Product Description

'A must read for anyone interested in the gun debate' Bill Clinton

Five months into his term, President Kilcannon and his fiancee, television journalist Lara Costello, have decided to marry. But the occasion is followed by a terrible tragedy: a massacre of innocents in a lethal burst of gunfire. It is a shattering event that consumes Kilcannon and his wife, challenging both their marriage, and his Presidency in such a personal way that Kilcannon vows to eradicate gun violence throughout the US.

In a high-stakes game of politics and legal manoeuvring where ideals collide in the Senate, the courtroom and across the country, President Kilcannon is determined to win at any cost. But in the clash over gun rights and violence, the cost to both Kilcannons may be even higher than the President imagined.

'Patterson has the rare gift of enthralling as he informs' Mark Lawson, The Guardian

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #134039 in Books
• Published on: 2004-10-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 500 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Balance of Power, the third of Richard North Patterson's political thrillers about the election and Presidency of Kerry Kilcannon, is as gripping and savvy as its predecessors. Kilcannon's second marriage, to his long-term fiancée Lara, is marred by the shooting of most of her family by her deranged and abusive brother-in-law who bought an automatic weapon and gut-shredding bullets from an anonymous dealer at a gun fair. Kilcannon had always intended to take on the gun lobby--and this high-profile massacre of his wife's relations gives him an opportunity. What follows is a nightmare of political chicanery, as his opponents are persuaded to ever lower tactics by their gun lobby contributors.

The personal injury suit his surviving sister-in-law brings against manufacturers and lobbyists runs aground on perjury and a politically ambitious judge. His opponents are even prepared to use blackmail--a document surfaces proving that the relationship between Kilcannon and Lara preceded his divorce. This is a terrifying novel, which pictures the currency of American political life as bribery, threats and the grossest of intrusions into private life; it is a vision of how vilely things can perhaps sometimes work, and how intelligence, will and the application of sound legal principles might make them otherwise. --Roz Kaveney

Review
From the courtrooms to the White House, an epic novel from a reliable author that confronts the terrible toll of gun violence and reveals the political manoeuvring behind this inflammatory issue. Five months into his term, President Kilcannon and his fianc e, television journalist Lara Costello, have decided to marry. But the occasion is followed by a terrible tragedy: a massacre of innocents in a lethal burst of gunfire. Kilcannon vows to eradicate gun violence throughout the US. In a high-stakes game of politics and legal manoeuvring, where ideals collide in the Senate and the courtroom, Kilcannon is determined to win at any cost. Patterson's 11 previous novels displayed a sure touch with this kind of blockbuster thriller, and this one more than matches up.

Ink Magazine, October 2003
...his knowledge of the deeply flawed political machine's workings underpins every page of this intelligent and gripping thriller... Recommended

Customer Reviews

Fascinating Stuff: but Don't Rush it!
A fascinating insight into the Machiavellian world of politics, big business and law, Balance of Power is truly an epic well worth reading; provided you’re at least slightly interested in politics, especially American politics.

Whilst the book is physically immense (over 600 pages), it seems longer when reading it merely because of the intricate dialogue. However, that isn’t to say Patterson waffles: in fact, the opposite; there wasn’t one section, or even one word written which I thought unnecessary or pretentious.

Revolving around the troubled times of the Democrat President Kilcannon taking on the forces of American right-wing politics and the powerful gun lobby, Balance of Power is actually the third instalment of a trilogy. (Interestingly, I didn’t know this until after I’d finished reading it, which is in itself a compliment to the author.) After the First Lady’s family becomes involved in a gun shooting, the President steps up his reforms of the gun industry, but through strategic methods involving the politicians, the media, the lawyers, the gun companies themselves, the First Lady and his White House staff.

If you’ve been an avid fan of TV’s The West Wing, that’s a great help in reading this tome. The dialogue between the politicians and lawyers is spot on. And the personal touches the President brings to the proceedings are conveyed brilliantly by Patterson. If you like politics, intrigue, blackmail, fly-on-the-wall boardroom stuff, then you’ll like this a lot.

Add to this the fact that Patterson is a quality writer who knows fully well how to properly structure a book. He is also immensely qualified to write this subject (see the book’s addendum and acknowledgements).

Read it. But do not try to rush it.

absorbing.
As other reviewers have pointed out, this is the final book in the Kilcannon US political trilogy by patterson. Although you don't need to have really read the first 2 books before reading this one. Although I love patterson's work in general I didn't like the first 2 kilcannon books, simply because I found the political aspect quite boring.

This book, however, is excellent. It grips from the first page and draws you in. The story itself is extremely interesting and, as always, patterson has a way of building up characters that you genuinely care about.

The book is very large (almost 800 pages) but I managed to finish the book in a few days because it was so good. I found it well written and extremely well researched. Whilst patterson is very descriptive and wordy I felt that this added to the book's strength and it certainly didn't seem almost 1000 pages long.

It is more than just about gun control and politics in the US. There is an excellent personal dimension to the book that brings the story to life. Highly enjoyable and highly recommended.

an epic that truly is a balance of power
Having read all of Richard North Patterson's previous novels, I was delighted to find a new one in paperback. As a former lawyer, all his books focus on the legal system in America, and do so with considerably more force than books by the like of John Grisham. This novel continues the trend he started with "No Safe Place" (aother excellent book), by moving the action into the realm of the American political system. Living in England does not mean we should have no interest in the systems across the globe, and definitely not in today's climate. What Patterson manages to do is to weave a complex web of political backstabbing and the intricacies of the American Senate and House of Representatives with a very human storyline, focused around the newly elected President, Kerry Kilcannon and the tragedy that befalls his new family shortly after his wedding to Lara Costello. The storyline focuses on gun violence in America, and after the Washington sniper's actions, and the high school shootings at Columbine the ideas explored in this book have become all the more relevant. This book is part of the trilogy that charts Kilcannon's rise to the Presidency, and his relationsip with Lara, in itself vividly brought to life. "No Safe Place" and "Protect and Defend" are both excellent and definitely worth reading, but I believe that whoever reads this does not have to have read the first two novels to appreciate and understand this excellent political-legal thriller.