[BOOK] The Driver by Alexander Roy

I already posted this 'review' in the Rumble Strip thread, but looked around for a better place to post it and decided this forum is probably best.



If you know who Alex Roy is, then this book is right up your alley.

It's not bad, on the whole. Being a Gumball fan, the best bits were the blow by blow recounts of the Gumball battles. It was also very good to get an insight into the background that Alex put into the Gumball efforts, and the beind-the-scenes of the some of the stuff you don't see on the DVDs.

Initially, I thought this was going to be an auto-biography. And, in some ways it is, however I believe there's an underlying constant of fiction in there.

I won't go into too much detail about it, but:

• he's used it to tie the individual events in the book together
• it's incredible enough that I don't think even he could believe it
• the story starts with him in Paris at 19 trying to write the next great American novel and I think he couldn't help himself but throw this 'extra' bit in

A good book though, and I'm happy I've read it. It's been dulled(?) a little to be accessible to those ignorant of Gumball, but I don't think it needed to be - I'd have preferred it to be less patronising and aimed at a smaller market.

Following on from that, I'd recommend it to anyone with an interest in Gumball, but if you don't even know what Gumball is then The Driver is probably of no interest to you.

*EDIT* - on a bizarre note, only now seeing the cover and my avatar side-by-side, do I realise that they're the same picture.

Finally finished it today so I figured I'd give my review of it as well.

I knew who Roy was before I read the book and I only knew a little bit about the Gumball lifestyle, mostly picked up from the Teckademics DVD's. I agree that it was a bit dumbed down for the average reader but there was some good information in there for people like me who only knew very little.

It was a good read and was very entertaining, Roy didn't bore you with a play by play dialog of what was going on and really only used bits and pieces to tell a story. There was also depth to what was going on and not just "we blew past a cop doing 140 and it was awesome". He captured his feelings quite well. He also managed to paint a picture of other people throughout the book that gave you a good idea about their personality.

All in all it was well written and kept me wanting to read more. I highly recommend it, especially if you want to find out about some of the almost unbelievable antics people can manage to get themselves into and out of. It also made me excited for 32 hours 7 minutes if it ever comes out.

The last time I checked the site of 32 Hours 7 Minutes there was a picture of Cory on the beach. She was on vacation.

I just finished the book about a week ago. I took my time. I've known about Gumball for a long time and I've read all about Alex Roy's adventures before. I'm really interested in all the tech they use while they're driving, and I've used radios and whatnot to strategize on long trips. This book had me excited--like, seriously--almost all the way through. There were parts where I thought I was reading quietly to myself in the bathroom until my dad asked my why I was yelling to myself. I loved it. I wish it was longer. I also with that damn movie would come out because I'll watch it the day it does.

Keef

... This book had me excited--like, seriously--almost all the way through ... I loved it. I wish it was longer ...

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My thoughts exactly.

👍