Rating:  Summary: Term Limits Review: The book is so substantial it just boggles the mind. Mr. Flynn is an outstanding author. He is not so involved with detail or 1,000 usless facts. He gets to the point of the matter with with out having to beat around the bush. I personally enjoy that. He makes the book so picturesque, or I should say plot, that when reading the book you are on the edge of you seat.I would really like to see it as a movie.In my opinion people really open up and see the reality of our government. Or any place for that matter whether or not be it our own government. It could be about the 1800's England's romance period and he could flower it out with extremity. Congradulations Mr. Flynn.
Rating:  Summary: Term limits holds unlimited thrills. Review: I was given this book by a female friend, who is one of the biggest pacifists I have ever known. Right away this indicated to me that the author must have done an incredible job of storytelling.I was not disappointed. Flynn's story pulled me in so quickly, that I finished the book in three days and I was left me wanting more. His technical detail was excellent without being overpowering (Tom Clancy??), and I found the characters amazingly empathetic. Finally, as a member of the United States military, I felt that this fictional account wasn't very far off base. The portrayal of "all" politicians as being completely unscrupulous and devoid of emotion "may" have been somewhat exaggerated. But none the less, this tale is one which members of the military and civilians alike should find entertaining if not eye-opening.
Rating:  Summary: An awesome book! Review: If you haven't read Term Limits yet there's somthing seriously wrong w/ you! this book defines the word awesome! Tom clancy move over! Or better yet, retire because Vince Flynn just beat all your books 10 two 1!
Rating:  Summary: i guess it's essentially grammatically correct Review: if you don't care about characterization, dialogue, or plot, then this may be the book for you. the essential premise is interesting for about five seconds, but it is so overshadowed by the unbelievable lack of quality that permeates every other aspect of this novel that it's not worth wasting your time, and definitely not your money, on. it's such a sophomoric effort that it boggles my mind that it was published. mr. flynn may be knowledgeable about the ways of washington and political intrigue; i have no basis by which to evaluate that. however, no matter how plausible his scenario may be, it's not enough to merit dissemination under the guise of a literary work. if an author is unable to craft believable and empathetic characters, and relate their experiences such a manner that the reader feels involvement and a stake in the story's outcome, self-respect should cause him to scrap either the unworkable version or the entire project should they turn out to be the same in the end. i don't usually get quite so annoyed after reading a book that i find flawed, but this one is so simplistic, so artless, that it seems impossible that even the most comatose editor could find it worthy of publication with an eye toward anything but a quick and deceitful buck. and that's nothing more than highway robbery.
Rating:  Summary: A justification for editors... but where were they? Review: Mr. Flynn's first novel is a wish-fulfillment political fantasy, the sort of story that's bound to set a lot of pulses beating, given the current state of American politics. As a story it works fairly well. However, there are more than a few marginal implausibilities that require the reader to swallow hard and bull on through to the ending. My objections are mostly to the execution. The book is riddled with sub-par writing. Yes, yes, I know a book from the political / military thriller genre isn't likely to feature literary-quality writing. Still, clean writing, free of non-sequiturs and stylistic tics, would be much appreciated. Clean writing allows a story to shine through the words in which it's told. Sloppy writing such as that in "Term Limits" distracts from the story, compelling the reader to remount the narrative horse over and over again. That this book was published in its current state implies that editors don't believe the quality of writing in a thriller is important enough to be worth their time and effort. However, this reader would prefer that thriller writers strain to match the cleanliness and crispness of Ed Ruggero, if they can't quite aspire to the stylistic grace of Ralph Peters... and that their editors try to raise them to that standard.
Rating:  Summary: Term Limits is the embodiment of literary excellence Review: The plot for this book is reason enough to read it. With the political cauldron boiling with politicians intent on restoring prestige and prosperity to the American People as well as their nemisees... corrupt politicians with only personal gain and self-interests in mind, action and drama combine to captivate the reader from the start. The moral stature of the characters is well defined yet the predictability that would usually be found in such a plot is nowhere to be seen. This is amongst the best books I've ever read. I find this author to be comprable to David Baldacci and Nelson Deville.
Rating:  Summary: Interesting Premise Review: A very easy read. It's premise (changing America one politician at a time) will disturb liberals and those who adore our government. Some of the characters are easy to identify (i.e. Senator Fitzgerald - a hard drinking overweight womanizing liberal Democrat politician from New England.... gee, guess who this is supposed to be?). I await Flynn's next novel.
