American Judas

by Mickey Dubrow

Seth and Maggie Ginsberg do their best to navigate an oppressive theocracy where fundamental Christianity is the only legal religion, and abortion, homosexuality, and adultery are outlawed. When a co-worker outs Seth as a Jew, Seth escapes to Mexico, while Maggie is sent to a Savior Camp. American Judas is a dystopian tale about a young couple’s life after opportunistic U.S. politicians abolish the wall of separation between Church and State.

Genres: Dystopia

344 pages, Paperback

First published October 23, 2018

About the author

For over thirty years, Mickey Dubrow wrote television promos, marketing presentations, and scripts for various clients including Cartoon Network, TNT Latin America, and HGTV. His short stories and essays have appeared in Prime Number Magazine, The Good Men Project, The Signal Mountain Review, Full Grown People, and McSweeney’s Internet Tendency. His first novel, American Judas, was a Finalist for the 2020 Georgia Author of the Year Award in the category of First Novel. He lives in Atlanta with his wife, author Jessica Handler.

Reviews

[Bernard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was both an easy and a difficult book to read. The easy part came from the writing style. The plot is driven mostly by dialog and the chapters were short enough to keep the pace moving. However the content made it difficult to read. How scared was I with each page's revelation on yet another aspect of what a theocratic American government would look like? Very. Some of the ways in which the government was hijacked seemed implausible to me. Or... were they? Some of the ways in which the government was hijacked seemed very plausible to me. I'm not sure which of those things were scarier! I was surprised where the book ended. It seemed to me the clear and obvious "bad guy" of the book (namely, the government) would, by end of book, find a traditional comeuppance. But this was not where Dubrow leaves the characters, the country, or the reader. Perhaps this was intentional. If it were tidily resolved, we might rest easy and think more easily this could never actually happen.

I am struggling to say whether I liked this book or even "really liked" it, according to the goodreads scale. I think it is somewhere in the middle so I'll round up to 4 stars. But on many levels, I absolutely hated the book. From its depictions of many kinds of intolerance, to some of the more subtle jabs at actual real life doctrine, philosophy and tradition that are not universally accepted. Does the author have a secret agenda in this latter category? Maybe, but these kinds of sneaky mentions do get bundled up with the more horrific deviations from our current reality so I'm not sure which might be plot elements and which might be author opinion.

Overall I can definitely say it was an entertaining and quick read, and one that leaves me thinking about the slippery slopes which lead into the awful America this book depicts. I'm interested to see if he writes a sequel, expanding upon the idea of this kind of American government and how it spills into the rest of the world. This book succeeded in its defiance of being categorized as a 'dystopian future' because it was all too eerily possible, given the year 2019 in which I read this tale.

[Vicki Lane · Rating 5 out of 5]

It can’t happen here – or is it?

Ten years after the CHRIST (Christian Households Rising in Support of Truth) Act became law, the USA is at last what the Religious Right has dreamed of – a Christian Nation. The National Church of Christ is the state religion – all others are forbidden and church attendance is mandatory. The stars of the flag have been replaced by a cross and NPR in now NCR. (You can guess what the C stands for.) Everyone carries guns – not to do so would look suspicious. Alcohol, pornography, birth control, abortion, homosexuality are all criminalized.

State-run Savior Camps, complete with barbed wire and armed guards, “are not just for lapsed Christians and those afflicted with the disease of homosexuality. They also cure drug addicts, adulterers, Satan worshippers, and Liberals.”

Seth Ginsburg, a non-observant Jew, has converted and pays lip service to the state religion in order to hold on to his job in the office of a US senator. When he receives a package containing his late father’s prayer shawl, he finds himself compelled to reclaim his heritage and join a group of Jews in their hidden worship. Meanwhile, his wife Maggie is pressured by their Federal Faith Verification case worker to do her Christian duty and get pregnant.

Because Seth is a convert, the case worker is authorized to inspect his home at any time, day or night, “to verify the authenticity” of Seth’s conversion. Behind the scenes glimpses at corrupt politicians and faith leaders (nothing new under the sun) heighten the tension and intensify the parallels with present day.

