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Term Limits

Term Limits

List Price: $7.99
Your Price: $7.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Clancy Fans will love this book
Review: I read "Transfer of Power" last week and decided to try "Term Limits" despite some of the poor reviews. Bottom Line...this book will grip you if you like suspense. Character development through the book was excellent. Flynn takes you inside the head of several of the lead characters allowing you to see what they see and think what they're thinking through subtle observation of human behavior. Admittedly at first the twists in the plot bothered me, however Flynn sews them together masterfully and keeps the reader on edge to the end. Must buy for the politically astute.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: A book for those who liked the movie "Commando"
Review: This is the first Flynn book I have read (fortunately/unfortunately I've read two others), and it is the worst of them. He takes an interesting and controversal plot idea and then drags it through many predictable action sequences. His superficial knowledge of military matters and the Washington scene is not bad, but not much past the level of an ungrad poly sci major who hangs out with ROTC guys on campus. What tires me is the predictable, one sided nature of all the characters and how someone's profession determines there outlook and opinions on everything (too much of that old "where you stand depends on where you sit," saw): commandos hate the politicians and government, but love their country; politicians (except ol' O'Rourke, hmm another Irish main character, no copying from Tom Clancy here...) are corrupt; lawyers are... reporters are... The dialogue is hopeless childish.
The saving grance is as many of the reviewers have mentioned is the action, but the invincible nature of the "commandos" is almost too much at times. It is like reading a book version of the Matrix or an old kung fu movie where the super "commandos" just wade right through the hapless spearcarriers opponents. Many of his comments (not only this book but others) about how people of different professions shapes their character makes one wonder if Flynn has any idea of what being a commando, a congressman, a reporter, a college professor etc, realy entails.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: TERM LIMITS
Review: Term Limits was my first Vince Flynn novel and I couldn't put it down. I have since ordered all of this books. I like the way he develops the characters and the plot just keeps you turning pages.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A good first effort
Review: In reviewing this book, I found it hard to properly rate it using Amazon's 5 star system (IMDb.com's scale of 1-10 for rating movies is, IMHO, much better) because I honestly want to give it 3 ½ stars, but can't. It is a good book (especially for a rookie) nonetheless it has some real flaws. The best parts? In the Tom Clancy/Robert Ludlum tradition, the plot is fast paced and the writing is tight. At no point is the reader bored. It is the literary equivalent of the movie "Mad Max", i.e., lots of action and thrills, albeit somewhat rough around the edges. If you look beyond the action, you notice that the main characters are somewhat one or two dimensional (a common complaint in the techno/spy thriller genre) and, worse, the plot itself is rather contrived. I mean, does anyone REALLY believe that a handful of former Navy SEALs would plot to kill prominent politicians because they refuse to cut spending and balance the budget? Yet that is the central premise of this book. There is a more credible subplot, in which the SEALs assassinate one Senator (a dead ringer for Ted Kennedy) because the stupid fool let slip a vital piece of info while drinking at a local bar, this info ended up in enemy hands, resulting in said former SEAL team leader having half his men killed because the terrorists knew they were coming. At any rate, you don't have to be a tax and spend liberal Democrat to find the notion of using assassination (technically, not terrorism, since the SEALs refuse to kill any "civilians", just the politicians) as a tool to change political policy rather disturbing. I mean, I'm as much in favor of cutting all the waste and bloat out of the government as the next guy, but the "solution" proposed here smacks a bit too much of Timothy McVeigh. That aside, there's an interesting plot twist in which the president's unscrupulous Chief of Staff and National Security Advisor team up with a shady former CIA figure to stage additional assassinations to draw public support away from the SEALs, who have gone public with their demands, and whose actions in bumping off several sleazy politicians has actually aroused considerable sympathy. This leads to the final showdown, with a series of fast paced actions that threaten to blow the whole Administration apart if the shady machinations with the former CIA man are revealed. So, the bottom line is this: if you like Clancy (especially his early stuff) or Ludlum, and enjoy a plot with lots of paranoia and anti-government skullduggery, then you will get an entertaining read. Just don't expect a whole lot in the credibility dept.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Plausible in every way!
Review: Term Limits is fast paced and filled with scenarios that both can and probably have happened. This realistic view of political power makes events that seem impossible to the once naïve public feasible and all too real.

Assassinations rock the U. S. President, Secret Service, Cabinet, FBI, and CIA when three are carried out on a single night. Ignoring the ultimatum issued by the "terrorists" causes a fourth man to die and puts the President in the line of fire. Fear triggers tempers as the administration determines if it should make changes that yield to blackmail? Then two more men are murdered, but where only the four specific targets were taken out in the first wave, these also include law enforcement guards.

Questions power the plot; drama moves it forward; action demands reading even though your eyes are tired and burn; the characters are interesting and multi-dimensional.
* Why isn't the budget balanced?
* Why do the Republicans and Democrats care more about special interest groups than the constituents who voted them in?
* Who has the power in the White House?
* Who runs Black Ops, and what power is used to maintain the secrecy of an organization in their clandestine operations.
* Is anyone capable of controlling them, and are personal agendas the root of military and covert actions?
* Is this story too real to be ignored?
* How many groups are behind the assassinations?

Any spare minute found me reading this novel. When I finished it, I was satisfied. The story was complete, the questions answered, I am interested in what's next for these characters -- they became real. Five stars to Vince Flynn, and the knowledge that I will buy more of his books.

Victoria Tarrani

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A must read for political thriller lovers!
Review: Although the events in this story are implausible, it is an exciting read. The action builds up and doesn't stop. Flynn does a great job at plot development, which twists like a pretzel. Term Limits is action-packed, and doesn't go into all the details of a Clancy novel, but has just as much action and excitement. Clancy fans should read this book! It won't disappoint.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This is a page turner
Review: This book is thoroughly enjoyable if you like the political thriller genre. The details are pretty good, but the action keeps you going. This book is a great read.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Murder, A Sure Fire Way to End a Politician¿s Term
Review: Somebody is fed up with the way government works. The budget is bloated with no end in sight, pork is out of control, every department is mismanaged and nobody votes anymore. So some unhappy, but powerful guys form kind of a cabal to fix the government. Their method, assassination.

All of a sudden sponsoring unnecessary and wasteful projects are hazardous to a congressman's health. The cabal declares their goals and if not met, more will die and they have the money to carry out their threat. No corrupt politician is safe. Washington is under siege.

Congressman Michael O'Rourke, former Marine, agrees things are bad and action must be taken, but not this, not assassination, even if secretly he believes some of those killed got what they deserved, so he becomes involved with the investigation and he finds out the corruption in the government was way beyond anything he could ever have believed.

Reviewed by Vesta Irene

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: a natural story-teller
Review: I'm always thrilled to find a natural story-teller (like Elmore Leonard) who's not afraid to allow the sharper edges of real life to show through.

It's even better to have several subsequent works to look forward to experiencing.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: A plot where all the good guys are cold blooded murderers
Review: A piece of tripe that with a plot line that's even crazier than the heros who feel justified in killing members of the US congress in order to make this county more a more law abiding place. No one asks the obvious question of the lead character, a US Congressman: "So who elected you God and gave you the right to decide who lives and who dies". So this morally superior Congressman is willing to cover up for murder and blackmail the president of the US. What a hero Mr. Flynn gives us.


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