Fire On The Horizon – Yes But What’s The Point?

As many of you know my book, Fire On The Horizon, hits bookshelves this Tuesday. I knew from the beginning that writing a book would be a challenge but it’s been more difficult and time consuming of a project than I had guessed mainly because I wanted to get it right. Why? Well certainly I hope to always be right (dont we all?) but that urge was magnified by the fact this story is not in the least bit mine… it belongs to the crew of the Deepwater Horizon and their families… people who have told me they want their story told, people who deserve accuracy and truth… two things the media and investigators have, so far, failed to provide.

I do feel good about meeting that goal, we have given many of the primary characters the chance to read the manuscript and their reactions have been uniformly positive. We’ve also received help and cooperation from many of the last places we expected it (some Transocean/BP managers, CG/MMS officials, victims families, even a couple lawyers) and we only received one vile email (from a former Horizon crew-member who left Transocean before the explosion). All of which helped us reach our goal of accuracy  but it’s not personal goals, it’s the goals of others that an author often falls short in meeting. Namely the critics.

Overall the reviews have been widely positive. I fact every single review has been overwhelmingly so… well, all but one… Publisher’s Weekly. Even they had some nice things to say like “Informative and undeniably important…” but concluded that “it’s difficult to mine its (the book’s) message”. In short they asked “what’s the point?”.

My response? It doesn’t have one.

If you’re looking for a environmental motive or a political message that can be used to either support or oppose offshore drilling then I suggest you read someone else’s book, there are many excellent ones already published, likewise if your looking for a villain or scapegoat. It’s true the book does question some of Transocean and BP’s decisions but only in the telling of the story because, my book is not about blame. It’s about the Deepwater Horizon and her crew.

-John

Unlock Exclusive Insights Today!

Join the gCaptain Club for curated content, insider opinions, and vibrant community discussions.

Sign Up