Finally Seth is betrayed as a hidden Jew and the trials he and Maggie endure in attempting to flee to Mexico take the reader even deeper into the rotten heart of the theocracy that the US has become.

This fast-moving, compelling story would have seemed over the top a few years ago. Now, alas, even the most outrageous scenes are only a few crucial votes away. At times hilarious, at time terrifying, American Judas is, ultimately, a warning.

Highly recommended.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

A terrifying look at what an American theocracy could be.

This novel was heavily plot-driven, with a lot of message to its readers. The story started out innocuous enough, with just an undercurrent of dread. But it quickly escalated to worst-case scenario and became very grim. As is frequently needed in end-of-world novels, there was certainly some violence, but I would not call it gratuitous. Be forewarned there is some violence.

The author did a good job with interjecting some humor into his story. A few of my personal favorites:

"The Savior camps are not just for lapsed Christians and those afflicted with the disease of homosexuality. They also cure drug addictions, adulterers, Satan worshipers and Liberals."

"What's the point of being the damn American Judas if you don't make it so that a man can drink his beer in peace."

Tearing down the wall between church and state did not go so well in this world and provided a good reminder in these turbulent times. A state run church is not a new idea in this world, but radically changing the priorities and ideals of a freedom loving country is bound to create some backlash.

At one point, our protagonist Maggie asks Tiffany (an adolescent viewed as an example for all others) "Are you so perfect that you get to decide for other people?" And Tiffany's answer sums up for me how people can fall into this vicious scenario: "I'm not perfect. Just forgiven." My belief allows me to make mistakes and make decisions for others I believe are right. Scary stuff.

Overall, I found the pacing of this novel to be engrossing. I turned every page needing to know what happened next. Some aspects of the story were tied up with nice little bows, some aspects were left undone, and some aspects were sped to a hasty conclusion. I was left with a feeling of hope, which I find very important when reading any apocalyptic or post-apocalyptic fiction.

I see this is a debut novel from Mickey Dubrow and I thought it was well-done and timely. I will watch for future titles by this author.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced copy of this book.

[Jud Hanson · Rating 5 out of 5]

It has finally happened. After decades of trying, the Religious Right in America have finally turned the country into a true theocracy. Congress has passed the CHRIST Act, which eliminates freedom of religion and establishes Christianity as the only permissible faith to practice. This is the world in which Seth and Maggie Ginsberg now find themselves. Seth secretly attends an underground synagogue, until the authorities find out about it. Seth and his wife make plans to flee to Mexico but are betrayed by a “coyote.” Seth escapes but Maggie is caught and sent to a camp whose stated mission is to “save” her. While Maggie is fighting for survival in the camp, Seth launches a daring plan to rescue his wife.

American Judas by Mickey Dubrow is perhaps the most timely dystopian novel I have read in quite sometime. All one has to do is turn on the news to hear a conservative politician ranting about restoring religious freedom to the United States. While it is unlikely that America will ever become a theocratic state as in American Judas, this novel rings true in a number of ways. There has been the occasional call for making Christianity our official religion and states are regularly pushing the envelope with such laws as making the Bible the official state book. Dubrow has done an amazing job in drawing from current events to create a plot with a believable cast of characters, many that the reader can relate directly to current public figures and office holders. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and give it 5/5 stars.

*A copy of this ebook is the only consideration received in exchange for this review.*

[Laurel Dowswell · Rating 5 out of 5]

American Judas is a riveting read -- immersing you right away into this dystopian world about what could happen when The State/Christian Church rules all. The narrative is fast-paced and filled with a cast of well-constructed characters that swoop the reader into the scenes as masterful as a hungry bald eagle in a swift dive toward its prey.

With Maggie and Seth Ginsberg as our see-ers, our deft players in this cautionary tale, we experience the complexities of survival in a land filled with spilled blood, "Jesus Zombies" and 50s era "morality." They, in turn, make us cry, laugh, and give us hope.

Dubrow incorporates wit and humor throughout the novel to balance the intensity and shine a light on frequent hypocrisies. This technique is also utilized very well in showing what people do to just cope. Cope in the midst of tragic circumstances. Laugh, to survive.

