Publicani

Publicani Reviews

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Publicani is a smart, sexy read!
Zak Maymin’s Publicani is a smart, sexy thriller! Maymin’s suspenseful writing, takes us on a riveting adventure of political intrigue, leadership and control. This provocative, alarming story catapults us and then jolts us into considering questions about our personal liberty and freedom. Is there such a thing as eminent domain of the brain? A query like this compels us to revalue and attend to the precious gift of our freedom. Post-read, we are harkened to a better place where we understand and appreciate the importance of cherishing and nurturing our liberty. Publicani is powerful, heady stuff and a very fine, entertaining and thought-provoking read. Terrific Prometheus Award Nominated Story.
Elaine T. O. Brien

A View on Taxes from the Future
“…in this world nothing is certain but death and taxes” –Benjamin Franklin

‘Publicani’ is an action thriller about a Jewish family fighting against a government agency. It asks questions like, “How far would the government go to invade individual privacy in pursuit of its own interests?”

Premise of the book is that sometime in near future the government invents a procedure that allows to take part of one’s intellect and share it with other people. Intellect redistribution, much like income redistribution, would used to make people in key positions smarter, benefiting society as a whole. Is this an ethical thing to do?

The story is told very visually, as if it were a movie. (In fact, its futuristic and supernatural elements reminded me of the ‘Minority Report’.) It is entertaining and full of unexpected twists. I like the well developed characters and the conflict surrounding this new technology… So, yes, the book is interesting.

But what isn’t obvious, even after you read it, is that the actual purpose of this book is to FIGHT THE INCOME TAX! The procedure of sucking out one’s intellect is an exaggerated account of how intrusive the government can be, and it is not meant to be taken literally. Instead, if you get the allegory, you would see that motivation for this book was to advance author’s libertarian principles and to explain why direct taxation of income is immoral and unnecessary. (In an interview he said, “If you give me time, I’ll prove it to you like a mathematical theorem.” – This I would like to see!)

Incidentally, it is curious to know that Zak Maymin is not a fiction writer. (Well, I guess he is now!) He is a hedge fund manager with an advanced degree in mathematics – a Russian immigrant who believes in freedom. So, what he did was combine his knowledge of economics with his libertarian principles and wrote a book (or should we say, a movie script?) in the most infectious and thought-provoking way, to get his message across.
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The opening chapter is rather intriguing: no narrative. My first impression was that it had a flavor of corporate espionage novels. For someone whose first language isn’t English he writes very well. I like his economy of words: if he were a painter, he would know how to turn the brush to get a desired effect with just a few strokes.

There are several intertwined story lines in the book, maintaining variety and suspense. The chapters aren’t too long or too short (like in Dan Brown’s or Joseph Finder’s novels), and instead of just numbers, they have descriptive titles, which helps to understand and remember them better.

In the ‘Prologue’, from letters exchanged between government agencies, we get to learn the meaning of the word ‘Publicani’. Basically, in the ancient times there were tax farmers (Publicani) who used to collect taxes from the provincials; they were despised by the common folk. In the next chapter, ‘Josh gets an assignment’, we meet the main hero, Josh, a young government agent, and one of the villains, Moschetti, his boss.

There is a funny paragraph about Josh that I enjoyed very much:

“This was not as easy as it sounded because he tended to think independently. The principle had worked well for him in all the concentration-camps-like institutions that he had attended: school, colleges, and now the ICA. In all of these places, people of average abilities did what they hated under the supervision of corrupt losers. The rules protected the losers, who ferociously protected the rules. The system was especially hard on those with higher intellects, who would question the reasons behind the rules.”

What a brilliant observation! Reminds me of every school I went to.

In this and subsequent chapters we learn more about the Intellect Collection Agency (a.k.a. Publicani) that Josh is working for and the infamous “Gerbatz Procedure” they use to transfer some of the brain power from people with high IQ to various politicians and generals that need to be smarter in order to run the country better. The procedure causes excruciating pain and actually makes people dumber for a few months. So, naturally, there are many cases on “non-compliance” that are handled by the agency with unbelievable cruelty.

In later chapters we meet Sam and Ariela, Josh’s parents, and his sister Sarah…
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Throughout the book, the author uses characters to express his opinion directly.

