Customer Reviews

Consent of the Governed: A Political Novel of High Intrigue and Conflict

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Despite the heavy-handed presentation of political ideas, 700+ pages, and numerous punctuation and grammatical errors, this book will be interesting to the hard core political junkies. The story follows the Presidential campaign from behind the scenes with plenty of insights into a candidate's message development, advertising, and events planning. Character development is not the point here, it's the politics and the message that politicians and American citizens need to deal honestly and more realistically with the range of complex issues we face, from our role in the world to health care, education, and the national debt. If someone had edited this book to tone down the blatant "good guy" vs. "bad guy" presentation, the book's appeal would be much broader. As is, not many will want to bother.

The most fascinating part of this book is that Gerry Balcar wrote this in 2000 and yet, ten years later in 2010, I found it to be incredibly relevant to the current political goings on in the country. It's amazing that he describes Nationalize Health Care and the way it was perceived is pretty much the same way it is perceived now. The same with many other topics. Don't be put off by the length of the book. If you are interested in politics I would strongly recommend reading it.

I had high expectations, as this is just the type of book I love to read. What a terrible disappointment to find it is the most poorly written, poorly edited book I think I have ever picked up. I had a hard time making it through the prologue, but persevered thinking that maybe he had had his dog write that part. However, the first chapter was no better, and I could not bring myself to even finish that! 700+ pages of writing so disjointed and child-like that it was actually painful to try to read. I finally took it to a used book exchange, although I felt a bit guilty doing so, as I'd hate to have someone else go through the same disappointment.

I notified the seller, as a warning that they would probably get return requests for anyone else ordering this book, but I received no response from them (I did not specifically request a response).

In short: do not waste your time or money!

Gerry Balcar has extensive experience in the corporate world as a lobbyist, entrepreneur and a corporate officer. He brings this breadth of experience to a book about an attempted corporate takeover of the federal government that will make the baby boomers squeal that they knew it all along. However, Balcar draws up two opposing corporations, sort of a good witch of the west and the evil witch who should be exterminated. Consent Of The Governed begins with the formation of POLACO, a Political Action Coalition formed with massive amounts of money from 25 of the world's largest multinational corporations all chipping in seed money of $50 million each, with the purpose of, as they put it: "The broad goal is to take greater political control. The purpose is to preserve the context in which our companies can best function in terms of fiscal, monetary, and other aspects of public policy. Our main thrust will be to get people into office who understand the world and agree with us." Based on Harbour Island in the Bahamas, POLACO's major purpose of destabilizing the American government for their own ends became readily apparent to Tony Destito, who was sent by Ian Macauliffe, CEO of PENMET, one of the most successful and well-run corporations on the DOW JONES. POLACO wants PENMET to join, and Ian's advisors quickly surmise POLACO's intent and decide to launch their own version of a presidential candidate who speaks the truth to the people, but is talented enough to withstand the pressures of modern day campaigning with such high stakes. Consent Of The Governed should be required reading in the schools. Its message of the dangers of an apathetic public exposing our democracy to takeover by clever and insidious corporations is very real. The novel itself has all the elements of a well-crafted political intrigue: murder, manipulation, mayhem and lots of sex that is kept in good context. The characters are engaging, the action never stops, and the plot thickens. Gerry Balcar exhibits his depth of experience and wisdom, with just the right mixture of affection for all the good things which make life worth living. His idealism is reflected in the "good guys and girls," and his "bad guys and girls" make the reader shudder with disbelief. This is a great story!

Shelley Glodowski Reviewer

Yes, it's long, yes, it's a first novel, yes, but...

Look beyond the typical sharp-edged criticisms that keep many a fine new work from reaching the general public and find a story of committed people who truly care about democracy. These are people who put their lives and their fortunes on the line. The setting is an American presidential campaign where candidate Adrian Daggat garners the enthusiastic support of millions and millions of Americans because he dares to present truthfully the challenges facing society.

Consent of the Governed is a story of political espionage--the hero Daggat, his platform and the virtuous backers behind him fight for democratic principles as they were drawn up by our American forefathers. They are challenged to the extreme by a candidate backed by an organization of the richest global corporations, Polaco, for which economic advancement is the only goal--they scheme to dissolve the constitution in favor of a corporate state. Henchmen, moles, murder and intrigue have a large role behind the scenes of this presidential campaign, and the reader begins to admire Adrian Daggat and the courageous people who dare to fight the ruthless, untiring Polaco.

It is easy to get behind a presidential candidate like Adrian Daggat and it's easy to admire Consent of the Govern's author, Gerald Balcar. He comes forth with wisdom and insight regarding some of America's biggest challenges. Consent of the Governed, is more than a novel of political espionage--it questions and thoughtfully considers grave concerns of contemporary, global society.

Yes, it's long, yes, it's a first novel, yes, it's worth reading.

Yes, it's long, yes, it's a first novel, yes, but...

Look beyond the typical sharp-edged criticisms that keep many a fine new work from reaching the general public and find a story of committed people who truly care about democracy. These are people who put their lives and their fortunes on the line. The setting is an American presidential campaign where candidate Adrian Daggat garners the enthusiastic support of millions and millions of Americans because he dares to present truthfully the challenges facing society.

Consent of the Governed is a story of political espionage--the hero Daggat, his platform and the virtuous backers behind him fight for democratic principles as they were drawn up by our American forefathers. They are challenged to the extreme by a candidate backed by an organization of the richest global corporations, Polaco, for which economic advancement is the only goal--they scheme to dissolve the constitution in favor of a corporate state. Henchmen, moles, murder and intrigue have a large role behind the scenes of this presidential campaign, and the reader begins to admire Adrian Daggat and the courageous people who dare to fight the ruthless, untiring Polaco.

It is easy to get behind a presidential candidate like Adrian Daggat and it's easy to admire Consent of the Govern's author, Gerald Balcar. He comes forth with wisdom and insight regarding some of America's biggest challenges. Consent of the Governed, is more than a novel of political espionage--it questions and thoughtfully considers grave concerns of contemporary, global society.

Yes, it's long, yes, it's a first novel, yes, it's worth reading.