A note on setting - Dubrow also does an excellent job of dropping us in the landscapes. The various places in the book are, in my opinion, characters in their own right. You can taste the dirt of the desert, feel the thickness of the doom permeating the air of the "Savior Camps"- and savor the moments of safety and warmth the Ginsbergs are able to capture together at home.

American Judas is a timely read that not only keeps you turning the pages, but it also asks questions like, "What is faith, really?" "Is power the mightiest human driver?" "What are you willing to sacrifice for what is 'right' and 'good'" --??--

A highly recommended read!

[Estelle Ford-Williamson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Mickey Dubrow’s American Judas while taking in the news recently (cbsnews.com 4.27.21) from the Anti-Defamation League that attacks on the Jewish Community continued to be high during the Pandemic in 2020; the attacks make me afraid for America and where we are headed. Most of the attacks were single actor, many were acts of vandalism, and some were in the form of Zoom-meeting bombing, making the randomness of the enemy’s assaults that much scarier. The Trump administration brought us close to the normalization of hate crimes (The January 6 attack on the US Capitol displayed a number of pro-Nazi messages), and so Dubrow’s book couldn’t come at a better time. It’s a lively story of a man who is made a monster and persecuted for his Jewish faith in an imagined Christian-yoked America. As the events in American Judas unfolded, I couldn’t help but think of the Trump years and hope there’s not a resurgence of a “Christian” agenda playing out again. I recommend you read the book and become aware of the danger of having the State become a speaking voice for an extremist religious-inspired oligarchy.

[Robert Gwaltney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mickey Dubrow’s debut novel, American Judas, is an intricately woven work of fiction which assuredly resonates with those of us uneasy within the present political landscape, while also appealing to those merely searching for a sensational read.

In Mr. Dubrow’s cleverly imagined new America, the CHRIST Act has hobbled the underpinnings of American democracy, establishing the Christian Church as a theocracy. Contraception, abortion, and homosexuality are just a few of the offenses that can banish citizens to a savior camp producing what Mr. Dubrow humorously refers to as “Jesus Zombies”.

Beneath the surface of this new America’s, 1950’s puritanical veneer, is a labyrinth of corruption, manipulated and endured by a cast of fully realized characters with memorable voices that stay with you long after the last word is read.

This well-paced, dystopian, page turner, is a frightening thrill ride with bits of humor woven throughout allowing the reader a much needed opportunity to catch their breath.

[Stacinator · Rating 4 out of 5]

Powerful, frightening, and moving are just a few of the words that spring to mind where Mr. Dubrow's novel is concerned. American Judas steps into the same hallowed library shelves as Orwell's _1984_ , Rowling's _The Deathly Hallows_, or Bradbury's _Fahrenheit 451_. It is a dystopian cautionary tale for today's America. Headlines from current events and quotes from the US daily news cycles kept running through my head as I read the story of Seth and Maggie Ginsberg, though Mr. Dubrow certainly does not allude to any such events, belying the existence of fears that I already held deep within myself when I began reading.

The book is, on the surface, a compelling thriller full of intrigue; underneath the waves of suspense, however, lies the growing dread of a horrifying truth rising slowly from the murky depths of fanaticism.

[Ginger Pinholster · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not put this book down. It is exceptionally well-written and well-constructed, and the premise is dead-on timely. The United States has become a theocracy, in this dystopian page-turner. Seth and Maggie Ginsburg are running for their lives, and for freedom. Every time I thought there was no way that a particular plot twist could be resolved in a realistic fashion, Mickey Dubrow’s flawless plotting offered up an entirely plausible next step. I had to keep whipping through the pages to learn the outcome. Recommend!

[Lauren W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Handmaid’s Tale” from the point of view of a Jewish man and his wife. Man, this one really hits home in the current political climate. Gripping, fast-paced, and interesting. I battled the whole time between whether characters were good or bad and if they had totally given in to the theocracy or if they still had a shred of rebellion in them. A must-read today and in the very near future.