For example, Mr. Olafson, a scientist who resisted the procedure, basically choosing between death and taxes, says:

“Who decides whether the speed limit is a small sacrifice or not? Airport searches? Sales tax? Phone fees?”
“I can choose to travel below the speed limit and not pay the fine. I can choose to not travel by plane. I can grow my own food. I can e-mail instead of phoning. But I can’t stop thinking and working!”
“What you are doing to me is direct extortion, and I am not your property or slave!”

Another example (from chapter ‘Pesach’):

“You think it is possible to have a simple test of who is free and how is not?”
“Listen,” said Ariela, “I thought about this. If I sit in my house, drinking wine and eating matzoh, and somebody comes in and tells me that the government has decided that I have to do something ‘because it is extremely good for all of us’, here is my test. I tell this somebody to go to hell. I tell him that I can decide myself what is good for me or for my country. If after that I am still sitting here drinking my wine and enjoying my life, I am free. If, on the other hand, I am in jail, or killed, or thrown out of my house, I am a slave.”
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Two of my favorite characters – Josh and Sarah – survive in the book, and unlike other characters whose personalities are fixed, they go through ‘the arch’ of personal transformation. For Josh, many of his beliefs are changed dramatically, and although he gets to keep his mind, his face isn’t the same. For Sarah, the transformation is even more profound. Running away and on the brink of death, unexpectedly she discovers a secret place, “which was by all accounts the crib of human spirituality”, becoming one with what she yearned for her entire life, and realizing her ultimate purpose.

As a reader, I also went through a ‘paradigm shift’. I realized that although I thought I was free, it was an illusion.

You know what I mean?

It is the same kind of feeling you’d get while watching ‘The Matrix’: you know that even if machines have won, they wouldn’t need to use humans as source of electric energy; you know that the virtual world they’d create wouldn’t be so elaborate; and yet, looking around at how media and the government are already controlling our minds, it is easy to see how, in a way, we already live in the Matrix!

Like that film, ‘Publicani’ is filled with religious and philosophical symbolism; though, instead of the “red pill” that would remove us from the Matrix, we get to participate in a new thought experiment providing the same “abortive action”. It makes you think outside the box and see that, although we like to believe that our rights and freedoms are guaranteed by laws & the constitution, they are but temporary privileges that can be taken away at any moment.
(By the way, it’s April 13th. Have YOU filed your taxes already!?)
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An ongoing theme throughout the book is the moral choice between Law and Freedom.

In the beginning, both Josh and Moschetti are showing a strong preference for the Law:

“…for most of his life, despite occasional doubts, he had been able to stick to one simple principle: follow the rules, whatever they are.”

“…the most important passion in his life was obeying the law. Ever since he was a child, he had realized that all people’s problems came from evading the law; and all his life observations confirmed in him the simple thought that if everybody just obeyed the law, life would be fair and happy for all”

The theme reappears in ‘Job interview’ between an old rabbi and a younger man applying for his post:

“What is more important, the law or freedom?”
“Both are equally important. There should be a balance between individual freedom and societal stability.”
“Who should be making the decisions about such a balance?”
“The society itself, through its elected or selected leaders.”

After the interview the old man is dismayed: “All wrong. I am failing miserably.” He looked at another job application: “No tragedy, no purity, no strength. No sense of destiny. Where is their thirst for freedom?”

Finally, the choice is settled in favor of freedom in the conversation between Eliyahu and Sarah:

“You think freedom is more important than law?”
“Of course. What’s the point of supporting the law if you are a slave? If I am not free, the law will be used against me.”
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The ending is particularly moving (‘Call for help’ and ‘New beginning’), because through metaphor it shows us, living in the real world, that there is hope. It shows how one voice can be heard by all people everywhere, and though freedom-loving people due to their very nature are independent-minded, united by a common cause they can be a powerful force!

(You’ve probably heard the quote “organizing atheists is like herding cats”. Richard Dawkins has a good response to this: “Even if they can’t be herded, cats in sufficient numbers can make a lot of noise and they cannot be ignored.”)

Although the book ends well, at the very last chapter we are reminded that “the fight is not over”. Campaign for liberty is a never-ending process. Even if big oppressors are defeated, as long as smaller ones are tolerated, there is a risk of relapse.
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I think, the contribution of this book is that — through grotesque metaphor — it raises our awareness of serious social and economic issues. There is no shortcut to a free society. The only way we can do it is by becoming as knowledgeable and articulate in our advocacy as possible in order to attract those who want to understand freedom.

