The early 1990s are a time of fear, anger, and uncertainty for gay America. AIDS continues to claim lives at an alarming rate, effective treatments remain out of reach, and a rising tide of anti-gay politics threatens to push the LGBTQ community even further into the shadows.
When Othello, a closeted Black pop superstar, tests positive for HIV, he reaches a breaking point. Convinced that speeches, marches, and peaceful activism are no longer enough, he begins plotting a radical response: assassinate a powerful U.S. Senator whose homophobic crusade has made him a hero to the religious right.
Soon Othello finds himself joined by two other closeted celebrities-a world-famous athlete and a billionaire business mogul-each carrying secrets, fears, and grievances of their own. Together, they form an unlikely conspiracy capable of shaking the nation.
Assigned to stop them is Raider, a straight white FBI agent who goes undercover inside a growing network of activists, celebrities, and political operatives. As Raider closes in on the conspirators, a deadly game of cat and mouse unfolds from the mansions of the Hollywood Hills to the casinos of Atlantic City, from the intensity of the NBA playoffs to the back roads of the Deep South.
As the conspiracy hurtles toward its violent conclusion, both sides are forced to confront the same unsettling question:
Is violence ever justified in the fight for equality?
Provocative, suspenseful, and thought-provoking, Uprising is a political thriller that explores celebrity, activism, power, loyalty, and the human cost of social change.
A two-time Lambda Literary Award Finalist for Best Men's Mystery and Best Small Press Title.
Boyd, Randy: - Randy Boyd is a writer whose fiction centers on Black, gay protagonists living with HIV/AIDS. His novels have earned five Lambda Literary Award finalist honors.Born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana, he studied at the University of Southern California before transferring to UCLA, where he earned a B.A. in Sociology in 1985. During college, he was a yell leader at USC and a cheerleader at UCLA.His fiction has appeared in Blackfire and numerous anthologies, including Certain Voices (Alyson Books), Sojourner: Black Gay Voices in the Age of AIDS (Other Countries), Flashpoint: Gay Male Sexual Writing (Masquerade Books), and Freedom in This Village: Black Gay Men's Writing 1969 to the Present (Carroll & Graf). His nonfiction has appeared in The Washington Blade, The Gay & Lesbian Review, The Lambda Book Report, and other publications.Randy was an original contributor to Outsports from 2000 to 2007.
