Customer Reviews

Publicani

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Thriller, science fiction, satire, plea for human dignity and liberty, mysticism, novel about families: you can answer All Of The Above, but you can't stop turning the pages. Again and again as I read this book, I said to myself, This could never happen here. But each time it was with less conviction, until I was left asking, How close are we already to losing the freedoms that matter above all else?

An all-to-real political thriller that transports today's government into the future as they place societal desires over individual rights. If you think government has a legitimate role to redistribute our wealth and property as they do today, then why not the rest of your assets, why not your intellect. Maymin portrays a future where medical technology allows government into your brain where they can redistribute intelligence to those less fortunate. Don't worry, the government says it won't hurt and they won't take more than they need.

[...]

Dystopian nightmare is an understated insult to the gem that is Publicani. Taking cues from The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein, the intellectually challenging non-fiction work The Second Messiah by Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas, and the inspiring Anthem by Ayn Rand; Publicani is eerily prescient given the troubles we are facing today. Publicani takes the noxious concept of "the redistribution of wealth"; applies it to current trends in biotechnology, and asks "what if?"

As a student of Objectivism, I will graciously sidestep the mystical component of the story, and say that there are few novels of any consequence today that challenge the current trends in the U.S. towards cultural and economic Marxism. Publicani does so in triplicate and for that it is a challenge to the nonsense that clogs the best sellers lists.

Zak Maymin's Publicani is the first novel I've come accross in a long time that didn't bore me, piss me off, or leave a bitter taste in my brain. For that it is a welcome retreat from the disaster that is spreading out of the Capitol and my bank accounts. It is also a Shofar's call to arms for those who still cherish liberty and believe that a person's life, his property, and his mind is his own

In short: I really enjoyed this book. The theme centers around the universal struggle for freedom and liberty in a post-modern world where the term "thought police" has gone from metaphor to an actual existence in the form of a government agency. Like all government agencies it has an innocent sounding name and a purpose that aims to improve the "common good." Following a scientific breakthrough allowing the physical transfer of intelligence between people, the government has decided that certain individuals with "brains to spare" are to become "volunteer" donors to such important members of society as politicians, military leaders, ambassadors, and select researchers. This is all for the good of the nation of course, but it has some severe consequences for the donor, especially if they don't comply.

You see, as with all "voluntary" government programs, if you dare to not cooperate, you suffer the consequences. "Publicani" takes us through this scenario time and again through the eyes of many characters who are the enforcers and the enforcees... and sometimes both. This book manages to play this scenario out while engaging in many intentional parallels with the current politics of the day, and I think this is why it was so enjoyable to me. The underlying theme throughout is simply this: If one of us can be enslaved, then we are all slaves. For this theme alone this book is worth reading, but the story is very interesting without being overly wordy. I finished the book in about three hours and I think it was time well spent.

Finally, I think this book offers some perspective to those of us who don't really see the significance of what is happening in the United States today. In the book an extreme circumstance is at hand: the government forcibly ravages your brain. However, is that not indirectly what the government is doing now? If you are a very successful, highly educated businessman who deals in Intellectual Property, you are punished by this government as being an "evil, greedy, rich" person. With this justification, the government promptly taxes you at every turn: the highest income tax rate, capital gains taxes on your investments, property taxes on your car and house, sales taxes at the local and state level, energy taxes on your electricity and gas, the list goes on and on until you die and they then take half of what you had left!

So in the end, the fruits of your intelligence are taken from you. In Publicani, they just go straight to the source. In real life, we're almost there.

This is a thriller with non-stop action. The writing is choppy and the transitions are not so smooth but what it lacks in artistry it makes up in the importance of the questions raised. What is "freedom?" when do you know you are free? Can a society impose its will on members if an overwhelming majority of other members concur? When is it permissible to use force to ensure compliance with norms? Who has the right to determine norms and how?

These are highly relevant questions to consider in a post 9/11 world.

Publicani is not a book to pick up lightly. It is a riveting page turner that could, if it affects you like it affected me, capture your attention, at the cost of sleep and re-prioritization of your work day.

It's a story with strong characters and a fascinating plot that spans the globe with politics, intrigue, a bit of science fiction and a bit of kabbalistic mysticism that are all woven together into a credible novel that at the end is compelling and satisfying.

As a reviewer, this was a pleasant surprise, when so many political novels are more lecture than good story, how well told this was.

This book is a real page turner. It's fast paced and I read it in two days, finding it difficult to put down. Zak Maymin asks the question, "How far can we go with laws of eminent domain and the loss of personal liberty? Are certain groups more likely to be targeted?" The result is a thrilling, chilling political/science fiction novel that will have you thinking about the story long after you've finished the book.

It made me wonder whether apathy of the general population could allow something like this to actually happen? Sometimes it seems like we're so bombarded with news 24/7, that unless something directly affects us or is the lead story on the big news channels, we don't pay much attention to it. If it happens to only a small percentage of the population and it doesn't affect most people, does that make it more acceptable? How does a government agency such as the ICA in this book get so much power and why does this kind of power always seem to end up being misused? This would be a good book for a political science class to stimulate conversation. Two thumbs up!

What did I like about the book, what resonated with me?...Not easy to answer but it must have been a lot because ...I read it on the plane home from Nashville...and processed it cover-to-cover before dinner on my connecting flight from Washington to Brussels...and I am not especially famous for reading books cover to cover in one go.
Probably the "Freedom" message and the cornerstone(s) of the teaching...that all spirits (and people) are equal...and that only a few passionate people can change the world.
All these messages resonate with me profoundly as these have been the messages supporting our Leader Academy philosophy over the last 22 years [...]

This book changed my life. The way I view corruption in government was enriched by the concept of stealing IQ. What would you do if your family was threatened by an IQ Eminent Domain? Grab your gun, plenty of ammo and head for the hills. Publicani probes what it means to be a free citizen. Who has the right to rob your sanity for the collective? It is a sci-fi story but delves into freedom, justice, honor and courage, all of what makes being unique and human worth living for and protecting. That and it has a hot chick.

I finished it this past week. I literally couldn't put it down once I got into the action... from about the point where Moschetti goes to pick up Ariela and Josh doesn't know. It got pretty bloody pretty quickly and unexpectedly... and that was like the point where you get pushed down the giant bobsled slide and you just can't stop reading. Action all the way after that.

The most vivid part of the book is when Josh, Sarah, and Ariela are in the box headed to where Moschetti was going to kill them. (I'll keep out the details so I don't spoil it.) Ouch! Didn't see that coming! Also, the ending scene with Josh and Diata in the cabin was vivid.

The most meaningful part of the book to me was when the elder Eleyahu was training Sarah. Their discussions about how the Essenes and their training was not just for the benefit of the Jews, but for the benefit of all mankind. That, and the other discussions were very important to the undergirding of the message of the book, I think.

I was on a plane when I finished it. I enjoyed it so much that I let my newfound friend in the seat beside me "borrow" it in order to enjoy it.

It would be quite good as a movie, I think. Lots of fun!