Color of Authority

When taking a knee becomes taking a stand

Fiction - Action
326 Pages
Reviewed on 07/25/2022
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Author Biography

From Evanston, Il
Came west in 1970.
wrote number 1 Pop hits "Will It Go Round In Circles?" "Nothing From Nothing" "You Are So Beautiful"
wrote and sang Jazz hit for Quincy Jones..."Body Heat" which Tupac sampled for his hit recording "How Do U Want It?"
www.hearnoevilthemusical.com is a musical he optioned three times.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Vincent Dublado for Readers' Favorite

Color of Authority: When Taking a Knee Becomes Taking a Stand by Bruce Carleton Fisher is an engrossing tale about the evils of manipulating diversity. Lt. Colonel Jesse Hawkins has served his country as a jet fighter pilot for twenty years. Upon retirement, his commanding officer recalls him for a new task: to work with presidential candidate and devoted preacher Edric Everhart, who needs good men who can follow orders. A vote for Everhart is a vote for Jesus Christ is the message that Everhart’s supporters are trying to disseminate. As a person of color, Hawkins is chosen to represent the African-American sector to support Everhart. But something sinister lies at the core: Everhart has an agenda to convert America into a Christian state, eliminate diversity, and ensure that white supremacy reigns. Hawkins doesn’t want another mission, but this one is different, as the enemy operates within the country and threatens to destroy the core values that America has been built upon.

Bruce Carleton Fisher integrates the politics of contemporary social issues, especially pertaining to racial tensions, into his plot. It becomes a synthesis of accumulating political tension, suspense, racial differences, prophetic vision, and speculation. Fisher manages to sustain an expository deftness and deliberation in his narrative while presenting his near-dystopian vision of America. Fisher is exceptionally skilled at digging into human motivations and personal beliefs and gets you involved in situations that are crisply dramatic and informative. His prose conveys information with clarity and suspense. The visceral fear and loathing that you feel against ruthless arbitrary powers are genuine, and this validates the creation of effective villainy. Color of Authority is an impressive feat of a carefully-written story, one that will be good company.

K.C. Finn

Color of Authority: When Taking A Knee Becomes Taking A Stand is a work of fiction in the action subgenre. It is aimed at young adult readers and was penned by Bruce Carleton Fisher. The book follows retired pilot Jesse Hawkins who is called by the government to run the newly formed Federal Bureau of Prisons. His reputation as a person of color who will blindly follow orders sees him put into a position of luring his fellow African Americans into danger. Faced with trying to reconcile his patriotic instincts with the harsh truths about the government he is serving, Jesse is called to join the resistance.

The deep political discussions this book prompts are sown into every page, with a vision of the world in the not-too-distant future that barely feels like speculative fiction given the state of society today. Bruce Carleton Fisher’s prose brings the world of the novel to life and keeps the future version of the world grounded in the harsh reality of our current one. All the better for this moral tale concerning not just the abuse of authority and race relations but the process by which oppressive regimes come to power – an approach that has been introduced around the world so many times, and for which we must always be vigilant. Color of Authority pulls no punches in delivering its message, but don’t let that fool you into thinking this book is all manifesto and no story. The narrative around Jesse Hawkins and his role in both the rise of the oppressor and the resistance to their regime is a rollercoaster of a narrative that will keep you hooked from beginning to end.