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An Act of Self-Defense

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It is ten years into the future and the nation’s government is nearing financial and moral collapse. A small group (the TLR) believes deadly force is necessary to save individual liberty from the two-party political aristocracy that is Congress. They believe the imminent economic collapse will be an excuse for the dictatorial powers soon to be claimed by the federal government. They accuse Congress of having “increased your powers far beyond their constitutional limits. You have systematically destroyed our natural right to own ourselves and make our own choices. You have become an aristocracy that steals our production and controls us as if we are your serfs.” They announce to the nation, “Ours is the only form of revolution now possible, but it has this advantage. If lives must be taken, only ours or those that have stolen our lives will be required to forfeit theirs.”
They give Congress three days . . . to approve their proposed Term Limits Amendment to the Constitution, one that prevents professional politicians from serving in Congress, or, unless they first resign, the long term incumbents “will be term-limited in the only way they leave us.”
The Department of Justice targets term limits supporters and libertarians in its hunt for the terrorist group. But when the first senator is “term-limited” in spite of all that federal authorities can do to stop it, it is clear the terrorists will not be easily found. They are inside the federal law enforcement agencies that are hunting them.

This novel examines an issue. If our liberties—our right to own ourselves and make our own choices—are diminishing with every year, how do we ever regain them?
Is deadly force justified—even in self-defense?

302 pages, Paperback

First published August 2, 2010

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About the author

Erne Lewis

1 book8 followers
Erne's early years were in Hobart, Oklahoma, a small town in the southwest corner of the state. He moved to Seattle after graduating from the University of Oklahoma. His professional life, until 1974, was as an architect in the Seattle area. In 1974 he and two associates began a new aquaculture venture that grew to become a major source of salmon for the Oregon and Washington coast. Erne was its president for many years. In 1990 he and Marti purchased and outfitted a 48 foot ketch and sailed the Caribbean for a year. Erne has been sailing and writing since then.

Philosophically, Erne has been an Objectivist since reading Atlas Shrugged in 1963, and politically a libertarian. He was active in the Washington State Libertarian Party from 1992 until 2002. He helped write an initiative to stop the use of asset forfeiture by Washington state and local government and then led a signature drive sponsored by the Libertarian Party. He co-hosted a weekly libertarian television program where he interviewed many knowledgeable and eloquent libertarians.

He was a candidate for Congress in 2000. His candidacy was intended to educate the voters as to the differences between the Libertarian Party and the other political parties.

In 2002 he and Marti took another travel break. They sold their home of 17 years, put everything in storage and traveled with backpacks through Italy. Eventually they reached Taormina, Sicily where they stayed for a year and where Erne began An Act of Self-Defense. They eventually returned to the Pacific Northwest after living a few months in Hawaii.

Erne believes a third political party cannot influence politics in any substantial way because of the political stranglehold of the two-headed political monster. He does believe libertarians are favorably influencing the course of our nation and may even succeed in restoring individual liberty.

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5 stars
151 (43%)
4 stars
108 (30%)
3 stars
57 (16%)
2 stars
23 (6%)
1 star
11 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
Profile Image for Jim A.
1,267 reviews85 followers
March 30, 2016
One of those novels that I had to remind myself several times it was just that, a novel. Scary story. Not because I think our government would do the things portrayed in the book, but due to the Patriot Act, they have the capability.

The way many of the congress critters are portrayed as corrupt is pretty much the way most citizens feel about our own congress. The hubris portrayed is probably pretty much spot on as well.

The author did a very good job on a very tough subject. Hard to not see his politics bleed into the storyline, but I don't see how he could have written it any other way.

