Empty Quarter

The rigors of life on an oil rig form the backdrop for Wilkinson's atmospheric and absorbing second novel (after the Spur-nominated Not Between Brothers). When 27-year-old Wilson Logan leaves his marriage-minded girlfriend for his first love, a job as an oil company driller, his exotic destination is the obscure, so-called ""empty"" quarter of the Saudi Arabian desert. There he meets his problematic friend Jamie Strong, the driller who was once his professional mentor. Much to Logan's dismay, Strong is still a wild man whose tendencies toward risk and excess cause problems when he begins to mistreat the members of the Indian crew under his charge. Strong's brutality exacerbates old tensions between the two men that date back to an accident on a previous job. Conflict between them boils over just as a huge, valuable oil well they're working on is about to explode. The details of drilling technology initially bog down the narrative, but, when the well finally goes nova, the climax packs a wallop and the emotional aftermath rings surprisingly true. Wilkinson bends the conventions of formula enough to keep things interesting, but the most fascinating aspect of his book is its inside take on the oil industry subculture, particularly the bizarre macho rituals employed by workers to keep their sanity under terribly stressful working conditions. A former oil worker himself, Wilkinson closes with an ominous warning about our limited oil reserves. Anyone eager to learn about his world is sure to find this a satisfying, illuminating read. (May)