Leon's Books

 The review below was sent last ni9ght on January 31, 2013 and it has been placed here today Friday February 1, 2013

The Oil Man represents an eminently readable action/adventure thriller, fluidly flowing from the accidental discovery of an unknown object and an unsolicited receipt of an encrypted e-mail from a friend, through the Louisiana oil culture on an offshore drilling rig, through back-bay Bayous, to an explosive climax in a high-rise New York boardroom.

Propelled by a potentially momentous discovery that may change the face of the world’s energy acquisition and production, we follow John Marx and his close friends through dangerous and unwelcome encounters with malevolent corporate archetypes.

Along the way, the reader is exposed to a number of intriguing, but not overly technical theories, about oil drilling, the origins of oil on Earth and the computational complexity of storing large amounts of drilling data in mysterious crystals.

The main character, John Marx faces substantial life-threatening risk as the action flows from the opening pages to the final chapter that drives the reader's curiosity towards an explosive conclusion. With dead bodies stacking up like cordwood, we fear for John's safety as each turn results in decisions that will affect the lives of himself, his family and co-workers.

Even though, the action/adventure draws heavily on the author's personal knowledge and experiences, I found it somewhat disconcerting to find the author's unusual Louisiana French name, Puissegur (pronounced poy-see-gur), inserted in the action. But that is just a personal prejudice left over from Clive Cussler's various adventures.

I recommend this book with no hesitation, confident it will provide an enjoyable read. One can easily envision The Oil Man being made into a high-grossing feature film.

Stephen Richard Levine

CEO, AMINEXT PRODUCTIONS.

 I had a new interview and that can be found on 2012writersalive.  This was about a 20 minute interview should you wish to check it out!

THE OIL MAN, book review

"Even though this story is of a field in which I have very little knowledge, I was able to easily follow the technical descriptions of the oil industry, equipment, and weapons without getting lost in confusion. The author did a very good job of providing background information and character development without getting bogged down into too much detail that I would normally skim over. With a slow and eventful build-up to the climax, the story held my attention. I found myself getting upset with some characters and empathetic to others, and when that happens to me, I know I'm truly involved in what I'm reading. The last few chapters had so much activity that I found myself reading and turning the pages quickly to find out what would happen next. I can see this story becoming a successful movie and especially at this time of political and environmental unrest."

Reviewed by

Carolyn Dargevics

I have excerpts of THE OIL MAN below for you to look at and decide if you like what is shown!

Below is an excerpt from Chapter 5 of "The Oil Man", my new book now in layout with Savantbooks.com.

Chapter 5

John slipped back to his room without saying or hearing a word. Given the shocking death of his friend, George Franks, John now felt certain the email he had was the one McClaussen was looking for. His conversation with the BPI executive left him feeling sad, angry and more intrigued than ever about what the numbers meant, and whether they were, as he now suspected, somehow linked to the crystal. If the two were related, then the numbers would likely have something to do with using the crystal. At least, that was his most recent thought.  Whether he reported the two or not, he was in danger of being caught with them in his possession, and, if there was a connection between the email and two, he was likely in mortal danger. As he rounded the last rail before entering his room, he ran into his friend, Josh Platur.

"Where you off to so fast?" Josh asked, blocking John's way and waiting for an answer.

John took a moment to catch his breath. "You remember the e-mail I told you about? The one I couldn't figure out?"

"Your latest piece of evidence of another secret global conspiracy? Yes. And why are you looking so white? Is a ghost walking the corridors?"

"In a way, yes," John replied. "Shaun McClaussen, the BPI executive—the hulk who got off the helicopter last— is here and he knows about the e-mail Parks sent me—the one I told you about. The one I thought might be related to the crystal fragment I found. McClaussen just called me out. He knows George sent the email to someone here. He doesn't yet know who, or if it was opened. But I know, and now so do you. I also know that George is dead. Do us both a huge favor; don't let anyone know that I was the one who received it, and especially don't mention anything about the broken crystal, at least, for now." John unlocked the clothes locker and removed the computer and black box. "I need to be the one who tells McClaussen that I was the one who received the email, before someone else dies. Still, I don't trust him…so I want you to hold onto the thumb drive."

Flaberghasted by the nonstop revelations, Josh huddled closer. "He may search your room. I would, if I were him," he volunteered.

"That's why I'm giving you the flash drive. I can keep McClaussen busy between the survey, my continued interrogation, and his checking my room till tomorrow morning when our shifts here end. Once we're back at home, we can meet at my house and you can give it back to me. You have a problem with that?"

"No, John. In fact, it should work. It's common knowledge that I don’t do computers. I don't even have one here, so neither McClaussen or anyone else would have any reason to suspect me. Suddenly I'm as curious about that email as you, now that I know the big guys are looking for it."

John slapped Josh on his shoulder in thanks. "If anyone asks where I am, tell them you saw me heading to my room," John opened the black box and handed Josh the memory stick. "Make sure it's well hidden. Once I tell McClaussen that I was the one who received the email, after having noted my span filter having erased it, their attention should remain on me. That should make it possible for you to move about without problem. I just hope everything..." John turned on his computer, wiping from it all traces of the email. Everything looked good; if McClaussen asked again, he could say that he hadn't realized the email had been received and automatically deleted, and was the one McClaussen was searching for. If his laptop were examined, it would confirm everything he said.

 I have decided to add another excerpt Below from Chapter one/

THE OIL MAN by Leon Puissegur – Excerpt #1 (Family Rated)

"Chapter 1

…The program changed beep tones to alert John Marx that of the twenty-two new e-mails he'd received, one was flagged urgent. Scrolling down the list, he stopped at the flagged one with “FYEO - aoil” in the subject line. "FYEO," standing for "For Your Eyes Only," was an inside joke that he and his longtime buddy, George Franks, who currently worked as a communications specialist back on land at Rustic Central, shared. John and George, after a prolonged drinking binge that began with an exchange of company gossip, imagined someday using what they learned to spin off a company of their own, and had, like junior James Bonds concocted a set of encryption codes known only to them It was child's play, which neither was above enjoying. The "aoil" obviously meant "oil" which George had in haste misspelled. What was weird, however, was that, the email itself was blank…"