Rating:  Summary: Loved It! Review: I loved this book, it really offers a deep look at the world of politics in Washington. It made me sick to realize this kind of stuff probably happens every day. It was a super quick read for me, I was so engrossed I just lost track of time. I highly recommend it. It's a great alternative to TV and more exciting!
Rating:  Summary: Limited Terms - the Wacko Ethics of Term Limits Review: I guess I just don't understand the libertarian sensibility about the way the world is ordered and how disputes should be resolved. If this book promotes one ideal, it is that 'the end justifies the means'. Ironically enough, this also appears to be the creed of all the corrupt political targets within the story, who are painted as completely hollow men, who dissemble and spin the truth endlessly in order to maintain dominance in a system supposedly rotten to the core. 'We can do no good if we don't retain power' they seem to rationalize to themselves, leading to the inevitable laundry list of governmental ills (pork barrel spending, pandering to special interests, and routine lying and blame shifting). It's not hard to see, if you think about it, that this is exactly the kind of ruthless moral compass that guides the finely tuned assassins who are written to elicit considerably more sympathy. They cannot accomplish their 'greater good' without murdering 'bad' politicians that were, at one time or another, freely elected by a large number of individuals. In this world view the greatest sin is compromise. The greatest virtue, as exemplified by the surprizingly passive protaganist, is ideological purity. This leads O'Rourke to a total rejection of the system and 'dropping out' when even the smallest argument cannot be won. Our hero, rather than accept one wasteful line item in a trillion dollar buget, chooses instead to simply surrender, leaving the Congress in disgust. This self imposed 'term limit' is one of the most interesting concepts the novel celebrates, and probably the most overlooked. The story has its virtues: the plotting is intricate and fairly compelling, the themes of big bad government certainly never go out of style. The characterizations, however, are shallow and absurd. Stu Garret, the supposedly Machavellian genius who crafted a world class electoral strategy, doesn't appear to generate a single correct or effective approach even once in the novel. His inestimable suggestions to the President when fielding difficult questions at a Press conference include 'just squirm your way out of it, and then look at your watch and end the press conference'. This is power politics at its best? Sometimes novels stack the deck against the obvious antagonists, but this defies probability and common sense. Stu Garret is too obviously a petulant child who struts and frets and constantly makes the wrong decision. The total lack of finesse and plausibility make him a cartoon of a figure who (like Dorthy Parker said of Katherine Hepburn) runs the gamut of emotions from 'A' to 'B'. The novel has been praised by many Web reviewers for its simplicity, especially compared to the work of Clancy. There is an economy in the dialog, but there is also a flatness and a dull uniformity. Many of the conversations 'sound' the same, whether they are between lovers, conspiracists, or political rivals. Most of the dialogs read as though they were never spoken aloud, there isn't a touch of crispness, just spare and earnest exposition
Rating:  Summary: Marginal writing ability, terrible message Review: Term Limits provides a non-stop action thriller that leaves one rather empty inside after all is said and done. There are no real heroes, only an underlining message that the author probably did not intend, that violence begats more violence. This is rather strange since the author provides a brief dialogue of someone who says just that, I nearly gets his head chewed off for saying it. I found the characters to have no third dimension to them. The closest one is Kennedy when we briefly find out that she has small children. Aside from that, the hosts of characters are for intent and purposes, SCUM. This includes the Michael O'Rouke who, although taking the oath to protect the Constitution, sits idly by and let it be trampled on by a bunch of military egoist who thinks that the ends justify the means, whatever that might be. I find Vince Flynn's moralizing over and over again to be sickening. How many times must this author justify the killing of elected officials? My only guess is, that Mr. Flynn realizes the irrationality of the arguments, but perhaps if it is said enough times, the reader will come to believe it. Flynn's ethical arguments are that of nine year old, who views things as black and white, right and wrong, good and evil. Well Mr. Flynn reality is much more complex so perhaps this is why you choose to go into fiction. Although not Flynn's fault, the message regarding the high debt and budget deficits are somewhat untimely now, especially the latter issue. How about that, we were, as a nation, able to handle the budget deficits and we didn't have to resort to killing people in order to do it. Lastly, I did read Flynn's book "Transfer of Power". Although still embracing a simpleton view on life it is much more compelling than his first book. My hope is that his books continue to get better and his message is one that can be embraced by people rather than be repulsed by it.
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