The book takes place 7 years after the events in Drive, after our hero, the Driver, wages a small war against the likes of Nino and Bernie Rose, leading to a pile of bodies and a decidedly smart move by the Driver to get the hell out of L.A., a city in which it seems everyone wants him dead. Driven sees he has returned to Phoenix, Arizona, and his past life appears to have caught up with him, as he is pursued by assassins, leading to the death of his fiancee, and two more bodies to add to the list. This sets in motion a cat-and-mouse chase, in which the Driver must figure out, along with his acquaintances, who is sending these people, and why, even if it means beating the information out of them.
As with its precursor, Driven retains a very slick, noir atmosphere. James Sallis once again does an excellent job of painting his canvas, just enough to not be convoluted, and not be flat and bland. Driven, much like Drive, oozes 80s crime thriller without even being set in the 80s, with references back to the Driver's day job of a stunt driver, usually for rip-off exploitation films, a mainstay of seedy 80s culture.
Driven seems to have much less of a problem with jumping between narratives. As a matter of fact, it is done tremendously well here. You will often wonder who this one character this chapter is giving us back story on, and then in the the next one (or the one after) we are formally introduced to said character, and why they tie in to the plot.
Incidentally, if you read Drive before coming to this one, you will applaud this concept even more, as it ties off loose ends left behind, gives some closure to characters who seemed to just drop from the story all together.
The only real criticisms I can think of when it comes to Driven is, there isn't an awful lot of exposition on what the Driver did in the 7 years between his tussle with Nino and Bernie, and now. It is sort of established that he got engaged and set up a small business, both of which we aren't really given much information on. Sure, it works as it is, and in the grand scheme of Driven, this argument may be futile.
The other criticism is, it is, like Drive, very short. While the ride was fun, it was over much too soon. But also like Drive, for as short as it is (even shorter than Drive, by the way), it is still a compelling story, which, rather thankfully, ends wide open, which means there's a lot of room for a sequel. Whether this is a good thing or not, is questionable, but I have to say, James Sallis can do no wrong now, if this is the way he's going.
***
In other news, just working at various projects, all at the same time (not a wise move). All being well, you'll see some new stuff in the next few days. I've got a small personal project on the go, which really, shouldn't be taking as long as it is. I should probably just make a day of doing nothing BUT that project.
Until next time, farewell.
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