Readers that are fans of political thrillers should really enjoy this one.
Profile Image for Sue Nobles.
1 review
March 13, 2013
This book was one of the best that I had read in a long while. Action packed, I was swept up with the goals of the group to make a huge and much needed change in today's government. The characters are believable and I found myself totally supporting their actions and becoming worried about their fates.
With all that is going on within Congress today, this is a timely read, that gives one hope of change although I do not condone the violence, I totally understand the reasoning.
Great read, and I can see how it easily could become a great movie as well, but be sure and read the book as the movie could never capture the qualities and nuances.
Profile Image for Mike.
Author 9 books15 followers
February 17, 2013
This is a well-written story. Whether the extreme concerns for American politics are valid or not does not detract from the fact that this is an enjoyable read. The author clearly has an agenda and is not shy in bringing it in whenever appropriate.
It is instructive in that it is often useful to get the views of those not occupying the middle ground as an aid to finding one's own position.
It is also vaguely similar to 'Day of the Jackal' in that we seem to be rooting for the 'bad' guys despite the fact that they are killers.
A decent read, before anything else, along with the strong reminder that not all those who control big business or govern us have our best interests at heart: vigilance is always necessary.
Profile Image for Sheila.
3,432 reviews61 followers
June 2, 2018
A timely book. The TLR (Term Limit Revolution) has given the Congress three days to approve an amendment to the Constitution setting term limits for the Senate and House then they will begin killing the longest serving incumbents. As the politicians either resign or bluster their way through the terror, the TLR carries out its promise.

Wow! What a book. I got so mad at the career politicians and bureaucrats in power. I had to walk away at times. It also made me look up the Patriot Act and learn what is in it. Such an abuse of power. I understand why O'Brian and Bradley and Adams did what they did. I was rooting all the way for the TLR. This book makes you think and realize what we have lost and are continuing to lose.
Profile Image for Karen.
Author 27 books164 followers
October 25, 2019
A fascinating story. Points of view were a little too black-and-white.
Profile Image for Patrick Peterson.
541 reviews335 followers
August 16, 2011
2011-08-11 (briefly updated 23 Aug. 2019) Very, very engaging thriller by a new author who really knows his stuff. In the Tom Clancy style of suspense and intrigue with powerful, timely topics and a mix of ideas seriously discussed.

The theme of this book is that Term Limits is a crucial concept to promote liberty. Not a topic that I thought initially would be worthy of such a book, but the author added much depth to the need for "something" to reverse the march toward a more statist system, and gave many reasons for considering this one a worthy beginning.

Libertarians and conservatives will be very engaged in the dialog on principles and tactics. They will not agree with all parts, but the ideas will be super refreshing in their tone, depth and clarity. I finished this book very fast and could hardly put it down. Can't wait for the Author's next book!

I thought of many friends to recommend this book to and am just starting here to get my thoughts down about it.

Still hoping to see the author's next book come out.
Profile Image for Maureen.
132 reviews20 followers
July 8, 2012
I really enjoyed this read. However, having said that I must say that I also had many mixed feelings associated with the why's and wherefore's of the book. On the one hand, I agree with what these 4 individuals were pursuing, but on the other hand, totally disagreed with how they went about fulfilling their goal. This was a free book from Pixel of Ink and though I had never read this author before this book, I found he was extremely liberal in his writing, but understandable. I would recommend this to those who feel change is needed in term limits.
33 reviews1 follower
March 30, 2021
This author sees himself as the reincarnation of Ayn Rand. Spoiler: He's not!

The conceit of this story is that term limiting elected officials at the national level will solve all problems of "liberty". There is a lot of rhetoric about lost liberty, but no evidence of how that "lost liberty" has damaged the main protaganists' lives. For a gang of renegades who, according to the story, spent two years planning their assault on the government, they seem extraordinarily unprepared. Their cold-blooded murder of legislators is passed over with no real indication that they have any remorse for their crimes. The depiction of what passes for the justice arm of the government is equally crazy and unbelievable. Is the Patriot Act insidious? Well, I'd say yes, but I still don't buy the terror rained down under the aegis of the Patriot Act here. The long rants that serve as Jacob's daily messages sent to the world are, well, in a word, boring and soporific. The message of the libertarian manifesto (herein: anything that impedes my ability to do whatever the hell I like, regardless of how it impacts those around me, with no acknowledgement that the government *does* provide some valuable services) is just blather. And don't even get me started on the sophomoric aspects of the love story between Jacob and Anne! Really, are they both thirteen years old? I'm going to use my "liberty" to not read any more dross from Erne Lewis.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Michael.
Author 202 books39 followers
September 21, 2017
I’ve had this one on my Kindle for over a year before I finally got around to reading it – after about 15% of the way in to the book, I was totally engrossed and wondering why I hadn’t read this earlier.

