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.
Rating: 
Summary: The Real Deal
Review: Vince Flynn has a tremendous amount of knowledge about our Special Operations teams. I don't know anything about him personally or about his actual involvement with the military but he has done his homework. The plot and charachters are not exactly developed in the spirit of James Fenimore Cooper or Leo Tolstoy, but this is a fun read. I liked the charachters and I liked the plot. I am one of those "conservative republicans" that my fellow reviewer, Bill Johnson, notes provide such good reviews of the novel. If you are as politically opposite of the current criminals in office as I am, read this book. It's fun and paints a realistic and accurate picture of special ops work. I think that Mr. Johnson (a S.C. hating liberal) was offended by the premise of this book. Good. (appologies for the use of "fractured english") He has a new story out as well: Transfer of Power... more testosterone soaked pages of bad politicians getting theirs and patriots winning the day. Guns, bombs, blood, carnivores, high tech spy stuff... read it.
Rating: 
Summary: Very compelling and gripping! MUST READ!
Review: I was drawn in my the premise on the back and I was so happy to read it. I stayed up nights just find out what happened next and it was good. It was a little predictable in a few areas but it was mostly a suspenseful. I want to read his other books.
Rating: 
Summary: Decent first offering
Review: I am glad that I read Flynn's second novel first, because this one was certainly not as good. Mr Flynn makes a fine entry into the genre with this piece of work but could have really used some better editing. I realize I may be nitpicking a bit but Mr Flynn has nearly every major character in this boook, all educated people, using some fractured english. Further, Mr Flynn repeatedly (as many as 5 times on a single page) referred to American military personnel as "commandos". With the greatest respect to the author, I must say that "commando" is a word seldom, if ever, used in the American miliary lexicon. Special Forces personnel are usually referred to just that way, or as "special operators" or "spec-ops" etc... His main character, Michael O'Rourke, fits the typical description of today's so-called "angry white male"... He is a 32 year old member of the House of Representatives who lives in Georgetown (an area of Washington, DC that is home to some of it's wealthiest citizens) and carries around a .45 caliber pistol in fear of "roving youth gangs" (Mr Flynn must be writing about a different Georgetown than the one a five minute drive from my office). O'Rourke actually advocates the murder of politicians that are no good (I wonder why this novel didn't have a Strom Thurmond or Jesse Helms counterpart). No wonder this book is so well reviewed by so many self-described Rpublicans and Conservatives. I realize that this was his first time out of the gate, but I would suggest to Mr Flynn that not all of the people in the world are not either Irish, Swedish, or from Minnesota. This book was a good read, but incredibly preachy. Read it, you may have some fun.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome!
Review: I picked this up and didn't put it down then the next day I ordered Flynn's next book "Transfer of Power". Term Limits is a high level government thriller from the opening sequences to the closing manuevers. The story centers around a congressman torn between what he knows is right and what he feels is right and caused me to think of what I would do in a similar situation. The book will make you think and keep you entertained for however long it takes you to read it.
Rating:
Summary: Term limits
Review: Term Limits is an action packed read. I went right out and bought another Flynn book.
Rating:
Summary: Tension packed thriller.
Review: A bunch of people whose tastes I trust have highly recommended Vince Flynn's "Transfer of Power", so I decide to start with his first novel and I was not disappointed. This one moves full speed ahead from page one. The technical aspects seem correct and the DC/Maryland landscape is well mapped and researched. So, the activity flows nicely and you can believe the action. The premise to the plot is where the imagination is needed; but if you have even the tiniest belief in any conspiracy theory involving the U.S. government, then it is easy to buy into the basis of Mr. Flynn's ideas. A couple of FBI and CIA types are bona fide decent, but the rest of the "good guys" have decided the ends justify the means, and have taken the means to their own extremes. The villains are far worse, and totally repulsive. If I had one complaint I would say it's about one hundred pages too long. It was overkill on the final three or four "situations" after the evil doers were uncovered. From what I have heard and the reviews I have seen in Amazon.com, it is apparent Mr. Flynn left a lot for his second novel. I look forward to "Transfer of Power" and hope it's a little more compact.
Rating:
Summary: TERM LIMITS HAS IT ALL!
Review: This is one of the best novals of its kind. A real page-turner. The book HAS IT ALL. Politics, action, power struggle, conspiracies, CIA covert operations, US military special forces in action, FBI investigation and a lot more. This book is similar to Tom Clancy's novels, only that it's better and the story moves faster. Don't start the book if you have a busy week ahead of you, because you won't be able to resist it. "Term Limits" is definitely a MUST-READ!
Rating:
Summary: Great story & plot, ending a little weak for the rest book!
Review: A good story throughout, but I thought the ending was a little weak, although it was surprising. Flynn does have a knack for keeping the suspense alive, and for surprises along the way. Will look into his other books!
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