[Mal Warwick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast forward to . . . whenever. The Religious Right has won. Ten years earlier Congress had passed the CHRIST Act, which declared Christianity as the official religion of the United States of America. “The Twenty-Eighth Amendment, which repealed part of the First Amendment, made it possible for Congress to establish the National Church of Christ,” formed by merging all Christian denominations. It’s illegal to profess any other faith. The flag the country now flies resembles the old one but with a white cross instead of stars. And almost everyone carries a gun.

Anyone who fails to demonstrate enthusiasm for the new order is welcomed into one of the many Savior Camps scattered across the land—camps reminiscent of you-know-what. So, it’s shocking for one of the country’s most powerful senior government officials to discover his best friend, the chief sponsor of the CHRIST Act when in Congress, hanging from a rafter in Camp Glorious Rebirth. Suicide, which is, strictly speaking, a hanging offense.

So begins American Judas, Mickey Dubrow’s satirical take on a future in which the Religious Right has gained control of the American government. A dystopian tale in the classic mode, the story is hilarious when it isn’t deeply disturbing.

SETH GINSBURG ISN’T ADJUSTING WELL TO THE NEW REGIME
Seth Ginsburg “had lost count of the number of times he’d heard TV pundits argue over which firearm Jesus would have preferred.” And, truth to tell, he’s become disenchanted with life under the Christianity he’d been forced to profess. Like a handful of other converted Jews, he’s joined an underground synagogue. They hold services in a large, windowless conference room on the seventh floor of a deserted office building whenever they can form a minyan.

Seth’s wife, Maggie Ginsburg, is furious. She tells him, “I was Catholic. We invented religious persecution.” She knows that Hedge Protection—the renamed Department of Homeland Security—will banish him to a Savior Camp . . . if he’s lucky. (“Hedge Protection?” It’s based on Job 1:10: “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has?“) And they’re both terrified that the Federal Faith Verification case worker who pops in on them periodically will find out and report him. They’re already in trouble because they haven’t produced any children.

THE “MOST RIGHTEOUS NATION IN HISTORY”
Seth is the main speechwriter for Senator Sam Owens, a preacher from Tennessee. The senator’s chief of staff, Reginald Cooke, is his closest colleague in the office. Reggie is gay, and he lives under constant fear that Hedge Protection will find out. Both of them had been on the staff of Chip Randall, the late Congressman who wrote the CHRIST Act. The act’s tenth anniversary is now approaching and the inevitable nationwide celebration. So the announcement by Federal Deacon Freeman Wingard, the head of Hedge Protection, that his old friend Chip had committed suicide had raised eyebrows in the senator’s office and all across the country. “Reporters were going to demand that he either confirm or deny that one of the architects of the Greatest Awakening was in Hell.” So it goes in the “greatest, most righteous nation in the world, in all of history.”

Recently my wife and I traveled to Europe on a group tour. One of our fellow passengers showed up one day wearing a sweatshirt that announced “I love God. I love guns.” I could hardly keep from laughing. Yet it’s not at all a laughable matter. Mickey Dubrow reminds us it’s not—and he makes us laugh a lot in the process. God forbid we should actually wake up some day and find that the Religious Right has won.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mickey Dubrow writes on his author website that he “is passionate about telling stories with fresh, entertaining perspectives. He wants readers to feel excitement, sympathy, amusement, joy, and maybe even a little anxiety when they read his novels. In American Judas, he explores, among other possibilities, lost faith in America and what this might mean for the freedoms we cherish so much. As a freelance writer and producer for television, Mickey’s clients include CNN, Cartoon Network Marketing, and SRA/McGraw Hill.”

