Rating: 
Summary: lies and the lying liers who tell them
Review: Having had the misfortune of reading this book, I thought I would play the counterpoint to those who admire it. Mr. Patterson has played fast and loose with the truth through out this novel. It is filled with half-truths and out right fabercations. He talks about "cop killer bullets" ignoring the fact that congress baned them in 1986. He suggests that a pistole can be easiely converted to a fully automatic firearm. Thats not true. It CAN be converted but not easely and it is very much against the law and anyone caught with such a weapon is going to jail. But he dosen't bother to mention that. He further states that anyone, including a convicted felon can go to a gun show and buy weapons for terrorists.......NOT WITHIN THE LAW THAY CAN'T. He sugests that the law against felons posessing guns dosen't apply to gun shows. Absolutly not true. He wants you to belive that the BATF is somehow limited in the number of visits they can make to a gun dealer and check on their records.......Not true. Their are no limits the BATF can make and it is absurbe to belive otherwise. Thats like saying the police can only arrest just so many crimminals in a year. And lastly he talks about plastic guns getting past metal detectors.....There are no Plastic guns. There are guns that contain plastic but no guns made only of plastic, outside of toy water pistols. If you made one and tried to shoot it, it would blow up in your face......... he is pandering to the anti-gun crowd, as is evident by the blurbs on the DJ in support of the book. Ted Kennedy and Bill Clinton. ...........I will admit that the book is well written and is complelling to a certin extent, but if your looking for the truth, don't look here. On the whole I was so upset by the lies in this tome that I cannot recommend it. It is a political diatribe, not a novel
Rating:
Summary: Fiction with a twisted freedom hating agenda
Review: Another example of lies designed to limit your freedom. Since joining the anti second amendment "Brady Campaign" board, the author has decided that he will use his talent as a fiction writer to try and lie about the current state of affairs in the United States about the second amendment and the NRA in an effort to distort the public view of guns. Patterson attempts to advance the Brady gun ban agenda by lying to his readers about current federal gun laws. He wrote that a convicted felon could go to a gun show and buy anything they want. That is a lie. Federal law prohibits felons from purchasing and possessing firearms. He writes of "plastic" guns designed to make it through airport security. They do not exist and any future designs are banned. The NRA supports the legislation that banned them. He also writes about "cop killer" bullets. Congress banned those in 1986. He wrote about pistols that are easily turned into automatic fire weapons or "machine guns". First of all it is not easy to do and secondly anyone that does that would face 10 years in the federal prison under the laws that are already on the books. He also talks about "dirty dealers" that do not run background checks on people and the terrible gun industry that continued to send him guns after they knew that. That is a lie. Dirty dealers are caught and tried as criminals and the gun industry is law abiding. But the anti-gunners want to take them to court for something they didn't do. Thats like taking Ford to court because "rufus the drunk" keeps drinking and driving in his trunk! Crazy!! This book is nothing more than a twisted politically driven anti-gun manifesto design to help the anti-gunners take away a basic freedom afforded every American citizen in the bill of rights. Be informed people, don't let hollywood and fiction writers do your thinking for you.
Rating:
Summary: Fierce political attack on NRA and Republicans
Review: Patterson is obviously feeding red meat to the Left. In his Bizarro alternative universe there is no federal law prohibiting felons purchasing and possessing firearms. Patterson invents plastic guns that can't be detected by by magnetometers. In our universe, even guns with some plastic components such as their frames, use several ounces of metal in their barrels, springs, hammers, etc, not to mention that bullets are made of METAL! In our universe pistols that can be easily converted to automatic fire are classified as machine guns and subject to stringent licensing and taxation requirements. Doing it yourself conversions will subject you to a 10-year federal prison term. Et cetera, et cetera, ad nauseum.
Rating: 
Summary: A Powerful Tale of Advocacy
Review: Be prepared for the slow start; hang on for the strong finish. In Balance of Power, Richard North Patterson weaves a political tale of intrigue, guns, money, tort reform, backroom deals and ethically-challenged lawyers. Painstaking research, personal experience as a trial lawyer and a detailed understanding of the contemporary Washington scene arm the author with enough ammunition to create a compelling, believable tale of special-interests politics in Washington, D. C. Do not pick this novel up unless you are willing to experience the reasons our elected representatives often fail to legislate the general public's bidding.
Rating:
Summary: A very disappointing book!
