how you saw the underlying themes more important than the main plot of the story- the watch. I think the watch could be compared to any random text or email we could get during the day... any sequence of events can set a human off. The watch, even though the mode in which we sailed through to get these understandings, was irrelevant in the bigger picture of the story. Thank you for your thoughts!

VictoriaMcMillen · Post by **VictoriaMcMillen** » 28 Mar 2018, 15:01

R-g-R wrote: ↑26 Mar 2018, 06:38 I enjoyed the sample and was intrigued by the plot and concept so bought the book to read. It’s been great; very thought-provoking, with its range of issues explored, such as: gun usage, immigration, seniors, technology, and the Final Notice. I found the book was appropriately measured, with realistic and interesting characters, who discussed some of the major issues and were also thrown into the middle of them. I liked that the main couple are seniors and readers view the world from their perspective. While I enjoyed the non-traditional pairing of strong cover art gun image with seniors and technological advances, I wonder if some readers may expect faster paced action with younger characters? If so, it potentially shows a stereotypical perspective, whereas I am glad to see stereotypes being broken.

Those who are interested in exploring current issues and end-of-life questions within a crime/thriller context will enjoy this book. Readers interested in future technology should definitely have a look, and seniors will love the story.

I appreciate your perspective on the novel. I also appreciated that we were able to see these problems from the perspectives of senior citizens, as I do not often hear from them on these issues. I especially like the diversity of senior characters and the way it was used as a platform to end stereotypes of other races and immigrants. Thanks for your post!

VictoriaMcMillen · Post by **VictoriaMcMillen** » 28 Mar 2018, 15:06

lesler wrote: ↑25 Mar 2018, 22:47 It was excellent. It hit a lot of nerves, especially on gun ownership and school shootings, but the author did a great job writing without offending everyone.

I also have my own strong views about all these ugly happenings in America. I was very happy at the end of the book, on how well the book worked toward mending divides, stereotypes, and misunderstandings. Thanks for your post!

Manang Muyang · Post by **Manang Muyang** » 28 Mar 2018, 18:36

I give the book 3 out of 4 stars. I enjoyed most of it, especially the love story of Vince and Trudi (forever happens, you know!). But the Apple/Mac advert was irritating and the typos distracting. I am for peace, so no guns for me.

britt13 · Post by **britt13** » 28 Mar 2018, 19:43

lori_parker2003 wrote: ↑01 Mar 2018, 09:26 Had trouble getting through the few pages they give to check out the book. Found it slow and I am a pro-gun person so this biased my view I think. Probably will not buy the book to read in full.

This book is very over the top preachy in my opinion. I have similar views as the author and even I found it to be a bit annoying. That being said though I always enjoy seeing what people on the other side of the argument have to say, so I am glad you at least got in on the forums!

britt13 · Post by **britt13** » 28 Mar 2018, 19:46

MsTri wrote: ↑01 Mar 2018, 12:47 Funnily enough, I got an invite in my email yesterday to review this book and I can't wait to get to it. I'm already staunchly on the side of stricter gun laws - NOT getting rid of them, just making it harder to get them - so I'm not even reading this as a dissertation on guns vs. no guns; I'm much more interested in reading about how various characters react to such devastating news. I hope to be able to add more to this discussion within the next couple of weeks, though I will say that I very much enjoyed the sample read and am at a 3/4; that's the best I can do not having finished it, yet.

I have not read through all the responses yet (there are so many of them on this thread) so I am sorry if you have already responded to this question, but what are your thoughts now? I also was super excited to read the book but felt that slip away rather quickly as I started to read.

Christina Rose · Post by **Christina Rose** » 28 Mar 2018, 23:30

ssmithy wrote: ↑06 Mar 2018, 17:57 I'm still reading the book but I've found it very thought-provoking and relevant to our political environment in the U.S. I have read through the Florida story and with each story my opinion on gun law changes. I think the author does a great job showcasing three different topics (gun law, technological advances, and mistreatment of the elderly) without being over-bearing. Because the author chose to have the story's main character be a curious tech-savvy older man we are able to be curious with him and see his point of view. So far it's a great book.

I’m still reading the book, as well. I agree that it is both relevant and thought-proving. I hope you’re still enjoying the read!

L-Bro · Post by **L-Bro** » 29 Mar 2018, 00:03

Over all this book was exciting mostly because there were so many thrilling topics that keep a person interested especially if you are a gun owner. I have had my own guns in my home when my doctors told me that I was dying without proper treatment and feel that I am more like the guy that would scare off the men hiding in a field. And back to my overall opinion I have to say that the end of the book made me shout the word, “NO" and then I turned the page to see the remaining explanation to who was where and healing with whom. This book was defiantly hard to close at the end of the day.

MsTri · Post by **MsTri** » 29 Mar 2018, 10:04

britt13 wrote: ↑28 Mar 2018, 19:46
MsTri wrote: ↑01 Mar 2018, 12:47 Funnily enough, I got an invite in my email yesterday to review this book and I can't wait to get to it. I'm already staunchly on the side of stricter gun laws - NOT getting rid of them, just making it harder to get them - so I'm not even reading this as a dissertation on guns vs. no guns; I'm much more interested in reading about how various characters react to such devastating news. I hope to be able to add more to this discussion within the next couple of weeks, though I will say that I very much enjoyed the sample read and am at a 3/4; that's the best I can do not having finished it, yet.
I have not read through all the responses yet (there are so many of them on this thread) so I am sorry if you have already responded to this question, but what are your thoughts now? I also was super excited to read the book but felt that slip away rather quickly as I started to read.

I actually followed up on page 8, but the gist of it is:

"I thought it was such a clever device and I loved that they were seniors; too many books feature the young or middle-aged, so it was very refreshing. I especially loved how in-love Vince and Trudi still were and how they flirted with each other!

As to the actual story -- I LOVED the concept of a watch predicting when the wearer would die, though I would definitely NOT want one. I also loved the attention paid to prejudice, both racial and age. I don't want to include any spoilers, but I will also add that I too loved the clever ending; brilliant!

As you'll see if you read my review, I gave it 3/4 stars, due to the multiple grammatical issues, but the story itself is definitely worth 4/4."

blsmith · Post by **blsmith** » 30 Mar 2018, 00:57

I just finished reading it and gave it a rating of 3/4. I thought the story itself was good. I liked his overall writing style, but the author's little side comments were a bit out of place. He did a decent job with the characters too. But for the love of ... EDITING!! I hope Mr. Fleisher didn't pay a lot for the editing because he did not get his money's worth. Or maybe he didn't pay a lot and he got what he paid for. Either way, he needs a better editor.