Review by holsam_87 -- Final Notice by Van Fleisher

This forum is for volunteer reviews by members of our review team. These reviews are done voluntarily by the reviewers and are published in this forum, separate from the official professional reviews. These reviews are kept separate primarily because the same book may be reviewed by many different reviewers.
Forum rules
Authors and publishers are not able to post replies in the review topics.
Post Reply
User avatar
holsam_87
Posts: 858
Joined: 03 Feb 2018, 15:45
Currently Reading: The Unbound Soul
Bookshelf Size: 1691
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-holsam-87.html
Latest Review: Herai by Aaron D Key
Reading Device: B00IKPYKWG

Review by holsam_87 -- Final Notice by Van Fleisher

Post by holsam_87 »

[Following is a volunteer review of "Final Notice" by Van Fleisher.]
Book Cover
4 out of 4 stars
Share This Review


Final Notice by Van Fleisher talks about what people would do if they knew that they were going to die, whether they would get their personal information and will in order or they would exact revenge on someone by killing them through gun violence. A company develops a sports watch, called a VT2 that would monitor the well being of a person, and if their health declined enough, they would receive a notice that was telling them when their death would come. To get more data from the users, the company decided to have their testers be senior citizens. Alongside all of this, there is also a lot talk about gun control and whether it would be necessary to have a gun or not. A lot of pros and cons were presented on having a gun would be good or not, but it leans more to what the author believes.

I don't want to give away too much, but the information is presented in a fairly compelling way. It is done in a way that I thought was tasteful. People should read the book themselves to get the full idea of what the book is about. Since it was well done, I give would the book 4 out of 4 stars. However, the information that was presented about guns was definitely done in a way that would not appeal to people that don't believe in gun control and are worried that guns will be taken away altogether.

There's also the fact that racism against immigrants was explored some too. Mostly just the fact that a lot of individuals were of victims of hate crimes. Personally, I don't know any immigrants but I think that the immigration laws should be reformed in a way that is easier for families to come to the United States. Out of curiosity, I looked up information on how much it costs to become a legal immigrant and I saw that it was over $1,000. https://legalbeagle.com/5378708-much-co ... grant.html breaks down all of the steps that an immigrant needs to do to get here and it should be up to date because the copyright year was 2018.

Perhaps the most interesting thing that was brought up was the idea of a watch that could measure a person's vitals in real time through the technology presented in the watches that were created by the fictional company. The idea of the watch doesn't seem that far off and it was well researched too. It's just the idea of what a person would do if they knew that they only so many days before they die was a bit equivocal because it really showed the character of the individuals that received the final notice alert. It doesn't seem right to know when your demise will be, it is better to live life to the fullest and to not dwell on what could have been and what should have been.

Having this book be our book of the month seemed to be an interesting course of events. Was it chosen before the most recent shooting in Florida or was it just a coincidence that it was chosen after this incident? It must have been intentional, especially since the author gives money to organizations that are working toward better gun control. It was an interesting book that I will recommend to others to give a try.

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

Like holsam_87's review? Post a comment saying so!
Samantha Holtsclaw

“We’ve all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That’s who we really are.”

—J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Latest Review: Herai by Aaron D Key
User avatar
Libs_Books
Posts: 755
Joined: 13 Feb 2018, 12:54
Favorite Book: The year of the flood
Currently Reading: Mason Dixon
Bookshelf Size: 273
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-libs-books.html
Latest Review: Dont Panic Its Organic by Dr. Andy Lopez

Post by Libs_Books »

Thanks for a very clear review. I agree that the timing of the 'Book of the Month' choice was very interesting, but they are picked some way in advance, aren't they? It's difficult to talk about the ending without giving away spoilers, isn't it? Personally, I loved the ending and felt it made reading the whole book worthwhile.
User avatar
kfwilson6
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 2065
Joined: 14 Feb 2018, 15:30
Currently Reading: Lord of Chaos
Bookshelf Size: 298
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-kfwilson6.html
Latest Review: The Stone Wall Crossing by Alice Schellhorn Magrane
Reading Device: B00JG8GOWU

Post by kfwilson6 »

Libs_Books wrote: 16 Mar 2018, 08:47 Thanks for a very clear review. I agree that the timing of the 'Book of the Month' choice was very interesting, but they are picked some way in advance, aren't they? It's difficult to talk about the ending without giving away spoilers, isn't it? Personally, I loved the ending and felt it made reading the whole book worthwhile.
I completely agree! The ending was AWESOME. I was really drawn in by the concept of the VT2 and wasn't deterred by the comments I saw about all of the political content. I don't have strong views about gun control. My thought really is so idealistic: I wish we could just make sure the people who are using them for the right reasons have them and criminals do not. Ah, to live in a perfect world. This book was chockfull of meaningful content that the author presented so well. I thought it was well in sync with the storyline about VitalTech's testing. I think it is probably very challenging to present so much depth but in such an intriguing way.
kdstrack
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 6473
Joined: 10 May 2017, 19:49
Currently Reading: The Savior
Bookshelf Size: 530
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-kdstrack.html
Latest Review: How To Be Successful by M. Curtis McCoy

Post by kdstrack »

I was also intrigued about the dilemma the author presents. Does knowing you are near death produce feelings of revenge or were those feelings already there and the circumstances make it easy to act on them? Nice review.
User avatar
holsam_87
Posts: 858
Joined: 03 Feb 2018, 15:45
Currently Reading: The Unbound Soul
Bookshelf Size: 1691
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-holsam-87.html
Latest Review: Herai by Aaron D Key
Reading Device: B00IKPYKWG

Post by holsam_87 »

I appreciate the kind words from all three of you, considering the fact that this book touched on a lot of touchy subjects. I feel like a lot of people that I interact with would only see one side of the subject and then immediately write off Final Notice as part of the "liberal agenda." It depresses me because a lot of people seem to miss the point, that safety should come first and not the rights that the Second Amendment affords here in the United States.
Samantha Holtsclaw

“We’ve all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That’s who we really are.”

—J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Latest Review: Herai by Aaron D Key
Post Reply

Return to “Volunteer Reviews”