The author does a great job of getting you into the heads of his characters, and he makes you feel as if you are a participant in the story. He hits the nail on the head describing a lot of the dysfunction in today’s political world, and makes you want to be an agent of change: not, of course, in the manner his characters are attempting to implement change, but it makes you sit back and wonder “how did we let this happen” with the career politicians and the slow erosion of people’s rights.

I actually finished this book about two weeks ago and keep on thinking about many of the situations in the book: that’s impressive to me, as given the number of books I read in a month it has to be really good to make me think back to it days, let alone two weeks, after finishing it.

If you enjoy a good thriller with twists and plot turns, I would highly recommend this one. I’m looking forward to reading more from Mr. Lewis.
Profile Image for Marty Mcintyre.
150 reviews1 follower
June 25, 2017
This was a political thriller that mirrors the dysfunction in our government today. Thomas Jefferson warned that we need term limits or else we would see a political class determined to hold on to power at all costs and a bloated bureaucracy that would usurp the rights of the individual. This book was a real page turner. The protagonists felt they had no recourse. They demanded that long term incumbents resign or allow a term limit Amendment or face assassination. Once they started assassinating Congress critters the full might of the government fell on anyone who expressed the need for term limits and the results were dead folks on both sides of the issue. This was a cautionary tale for today about a Government out of control and the ends that folks will go to in order to hold on to the power and conversely to wrest it away from in control. The arguments for term limits were well-documented and invoked a level of empathy for the "Patriots."
Profile Image for Eddie.
789 reviews8 followers
September 10, 2019
An interesting read. The book is well written for a first time writer, the author has done a good job. The story moves fairly quickly and kept me interested. There is quite a bit of political commentary, but that is to be expected with a book of that nature. The author does a good job of presenting the case for term limits and that the government is out of control using a story to do so. It get's a little sketchy by the end, the protaganists are no longer taking the proper precautions, people who know better are allowing themselves to be tracked etc. so that was a litttle disappointing. Also, there were two differnt "love" stories melded into the story that honestly were nothing but a large distraction that felt out of place, it could have done without both.

All in all, a reasonable read that was pretty enjoyable.
Profile Image for Kathleen Horvath.
4 reviews
August 11, 2018
Too vividly real and possible!

I started the book and couldn't put it down. Thinking about the state of the congress, with all of the lifetime politicians,and the similarity to the characters and plot in the book is eerie. The career politicians on both sides of the aisle are mirror images of Lewis's congressman-Pelosi, Feinstein, McConnell, Kasich, Rangel, Grassley, Leahy, Hatch, Sensenbrenner.
126 reviews
July 20, 2020
Decent story. Interesting concepts.

As one who supports term limits, I found this an interesting idea. Sadly, the actions taken by the TLR would likely have to happen to get Congress to put a term limit amendment up for a vote. The story is fast paced and intense. The main reason I deducted a star was the frequent f bomb and the added sex. Neither was needed for this to be a top notch book.
557 reviews5 followers
May 3, 2020
Shocking

Read this at a time when this could be happening for real.
I had to read this book in increments as it was a shock to my core.
Erne Lewis, you did a great job of presenting a possible result to tyranny. Thanks for an outstanding and scary possibility to protect our Constitution and way of life.
1 review
November 24, 2023
A great read!

I enjoyed the subject matter, the characters were very well described, it was somewhat unpredictable. There was no need for the sex stuff, it added nothing to the story line. In todays world, it seems very likely that the U.S. could be headed in this very direction.
Profile Image for Lucy McCoskey.
384 reviews2 followers
August 13, 2018
this was written in 2014, but really pertains to today's politics & politicians. it's methods are extreme, the need for a solution to greed, corruption, control....is also extreme
Profile Image for Susan Barton.
Author 6 books94 followers
July 8, 2012
From its informational beginning, edge-of-your-seat middle, to its climactic ending, An Act of Self-Defense will elicit a variety of emotions from readers.

