The author doesn't have a writing style that is memorable, nor one for which I would normally give a five star rating. However, the book is a tour de force worthy of five stars due to the broad range of subject he does a fantastic job of describing. They include the terrifying world of 24/7 government surveillance and micro-management of every aspect of every citizen’s life and countless other concepts. I feel like this is a book I’ve imagined in my dreams, but Max Hernandez was able to put the pen to paper, so to speak, and in a way that can allow anyone, from Luddite to tech nerd, understand just how bad the situation has become in this country.
While, at times, he does little to hide the fact that other authors have profoundly influenced his work and thinking, namely Nassim Nicholas Taleb and Ayn Rand, he has the self-confidence and journalistic integrity to not only mention these two and numerous other authors at the end of the book, but to provide a ‘suggested reading list’ that is top notch. (If every adult in the US simply read the books he suggested, our country would take an overnight turn for the better.)
The novel reads like a roman à clef insofar as it is gives the eerie feeling that something like this is happening now or has happened already in America. But, the book is quite simply a HUGE, WELL WRITTEN, WAKE-UP CALL to all Americans. Hernandez makes it crystal clear that our rights are under assault and we are being pushed, not led off cliffs by masses of slimy politician and government bureaucrats, all who have interlocking means of bringing the average citizen to their knees.
The author writes about thorium reactors and gives the reader enough insight to do further research to question, “Why are these reactors not being built?” He doesn’t cram the idea down your throat that these reactors are the solution to the world’s energy needs, but he makes the reader want to find out more.
Hernandez has a similar way of describing other technologies and potential advancements in the protection of human rights. He provides the reader just enough understanding and background so that the reader can go on to learn about other subjects.
If I could sum up what Hernandez accomplished in this novel it would be to a) show he can write an extremely compelling novel that is hard to put down; b) show the reader that we have very much to fear from the ‘powers that be’, even if we think we’ve never done anything wrong in our lives; c) that privacy is, at best, an illusion and that; d) we should all learn to protect our privacy, our friends, and our anonymity to the best of our ability. Oh, and I think he’d agree that we should trust very few people in this world.
It seems clear to me that Hernandez would be very pleased if everyone who had read his book would go on to study Internet privacy, government meddling in the private affairs of its citizens, the intrusive and destructive nature of not only the government, but just how damaging appointed bureaucrats can be and become better citizens.
Lastly, Hernandez shows that we, the people, can actually succeed if we start taking powers back from the government and that we actually outnumber and can eventually overwhelm all government forces with some hard work, determination and by helping one another. But, to me, the best point Hernandez makes in the book is that freedom can not only be taken from every individual, but also from every government official, as they turn their backs on one another to protect their own behinds. Their wall is crumbling and they can’t keep their thumbs in the dyke much longer. So, it is a call for every government official to wake up and to actually protect and defend the Constitution, as they swore to do when elected or appointed!
I loved the book and plan on having all three of my children read it, when they get a little older.
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![Thieves Emporium by [Max Hernandez]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51wpLlht2+L._SY346_.jpg)
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Top reviews from the United States
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Frightening, but great read from an author who has clearly learned to think for himself and fear the masses.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 26, 2014Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 20, 2013
Top reviews from other countries
Matthew Williams
Excellent read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 9, 2014Rodney Simpson
techniaclly correct and very intriguing
Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on February 16, 2014Charles F.
George Orwell's 1984 Revisited - A Bleak Future For Society
Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on January 3, 2017Ann Onymous
Un grand classique du niveau de "Cryptonomicon", 1984, Le meilleur des Mondes, Chappie ou Elysium
Reviewed in France 🇫🇷 on May 12, 2017