Main point of the book, in my opinion, is this: “If there are enough free people, and the message is right, they’ll produce a wave, and others will join.”

Needless to say, this kind of change will not be coming from the government! So, it is up to us to support the people advancing freedom, be that through politics (Ron Paul), fiction (Zak Maymin), or social networking…
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In closing, I would like to quote Sheldon Richman who wrote:

“So what about the income tax? There is no shortage of arguments that the income tax is illegal, even unconstitutional. It’s been said to violate the Fifth Amendment guarantee against self-incrimination, that it’s really voluntary, that Federal Reserve Notes aren’t money, and on and on. Most curious is the argument that the income-tax law was never intended to tax wages and salaries earned in the private sector because the lawmakers knew such a tax would be unconstitutional.”

“The income tax is immoral on many levels. It permits the government nearly unlimited access to the people’s wealth. It opens the door to inquisitorial intrusion into their private affairs. And it introduces such complexity into the law that everyone is a potential criminal.”
Khanan Asherov,
published on OpEdNews

Fast-Pace, Thought-Provoking Action
If you like fast-paced stories, this book is for you. Rather than go through lengthy descriptions, Maymin takes us directly to the action. I found myself wanting to quickly move to the next chapter to see what was happening next and wanting to think about the ideas this book provokes all at the same time. The end leaves room for the imagination, which means that you’re not done thinking about it once you’re done reading it. I’d love to see it in film at some point!
Marie-Josee Salvas (Montreal)

Suspenseful Thriller
This book was a suspenseful thriller that literally kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time! This was an easy to read book with an interesting story line that weaves enough history with fiction to create a truly believable idea. All the cliffhangers that transition into more complex plot twists and turns really kept me guessing until the very end! Gain a new respect for your own freedoms by reading this book!
B. Herrington (Valencia, Ca USA)

mentally stimulating page turner
The title of this book failed to catch my interest. The huge font style turned me off. But then I started reading…

You will be reminded of 1984 and Twilight Zone episodes. You will try to put this book down but like me, will probably feel compelled to finish it in 1-2 sittings. The greatest compliment I can give is that you will be thinking about the ideas in this book long after its over. An apocalyptic future is introduced that is both creative and at the same time, extremely plausible. I hesitate to give anything away in this review. As an avid reader of fiction and non-fiction, all I can say is that this is one of those books that I fear far too many people will fail to read because it won’t be on their radar.

In an era where freedom, technology, and visionary ideas are regularly in conflict, this book asks you to consider the trade-offs. Similar to Ayn Rand, the philosophy at the foundation of this book is buried in the background of an exciting adventure. I tend to relish books that can be enjoyed at multiple levels. This is one that I will be recommending to many people…
Todd B. Kashdan

Inspiring, Entertaining and Deeply Moving!
Publicani is a thrilling and fast pace novel that still manages to provide one with the opportunity to contemplate life and its complexity. This book was a quick read and I finished it within a day of starting. If you’ve enjoyed 1984 or Animal Farm you may appreciate Maymin’s perspective upon how power corrupts and freedom frees. The text’s central theme that no one may be free while others are oppressed is both timely and ageless. However, I most enjoyed Maymin’s character development and wit. The book is actually laugh-out-loud funny at some points and when reading it in the library, I got a few sideways looks. Sarah and Josh, the text’s two main characters, are brought to us as quirky multidimensional survivors. They seem real and draw you into their story. The text is compelling because it shows both the best and worst aspects of humanity while daring the reader to hope that there are still individuals out there who are willing to fight for the freedom of all people. While we are good and bad we can all strive to better ourselves and reach the full potential of our respective abilities through helping one another and standing up for what we believe in regardless of cost. As a novice to Judaism I also enjoyed learning about aspects of the faith. I would highly recommend this text, as I’m sure you’d enjoy it!
Lucia E. Guillory (Stanford, CA USA)

an interesting read
I enjoyed this quick paced story and it is quite thought provoking in its subject matter. The idea of the government taking “extra intelligence” from citizens and transferring it to the brains of leaders and officials is not only frightening, but, capable of really happening.