Set in the near future and centering on the approaching collapse of an over-burdened, government-manipulated economy, a grass roots group of professionals has secretly been planning for two years and is now ready to act. Professor TJ Stewart and a small group of followers, calling themselves the Term Limits Revolution (TLR), believe strongly that the only way to give control back to the American people is to place term limits on the career politicians in Washington. With the belief that American liberty has been stolen by power hungry government officials, the TLR gives Congress an ultimatum - give the people the right to choose a Term Limits Amendment to the Constitution or prepare for the forced removal of as many long term incumbents as is necessary.

What follows is a race against the clock for The Department of Justice, who has labeled the TLR a terrorist group. The DOJ will stop at nothing, including the use of vicious, bloody torture tactics, to prevent the TLR from gaining momentum and achieving their goals. With some inside help, the TLR manages to stay just one step ahead of the DOJ in order to continue their quest to restore liberty to the people.

Unbelievably, this is a first novel for Erne Lewis. The characters are credible and interesting. The story is compelling, timely and thought-provoking. This novel is definitely not only for Libertarians. An Act of Self-Defense is for anyone wondering what might happen if power were restored to the people just as the Constitution had intended. I can certainly see the potential for a major motion picture!
Profile Image for Mary.
73 reviews
October 22, 2014
A good read just before state and national elections. This page turner falls in the genre of politico-techno-thriller. The Term Limits Revolution, a small group dismayed over what they see as government take-over and control of the US by professional politicians returning to Congress for decades, begins a terror campaign to force Congress to pass term limits.The reader's omniscient view of both the TLR quartet and the members of the task force set up to stop them creates sympathy for both sides. Alternately, we feel incredulity at Chris's, Anna's, and TJ's cold-blooded determination that they "must" execute 2 Senators per day for their cause and horror at the brutality of the top DOJ officials in the name of justice.

Plicata Press publishes "authors whose mainstream fiction may be too literary." Too literary would be my sole criticism of some parts of this novel. It reads quickly with easy understanding until each TLR letter to the nation. The letters are long--usually 1 1/2 pages, written well above the 5th-6th grade reading level of the average American--with information about the misdeeds of congressmen running to repetitive. The result, instead of convincing and reinforcing my acceptance of their premise, is to make me skim through those paragraphs. Of course, Lewis may have been parodying ranting manifestos written by other malcontents of recent years. Or he may have been assuming the "professorial tone" that T J Stewart would have continued to use after leaving his teaching at the college level.

I would love a discussion of this book to see which side readers favored--rooted for--before they read to the last page.
Profile Image for Jen.
3,699 reviews27 followers
May 7, 2012
The premise sounded interesting and it was free on the Kindle. So far I've only read the prologue. We'll see how I like it.

I've gotten about 57% of the way through and was enjoying it. Now the characters are either doing stupid things or thinking about doing stupid things and I just can't take it. I don't know if they are doing stupid things to further the plot along or not and I don't want to find out right now. This isn't a DNF, it's a putting down to continue later. If this wasn't on the Kindle and was a real book, I would have skipped a couple of pages or skipped to the end, to see how things turned out, then gone back to where I had paused reading and continued, which is what I do when the scene is too suspenseful or scary or just bad to read. I need a little reassurance that everything is going to be ok, or not, and then I can continue. I'm denied the ease of "cheating" on the Kindle, it's kind of annoying to have to push the button and keep track of how many times I pushed it, so I'm just putting this down for the time being.
Profile Image for Heidi.
468 reviews11 followers
June 21, 2015
Four individuals believe in term limits for all members of Congress. The form a group called the TLR. Congress has to pass the amendment, or the group will start killing off long term members.

An Act of Self-Defense is a well written book with no errors that I could find. Those type of books are hard to find today. You can also see the passion the author has for incorporating a term limits into the Constitution. Mr. Lewis makes his points clear to his audience. He also shows how much power Congress has taken from the people. Especially rights denied to individuals through the Patriot Act.

The book was a little on the long side, and a some foul language that I did not approve off. That was mostly my reason for the 4 stars instead of 5. I would recommend individuals to read, especially now that we will soon be voting for new Presidential candidates, and a President.
Profile Image for Rick.
18 reviews
February 11, 2013
I loved this book. It is so very well written and so accurate that it was difficult at times to distinguish the book from real life. The plot develops and twists and is unpredictable. The characters are very real for "normal" people who felt passionate enough about their beliefs and their country that they performed unspeakable acts to accomplish their goal.

