Customer Reviews

This Is Not a Drill: Just Another Glorious Day in the Oilfield

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I absolutely loved Don't Tell Mom I Work on the Rigs: She Thinks I'm a Piano Player in a Whorehouse [DONT TELL MOM I WORK ON THE RI] - it was witty, insane, and an engaging read which I simply could not put down. Foolishly, I presumed that this book, being the follow-up from Paul Carter, would be in the same vein.

I was wrong.

Whilst this effort does open with a story which would be right at home in Paul's previous book, that single yarn is the only thing in the whole book which reminds me of the other book. From there on, it becomes an awkward mix between autobiography, travel writing and social/political commentary. The previous book I could not read quickly enough as I wanted to see what crazy hijinx he got up to next. This book? I read even quicker, but more because I was hoping that somewhere further along there might be a light at the end of this tunnel of boredom.

I would whole-heartedly recommend Don't Tell Mom I Work on the Rigs: She Thinks I'm a Piano Player in a Whorehouse [DONT TELL MOM I WORK ON THE RI], but, I would strongly recommend that you save your money and not purchase this one.

Don't Tell Mum I Work on the Rigs: She Thinks I'm a Piano Player in a Whorehouse was one of the best books I've read in a while, this sequel however I think was rushed to cash in on the success of that book which I'm sure Paul and his publishers thought would mainly do the rounds of the oil rigs and not much else. With his first book I think Paul was sitting on stories for decades that he would recount to strangers he met in bars, at backyard barbeques and elsewhere. Everyone probably told him hey, those are great funny stories you should write a book. Which of course he did and did very well, however when the publishers asked for a sequel, it's obvious he didn't have many other stories left. You've got to remember the first book was the best stories from his entire life. The stories in this volume have either occurred in the very short time between the two books or are ones that didn't make the cut for the first. Most of the stories in This is Not a Drill have nothing to do with life on the oil rigs, there's even one retold by Paul that was a story told to him in a pub by his dad's drinking buddies which was clearly included to try and make the minimum word count and fill the pages. We do learn a bit more about Paul's personal life, including the joy of finding out he was going to become a father for the first time and the sadness that followed. Paul still does know how to tell a tale, it's just that the tales in this volume are not as good as his first book, if these stories weren't told by Paul most wouldn't even be interesting at all.

To be honest if I hadn't read the first book and had just picked this book of the shelf and read it as a standalone it probably wouldn't even rate as high as three stars. I had however grown to like Paul from the stories of the first book so did find the personal stories which make up this book a bit more interesting than I would have otherwise. If this is your only experience of Paul Carter's stories don't judge the quality of his stories by this or be put off from reading Don't Tell Mum I work on the Rigs.

If you've read the first you'll want to read this but I suggest borrowing it from your local library first before exchanging money for it.

If you have ever worked at sea or know someone who has you will love this book would recommend it . Service was great too.

I LIVED "Don't tell mum I work the rigs". With an MSc in Geology in the late 70s, I basically spent about 10 % of my 22-32 y.o. period on Rigs. Indonesia, North Sea, Offshore GOM. As the Oil Company geologist, a priveledged slot 1 above Paul's below only that of Company Man (aka Drilling Superintendant). It was great. I've been in trailors in the jungle's of North Sumatra, and Disco's on rigs in the North Sea full of young female stewardesses. (Paul missed that). Never got shot at in Nigeria! I was really looking for an encore of the first book and instead, Paul's goes a lot into talking about his father's air force experiences. All I can say is.... I bought 20 copies of his first book (giveaways to freinds, family, younger employees) but only one of this. Still, if you havn't bought it and got this far into Pauli's story -- buy 1.

Holy crap this guy is funny. I've been to some of the same circuses and freakshows that this guy talks about and he's not making it up. It's like living as a member of another species in an alternate reality. If you don't laugh out loud then you need a casket. .