[Forrest Schultz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dubrow: Accurate Portrayal of Today's American Christians;

Inaccurate Portrayal of Christian Reconstruction

A Review of

Mickey Dubrow American Judas (Southern Fried Karma Press, 2018)
$16.99 331 pp ISBN: 978-1-7325398-0-8

Reviewer: Forrest W. Schultz

Dubrow in this new book accurately portrays today's American Christians, as anyone who has been keeping up with the news can see. But, like many people, Dubrow is NOT accurate is his portrayal of Christian Reconstruction, as that term was defined by the twentieth century Christian scholar Rousas J. Rushdoony in his many articles and books. AND, his son Mark Rushdoony, who now runs the Chalcedon Foundation established by his father, adheres to his father's view and in the Chalcedon publications is continually pointing this out. Here is one of his latest statements: My father’s only political interest was in reclaiming power from the political arena and returning it to the spheres of family, church, and the free enterprises of individuals. His political involvement was to fight statism, not use it as a mechanism of Christian action. Too much thought in theonomy centers around what the state would look like and do in a Christian social order. That makes theonomy an academic subject when it should be a very practical one when God’s Law is brought to bear on our family, businesses, and church life. A theocratic order cannot be imposed by state action and that is not what my father suggested, advocated, or taught.

[Chris Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gets 3.5 stars from me, rounded up to 4 because of the topics Mickey Dubrow chooses to tackle in this fictional tale: interfaith relationships and resistance to governmental overreach.

The protagonist Seth and his wife, Maggie, find their love for each other outlast both their differences and the societal persecution that they face for shunning the religion observed by the majority. To be sure, the genocide and torture inflicted by the governmental powers imagined in American Judas are frightening, and sadly, not so outlandish. Such "camps" have been imposed in America before, as they have in other nations in other generations. I found this book to be well-edited and clear to follow, if a little too burdened with the stereotypes of clergy in both the Christian and Jewish faiths.

[Virginia Weir · Rating 4 out of 5]

A look into what Christian Reconstruction means for America

Let me start off by saying I'm a right of centre Evangelical Christian. But I also disagree with the current conflation of the gospel with the right wing of the Republican Party.
This book will give people a fair idea of what to expect if the US is tempted to vote in a Christian Reconstruction government, a more extreme form of theocracy as envisioned by Rousas John Rushdoonie, the man who dreamed up this false teaching and perversion of the gospel. Needless to say, things soon go South for our hero and heroine.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a dystopian novel about America after the CHRIST is passed and it becomes a Christian nation, as in no other religions are tolerated nor is homosexuality etc. You get the picture. People are being smuggled out of the country into Mexico instead of the other way around. Could this happen here? What makes this novel so good is it’s not that unbelievable. It’s fast paced and a real page turner. Highly recommend if you’re not looking for something happy clappy.

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A provocative, dystopian look at where our country could be heading if we continue down the path of religious hypocrisy and sanctimony. What happens when the carefully constructed wall that separates Church and State is demolished? American Judas explores that possibility in a satiric and ultimately chilling way, showing us a country with a National Church of Christ, where the wayward are sent to Savior Camps to get right with the Lord before returning to society as "Jesus Zombies." Scary.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow...where to begin? This book was published in 2018; who knows when it was begun. Five years ago, I would've thought such a plot far-fetched, outlandish, and not possible in the USA. However, reading this book in today's climate gave me both chills and sweats. I highly recommend to anyone concerned about our great democracy edging closer and closer to a theocracy. And, it's "good" to know that in a theocracy, even saints are sinners.

[Nina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I struggled to finish this book. Dystopian novels are my least favorite reading material. I felt that the characters weren’t well developed and because I didn’t understand their motives in many instances, I didn’t follow the plot. When I don’t remember a book one week after reading it, I know something was missing.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining, and more than a little frightening

A fast read - this book was not easy to put down. I always describe science fiction as taking a mundane detail and exaggerating it to create a new world. Here, it is not a mundane detail but the seemingly harmless ultra-patriotism of the religious right. magnified it becomes horrible...and plausible.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful read!

I couldn’t put this book down. It was powerful and chilling. A riveting read about what America would be like if religion took over. I highly recommend.

I won the kindle version through a good reads giveaway.

[Avygayl Zucker · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating story that plays with the fears related to where our democracy very possibly might be headed.
Though written in a style similar to a YA novel, it strongly calls to the dystopian themes of1989.

[Scott Corley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this more than I expected to. A cautionary tale for getting what you think you want for society.

[Kati Berman · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was not a book for me. I started it because our book club chose it, but gave up on it pretty quickly.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Action packed satire that is a warning to
current day United States.