Rating: 
Summary: Formulaic
Review: The subject of the book is interesting. It is about a conduit between worlds. The Buick transports people, animals and things to and from Earth. It has a mind of its own, and apparently a rather evil one. Why that should be is a mystery. Why would a conduit between worlds be evil? I guess it has to be if it is in a Stephen King novel. A foolish answer, but the right one. Compare it to an evil subway that viciously wants to take you downtown.We are introduced to a number of characters, mostly policemen. The two main characters are Sgt Sandy Dearborn (our hero) and young Ned Wilcox (our sympathy figure). You need a hero, you need a villain, and you need a damsel in distress. Ned is the damsel in distress. Instead of being a female, he is the son of a great cop who died in the line of duty. Is that enough for you? Can you love him and fear for him now? You better. Otherwise, King has no book. We are informed that one might possibly cheat the evil Buick by tying a rope around one's waist and having some husky cops holding the end of the rope. Then if you are sucked into the vortex, you will be held back by the rope. Those are the rules of the game. To our amazement, the book builds to a climax when Pretty Polly, I mean Ned, is in danger of being sucked into a Buick, and it is up to hero Sandy to pull him back. Let me tell you, it's touch and go there for a while. Stephen King should be ashamed of himself for writing this predictable and formulaic story. He took an interesting concept, made it sinister because that is what he does, and pushed it through the obvious, leading to the obvious conclusion. This was my first Stephen King book. I'm not impressed with his writing. Or maybe he's just getting lazy. Maybe his other books are better. Other reviewers think so.
Rating: 
Summary: Very readable but without true substance
Review: I believe we King readers judge the great author harder than we grade other authors. If anyone other than Stephen King had written Buick 8, I'd have written this as a four star review and said it was a very original, engaging, well composed story. Masterfully told using different narrators and points of view. A perfect combination of science-fiction, horror, suspense and nostalgia. But this novel was written by Stephen King and as a fan of his work, I've read better books by him. Much better. For King, this book is not especially original and reminded me of many of his others. Still, it was, like I find all his others, very readable but without the true substance I always hope I will find between the book covers of a novel authored by Stephen King.
Rating: 
Summary: Sometimes What You See
Review: Sometimes what you see is not what you get. This is supposedly the last free standing King novel before he finishes the Dark Tower epic and he retires. From a Buick 8 is not even a classic Stephen King novel. It is more subtle than most of his other work. This can be compared in style to the Dead Zone. Not true monsters, but there is evil afoot. This is a story about a car impounded by the Pennsylvania State Police, but not really. It is a car, but in name only. It is actually a door into another dimension. The story is about obsession by the troopers and the story of their encounters with the vehicle as told to the son of a trooper slain in the line of duty. How they came to have the car, why they kept it and who died because of it are all revealed. This is a stand alone novel, but if you are a King fan, you will notice that it is weaved into his Dark Tower world as he has done with most of his work. As all of King's work, it is a great read and you won't be able to put it down. It is certainly not his best work, but it is still very good. If this is his last free standing novel, then it is not a bad way to wind down. The ending of the book will make this last statement obvious. Read the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Loved it! Why's everybody whining?
Review: "Buick" is a wonderful book, and confirms my theory that
Stephen King was abducted by aliens as a child or young person. And that is not a joke. I think he's been writing this experience out of his system for years, and continues to this day. Where he comes from...upper New England...was the scene of many reported abductions from the forties to the seventies. It is my contention that "Salem's Lot," King's first (and some believe) greatest novel, was situated in Salem, New Hampshire, the site of the "American Stonhenge," where abductions were said to proliferate back in the fifties and sixties, and the home of Betty and Barney Hill - the first "famous" abductees. I had the privilege of "reading" this book by listening to the Simon & Schuster audio version of it, with a variety of well-known actor-readers, and it came across as "pure" King to me: a homespun tale about state troopers in a rural, slightly out-of-time place, everyday heroes thrown into something way beyond their ken, and yet responding to that "something" with heroism and humor. Folksy catch-phrases abound, along with stomach-roiling descriptions of E.T.'s emerging from a strange contraption. It's got enough anecdotal trooper/highway escapades to keep the average reader engaged. Hey, I loved it. I was just glad it didn't end up like "Dreamcatcher" or "The Regulators," books that sound like King started them (to get you roped in) but were finished by some kid who plays a lot of video games. Many of King's latest books have bogged down into "a boy thing." I get so far with them, then grumble and leave them in the laundromat for some...boy. In any case, I was pleased that I wanted to go all the way with the Buick. Felt like I got my King back again. And no, I don't think he should retire, but I do think he deserves it.
Rating:
Summary: ONE OF HIS BEST!!!!
