Driver: Nemesis

by Alex Sharp

Based on the thrilling new video game, a novel of fast cars and fearsome criminals  The John Tanner is the wheelman, an undercover cop with an awesome driving ability. He earned his stripes racing stock cars through city streets, and now he's the best in the business. But his legendary skills are about to be put to the ultimate test. The Tanner must infiltrate the criminal underworld of the Indian, the most feared gang leader in New Orleans—a man so terrifying that people claim he has voodoo powers. But when a figure from his past appears, Tanner must face an even deadlier enemy. The Jericho is an ice-cold hitman with a long-standing grudge against Tanner who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Tanner is going to have to drive for his life to survive, complete his mission, and stop the city from being brought to its knees.

400 pages, Paperback

First published February 17, 2011

Reviews

[RdWd · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good tie-in story for the DRIVER videogame franchise. Set sometime after Driver 2 but before the events of both Driv3r and Driver: San Francisco, the novel follows undercover detective John Tanner's infiltration into a New Orleans crime ring run by the mysterious mob boss The Indian.

Author Sharp has a knack for describing both seedy underbelly of the crime world and high speed pursuits, both trademark qualities of the series. He's also a fan of the material, fleshing out (and tweaking slightly) Tanner's backstory by adding flashback details about Tanner's street-racing days with Slater (Driver 1) and referencing his most recent grudge in Rio de Janeiro with his 'nemesis', hitman Jericho (Driver 2).

Very engaging read, if a little overbloated with convenient resolutions in places (no more so than the games, mind). If you're a fan of the DRIVER games than this is a must-read story in the continuity, especially adding to Tanner's relationship with Jericho in succeeding games. But it also functions perfectly as a standalone story in the undercover/driving genre of writing.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never played any of the games so it was the street racing/crime fiction element that drew me to this book. I really enjoyed it, some great characters, twists and a tense and gripping plot. A lot of it has been written about before, but if you're after a street racing/undercover cop story this is ideal.

[CatWithAShadow · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like the Driver series and want to see more of Tanner and Jones' character, this book is a must read. though just a spinoff and it's not canon to the games, as a fan, I loved it!! It's a nice read and I do highly recommend it, it's really fun, though can get a bit gritty at times, but overall its really nice to see how Tanner and Jones deal with Jericho. I do wish we'd get to see more Jones though. He's a bit overshadowed by Julia in my opinion.

[Christopher Dodds · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book which is well written and has great character's both good and bad. The driving scenes were fast paced and extremely enjoyable and had some tricky car moves which the author didn't just make them look easy.