The characters were very real and you could feel their pain and internal struggle with their consciences. I have already recommended this book to my friends and will continue to do so especially after completing it.
Profile Image for Carl.
169 reviews7 followers
October 4, 2013
Take "1984", put it in today's political climate, exaggerate it a bit and you've got "An Act of Self Defense". While this book is a novel, it's not that far off base from what is happening to personal liberties and the expansion of federal government powers, and it's downright scary. Perhaps rather than calling this a political thriller, it should be placed in the horror genre. Great read. Highly recommended reading for Libertarians, Independents, Republicans, and Democrats alike. Remember...it's just a novel....or is it?
Profile Image for Linda.
1,119 reviews49 followers
March 7, 2014
Midway through the book I realized what the fate of the TLR members would be. On the last page I knew the fate of their ideals and goals. This work of fiction ran close to home. This author put into words the things I can only think, and I am scared to death of the thought police! Afraid or not, I thought about Thomas Jefferson, habeas corpus, Guantanamo, the Patriot Act, privacy in the bedroom, torture, and on and on. This is one book I will not forget.

Thank you, Mr. Lewis, for an exceptional read.
Profile Image for Malcolm Gregoire.
251 reviews5 followers
June 2, 2016
What a scary tale of how much power the government yields. The story revolves around a group striving to eliminate career politicians by forcing a term limits amendment to be passed by Congress. The group goes by the TLR Term limits Revolution and give Congress a few days to allow long term incumbents to resign or they would start killing of the members 2 at a time. The DOJ thugs start out hunting them down and killing off citizens that are not tied to the TLR but were former students of the leader. Government wields way to much unchecked power in this book.
287 reviews2 followers
April 4, 2012
The author, a self-avowed libertarian, takes real pleasure in dissing Congress, Federal law enforcement agencies, and a minor list of other offenders. His protagonists are not all that lovable either. While I may not feel warm and fuzzy about big government, I do believe he was a little heavy handed, which detracted from the novel. Also, the long dissertations on the evils of government were a bit much.
Profile Image for Rhod.
498 reviews5 followers
February 5, 2013
Interesting story about an extreme group who decide to take on the U.S. government - promoting term limits and severing the relation of members of congress to special interests. They threaten to kill some long term members of congress until the congress passes a law limiting the years any member of congress can serve. Then they cannot return to the capitol for any reason for ten years. Yummy idea, and the book takes you on a pretty wild ride.
Profile Image for Dale Halling.
21 reviews1 follower
February 15, 2014
This is a political novel built around term limits. Mr. Lewis turns this esoteric topic into a first rate thriller, in which he demonstrates the dangers of the NSA’s blanket surveillance of Americans and the dangers of the Patriot Act. My only comment is that bureaucrats also need to be term limited. A long term bureaucrat in the EPA can do as much or more damage than a Senator or Representative. Looking forward to the next book.

DK Halling Author of Pendulum of Justice
Profile Image for Cynthia  Russell.
25 reviews1 follower
September 22, 2014
Term limits!!

I love this book! the question of initiating term limits on congress is so relevant. the author explained the term limit debate very effectively. I loved the tech aspect of the fight for liberty. everyone whether dem or rep needs to read this book if just for the great discussions that will come from it. we alwAys vote for change but it never happens. maybe this book will make more people sit up and take notice.


Profile Image for Kathie.
937 reviews
October 12, 2014
Well-written and researched. While I didn't totally agree with the author's definition of "liberty" and his views on less government, I whole-heartedly appreciated his character, Congressman Ray's, explanation of the need for term limits and civilian legislators vs. career politicians. Especially enjoyed reading these political views offered in a fictional action thriller. A great way to express one's politics thoughtfully.
Profile Image for Cathy.
399 reviews1 follower
September 5, 2013
Term limits for congress! I agree 100% with that. Career politicians that care only for the power they can wield. Four people calling themselves the TLR or Term Limit Revolution set out to force Congress to pass an amendment for term limits. They tell them to resign or they will be term limited (killed). I thought this was very well written and thought provoking.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews

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