Review: What's wrong with you people? FROM A BUICK 8 is one Mr. King's greatest books. It ranks right up there with THE GREEN MILE, DOLORES CLAIBORNE, CARRIE, CUJO and THE DEAD ZONE--and what do all these books have in common? They're short. Well, relatively short compared to some of Mr. King's weightier novels, and this a good thing. Where the author sometimes goes astray is when he passes the 400 page mark (ie, INSOMNIA, BAG OF BONES, HEARTS IN ATLANTIS). But when he strips away the fat and gives us a lean and muscular story as he does with FROM A BUICK 8, wow! You can't read fast enough! Some of you who have read the book sound like "Ned Wilcox", impatient for answers that just can't be given. But I think, all in all, Mr. King gives us a satisfying read, an absorbing narrative and a thrilling conclusion. If this isn't enough for you, Constant Reader, then I feel sorry for you.
Rating:
Summary: Struggling Through
Review: I have to consider myself one of the biggest Stephen King fans in the world.....however; it does not deter me from stating how disappointed I was in "From a Buick 8". I read the book from cover to cover, but not with ease. Of all of his novels, this one by far was the hardest to "become" part of and the easiest to put down. I continually found myself drifting while reading. I agree with most other reviews that this book is WAY too long to hold anyone's interest for too long. Then only comfort I find is knowing this is not the norm for Mr. King and I can expect this to be a one-time disappointment for me.
Rating:
Summary: Not His Best, But Still Good
Review: This is a book about human curiosity. Unlike some other King books, Buick 8 lacks the clear and obvious antagonist. The real antagonist is a human beings search for answers when there are no clear answers. Also, this book is written with a lot of flashbacks. Buick 8's story is told by a group of PA State Troopers to a teenager whose father was killed a year before. Incidently, the boys father was on the the troopers that took a fascination to the Buick. The story also consists of many excellent descriptions of light shows and alien creatures which are spawned from the Buick. However, despite King's excellent writing, I could not give this 5 stars because the story tends to drag and the climax (although not a dissapointment) is not of the quality the author has shown in his previous novels. But nonetheless, I would still recommend this book to King readers.
Rating:
Summary: What happened to the Master of the Macabre?
Review: Steve's never written a story I didn't like. Not even at his worst (Tom Gordon), and this is no exception. I liked it. But only because Stephen King can make a book about laundry detergent read well. That's pretty much what he did here. Buick 8 is a short story gone bad. The plot *does* thicken, but in the way that water thickens when it's 31 degrees; slowly. It reads a lot like his novella "The Mist" but it's about 200 pages too long. At the end of the story I asked myself what I'd just read, and "short story gone bad" is exactly the phrase that came to mind. I've spoken with a lot of fellow King fans who say they "loved" the book, but not one person could tell me what was great about it. I know why. The only thing that's really great about Buick 8 is its author. I hope he stays great, because too many more books like this one and...
Rating:
Summary: Starts strong and fades
Review: Sorry. I hate to speak against the King, but this story feels worn out after the first 200 pages. So we learn that strange things are coming out of the Buick? They never mean anything significant to us. The premise is nice, but the book falls flat on theme. The Stand is still his best work. I'll go four stars for the sake of history
Rating:
Summary: Maybe the old man's right.
Review: Stephen King, From a Buick 8 (Scribner's, 2002) Most of us, at least among the Stephen King fans on the planet--and we are legion, much to the dismay of academics around the country--met the news of King's announced retirement with surprise and outrage. The man can't retire. Who could fill his shoes? Etc. And how could he say he's lost a step after, within the space of three years, publishing Hearts in Atlantis, containing 'Blind Willie,' one of his finest stories ever; The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, a book so good it brought George Romero back to America after a decade of self-imposed exile; and Everything's Eventual, the latest in his string of just plain excellent story collections (not a one of which has been less than same)? Somewhere in there, we overlooked the bloated horror that was Dreamcatcher, and while no one really expected much of Black House, it lived up to those expectations with a nefarious excellence. And now we have From a Buick 8, and I can't help but think, okay, maybe the man's right. Not to say there isn't a lot here for the dedicated King fan. The man can do more to give us a character in a paragraph then some authors can in a whole novel. And there's no shortage of the weird, the wild, and the woolly to be found betwixt these covers. But under the surface, it feels like King is treading water; there's nothing new here, nor is there anything inspired. It feels rather like Miles Davis' performance at Live Aid; the man showed up to perform, but there's no passion here. Not that that should stop King fans from grabbing a copy and getting their fix, but don't be expecting another one of the timeless tales he spins during those times when he's on his game. What's it about? Well, take Christine, add a dash of The Dark Tower (to the point where I kept wondering when he'd reveal that there was a portal to mid-world to be found somewhere in this book), a whole heaping tablespoon of Dreamcatcher, shake, chill, and serve. Those who liked Chrstine and Dreamcatcher more than I did will probably have a differing opinion; I found it enjoyable, but ultimately unsatisfying, like a lemon meringue pie from which the layer of lemon has been eviscerated. ***
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