My biggest gripe is that I wish the book was longer. But, it is set up nicely for a sequel.
L. Faridi (MA)

redistribution of the intellect?
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
Carl A. Cervini “web admin www.hadenough.us” (sedona, az)

Gets your gray matter to work a bit
Great book, totally worth the read. My favorite part of the book was that this is a smart book with a message and with questions that get your gray matter to work a bit. The author shakes you up a little, so be ready to be intrigued.
lockthedog

First-class
I started this book not realising that I was in for a treat. The plot was gripping and masterfully crafted. It comes highly recommended.
Alan Foster

An appropriate read for our current events,
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.
Thomas Utley (South Carolina, USA)

This book would make a great movie!,
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!
PT Cruiser “ptcruzer” (CA USA), AMAZON’S TOP 500 REVIEWER

Only a few passionate people can change the world!,
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 [...]
Domien Van Gool (Antwerp, BELGIUM)

Engaging thriller
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.
J. Dustin

A film in the making,
This page-turner is filled with action, plot twists and turns reminiscent of The Da Vinci Code. Reading it, I could see a film in the making.

In between all the action, Maymin raises important questions about the nature of freedom and offers some well-articulated interpretations of Jewish Kabbalah.

A transfixing read, hard to put down!
Thriller

Zak will zap your zzzz…,
Yes, if you read Zak Maymin’s book you will not be able to sleep because you will rather finish the book. So start early in the day.

Zak Maymin is a professional statistician that uses his knowledge of Bayesian statistics to play with your expectations masterfully. He will surprise you endlessly. The tempo is prestissimo. He spares unnecessary detail to get you into the action. You’ll find yourself in the most unexpected places, from Washington, DC, to Moscow, to Mt. Carmel in Israel.

And the message in the book is deep, heartfelt and TRULY American: fight for your liberty!
Marcial Losada (Brazil)

Action and intrigue with a conscience,
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!
Nicholas H. Hall “Lab Man” (Palo Alto, CA USA)

A Real Page Turner,
I plowed through this thought provoking book in one sitting! Great, intriguing read – I couldn’t put it down.
Margaret Greenberg “Executive Coach” (Andover, CT USA)

Important questions to consider,
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.
Srikumar S. Rao (Commack, NY USA)

An unbeatable page-turner!,
I got this book in the evening and was finished by lunch the following day – I just couldn’t put it down! Really well written, the plot, characters, and pacing of the story really drew me in. And the message about freedom, that one of us is not free, then none of us is, really struck a chord, and applies to so much of what is going on in this world… Am waiting for the next one from this author, for sure!
P. Givens (United Kingdom)

Genre-Bender…
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?
Sam Gutmann

A fascinating twist on eminent domain, a futuristic political thriller from start to finish…
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.
Randall D. Clapp

One of the Best Books I’ve Ever Read…
I wish other books were like this book – active, short, moving chapters; life-like and fallible characters; a plot that keeps me looking for the next resolution; and a story that I’ve retold countless times to friends already. Will we really have a brain tax in the future? How horrific, how intrusive, how almost here.

I’ve reread this book many times already, and I hope that there is a major motion picture made from this someday. Several sections made my blood curl. “How could they?! Who gave them the right?!” I wanted to jump through the pages and shake the bad guys.

An eye-opening part more than half-way through is the discussion of what Jesus Christ was doing between ages zero and thirty. And how that relates to life and liberty.

If you value freedom even one ounce, this is a book you will first argue with, then love, and then recommend to your friends. Enjoy it!
Intuition Gal

Gripping, Thought-Provoking…
Gripping, suspenseful and thought-provoking, Publicani asks us the important questions: When and how should we, as individuals, protest government intrusion into our private lives? How long is it before the government tells us they need to control our thoughts, as well as our actions? In the wake of 9/11, reading “Publicani” is uncomfortable and agitating, because the reader has the sinking feeling that the author knows something we do not. The author personalizes the story with characters that come to life. Though the story raises important philosophical issues, the novel is far from a diatribe; it is fast-paced and driven by an action-packed plot.
Lisa Wexler, “Live! With Lisa Radio” Talk Show Host

A Riveting, Entertaining Read…
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 reprioritization 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. Well told.
Rob Kall, OpEdNews.com, Publisher

Politically, we are already in the world of the publicani…
Only the lack of technology keeps us from having the brain tax; politically, we are already in the world of the publicani. This is a great story on its own, but some-where between its numerous plot twists, its thrills, its emotional highs and lows, it inspires us to recognize that fighting for individual liberties today ought to be our greatest priority in life for a free tomorrow. I love the book and highly recommend it.
Mary Crean, Yankee Institute for Public Policy, Chief Development Officer