Review: The book is very slow, and has numerous flawed legal findings and legal arguments. I was awaiting this book, however this has been the most disappointing book in a long time, I suggest that readers seriously pass on this particular Patterson book. Very predictable ending, and overall a poor read.
Rating:
Summary: Controversial topics accentuate intriguing story
Review: Richard North Patterson's latest work, "Balance Of Power", explores the issue of gun control and the right of public figures to privacy in their personal lives. It manages to address these issues without detracting from its very entertaining and engrossing saga of an American Presidency which began in "No Safe Place" and "Protect And Defend". This story revisits President Kerry Kilcannon and his lover, Journalist Lara Costello. Kilcannon has successfully weathered the first trial of his presidency with the Senate approval of his selection of supreme court chief justice Caroline Masters. He has also convinced his long time lover Lara Costello to become his wife. He looks forward to his upcoming wedding to Lara, but she is afraid that the hoopla surrounding the wedding gala will be harmful to her family, particularly to her sister Joan who is finally seeking help from the President in order to protect herself and her young daughter from her disturbed and abusive husband. The massacre of Lara's family that follows their highly publicized wedding convinces Kerry to doggedly pursue gun control legislation and to try to eradicate the powerful gun lobby. However, the cost to his presidency and his marriage may be far greater than Kilcannon believed possible. Though it is abundantly evident that Patterson sides with his protagonist, the topic of gun control is expertly debated as Kilcannon and his associates explore both sides of this intriguing and disturbing issue. It is the legal battles and legislative battles that add realism and excitement to this story of family loss and redemption. The more I read of Patterson's works the more addicted I become to his characters and tales.
Rating: 
Summary: disappointing
Review: Having read and appreciated all of Richard North Patterson's previous books, I eagerly awaited this one. I found it dull, opinionated and preachy. It was too filled with legal technicalities for me to completely understand all the anti-gun testimony and deposition proceedings. All-in-all, had I read more about it instead of preordering it before release date, I would not have bought it. I did, however, finish it, but the ending was a foregone conclusion.
Rating: 
Summary: Could barely get through this one
Review: While some may claim this is the excelent example of advocasy, I found it to more closely resemble propoganda. The heros of the book are full of sympathy and wisdom. The gun-toting conservatives are described with every stereotype imaginable. The First Lady sips tea with victims of gun violence. The cut-throat Republicans go to their "private clubs" to be served drinks by black waiters. I have to say that I don't have a gun, have never had a hunting license, and don't belong to the NRA (thinly disguised in the book as a different organization). Yet I found the rhetoric so thick that it angered me. If you think that Teddy Kennedy's politics are mainstream, this book is for you. If you think that every problem in Amerrica could be solved with a few less conservatives and that people that try to protect constitutionally given rights are on the fringe, you'll love it. If, on the other hand, you feel that a president that messes around on his wife, gets his lover pregnant, covers up the abortion, and uses the legal system to circumvent the legislative branch is not the role model that you want for your kids, I'd suggest something a little less biased. The "Comunist Manifesto" comes to mind.
Rating: 
Summary: A Well Written Argument
Review: Mr. Patterson has evolved from a writer of thrillers to a writer of political intrigue. This well crafted novel is the third in the Kilcannon trilogy. The argument centers on gun control and the NRA. The debate is a good one and it is well thought out (ignore other reviewers knee jerk response to any form of gun control). The characters are well drawn. The political machinations are reminiscent of Drury's "Advise and Consent".
Rating:
Summary: Another great political novel from Patterson
Review: Won't go into the plot since it has been told and retold here. Will just say that the final book in the Kerry Kilcannon trilogy lives up to the high standards of its predecessors--"No Safe Place" and "Protect and Defend." A totally engrossing story about an extremely divisive issue, peopled with fully fleshed out characters about whom one comes to care. Hard to put down, but given its length, it's not a one-sitting read. I agree with the reviewer who said he would vote for Kilcannon in 2004--too bad he only exists in the imagination of one of the most talented of our contemporary novelists. We could use his passion for justice. I also second another reviewer's suggestion that Mr. Patterson revisit these characters in some later book, and perhaps, give Sarah Dash her own story. I heartily recommend his earlier book on Caroline Masters (initially called Final Judgment but now retitled Caroline Masters) and the fine "Dark Lady" and "Silent Witness." Keep 'em coming, Mr. Patterson!
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