Rating: 
Summary: Buick Blues
Review: If curiosity killed the cat and satisfaction brought him back, the cat who read From a Buick 8 is most decidedly still dead.Don't get me wrong, this is good writing. I have a natural affinity for stories that explore the possibility of haunted objects. And haunted objects-turned-portals are even better. The characters are multi-dimensional (some in more ways than one) and the concept piques my interest. But piquing is right about where the story stalls. Some critics have claimed that From a Buick 8 lacked suspense, but I completely disagree. It was nothing but suspense -- and the buildup sans payout left me wanting. The story dribbles out a vagely disturbing event here and there, but offers nothing truly shocking. The 'horrible incident' in 1988, which is hyped for several chapters, turns out to be an homage to cheesy Japanese horror movies and not worth the wait. I knew I was in trouble when the main storyteller, Sandy, repeatedly warns his young listener, Ned, that there are no definitive answers to be had. That's a bad thing because if Ned isn't getting any answers, that means we aren't either. And there's a clear warning sign that a novel is going horribly wrong when most objects/events are labeled 'indescribable' by the narrators. It's Stephen King's *job* to describe the indescribable. That's presumably why the novel was published, no? Stephen King seems to have also decided that the real horrors in life are not greenly-illuminated aliens taking over your town or an evil clown stalking you, but the fact that LIFE GOES ON. While you're lying in a ditch on the side of a Maine road, mangled by a minivan, the reckless dunce of a driver is going to sit calmly next to you and offer cheery observations on your crushed torso while ruminating about a Mars Bar. You see, weeping on the toilet with eight steel pins in your leg is more devastating in its reality than a haunted hotel. Having your collapsed lung violated and drained by a plastic tube is more gruesome than being eaten by a haunted car. It's just another day at work for the paramedics while you hang between life and death. The Buick that's not really a Buick spits up some alien thing and it's right back to work at the barracks. King has decided that the truly awful thing about your prom queen being a vengeful, blood-soaked telekinetic is that between the horrific incidents you still have to perform the mundane trivialities of life. You still need to cook dinner, change poopie diapers, and get to work on time because your toddler and gas company don't care that you're being terrorized by supernatural forces. You see, while it bites to have your car posessed, it bites even more to have it repossessed. The story instructs us to marvel at the absurdity of this dichotomy. We need to be upset that a man will drive past a fresh highway accident preoccupied with getting to his poker game on time. But about halfway through, we are screaming at the author, "Stephen, we get it! People are self-absorbed and humans quickly get used to living around the macabre. Now move on to the grisly stuff." When I want disturbing social commentary, I go to Chuck Palahniuk. When I want trapped women peeling the skin off of their own hands to escape captivity, I go over to the Stephen King shelf. Or at least I used to.
Rating: 
Summary: Run (don't walk) from this book.
Review: If Steven King wrote this book to indicate that after the car hit him he can no longer write, he is correct! The only reason that I even finished it is because I paid soooo much for it. The plot is completely lame, and nothing exciting even happens until just before the end. I have read and enjoyed Steven King's writing, until now. This book was almost a complete waste of time reading.
Rating:
Summary: It's OK....but just OK
Review: I am somewhat disappointed in the book....it was interesting, but I kept waiting for the pizzazz.....I did not require a real horror story...some of his best are not.....but I usually finish his books quickly....this time it took me over two weeks..a few pages at a time.... it just did not "Grab" me.
Rating: 
Summary: A prefect mataphor
Review: In what could have been a very good short story, we follow a car that starts out very frightening and goes out with a whimper. Sounds a lot like a certain writer. Mr. King, take a hint from your own story and finish with a flourish of lights and action, don't let your readers see you rust away. With the exception of a chapter or two this was the dullest S.K. book of them all. Very disappointing. There is a reason that flashbacks don't work for long, even if done by one of the best story tellers of all time.
Rating: 
Summary: Love Anything By King !
Review: I love anything by this man. He is one of my favorite authors. I enjoy all the controversy he usually creates with his intriguing books of fiction!
Rating:
Summary: Slipping
Review: I felt the book leaves the reader waiting for more - for something to happen. I will never forget how "The Shinning" raised the hair on the back of my neck. "Buick 8" doesn't come close. It builds and builds but never hits the summitt. Not Mr. King's best work.
Rating:
Summary: No shed B for Me
Review: Stephen King continues to crank out above average novels even after deciding that he is going to hang up the keyboard.
From a Buick 8 is a story that only a mature and thoughtful author can produce. If you're looking for the thrills and spills of his earlier years, keep on looking. This story is intelligent. It builds slowly, letting the characters develop naturally and at their own pace.
A supernatural car shows up in Pennsylvania at an out of the way gas-n-go. The driver disappears and the state patrol is called. The car is eventually towed to the main barracks of PSP Troop D where it is stored for the next 30 years. Gradually the story unfolds not only about the car but about the troopers that stand guard over the car. The troopers investigate the car, record with video the "lightquakes" and generally marvel at the variety of creatures the car produces; apparently pulling them from another universe. Better stop there. Don't want to give too much away.
The story also deals with loyalty and commitment among the troopers that come in and go out of the story.
Other reviewers have said this before me; this is the work of a mature author, comfortable with his craft and his ability to construct a story.
If you've read other King books and enjoyed them you'll probably enjoy this one. If you're looking for the electricity of "It", "The Shining", or "The Stand" keep looking. This book is similar emotionally to "Hearts of Atlantis".
Rating:
Summary: Anticipation
Review: Used to be, a book by Stephen King would reach out and grab the reader. This one is more meditative, it doesn't have the old sparkle and flash, jump and jive, Rock & Roll lilt. I kept thinking as I read - and this one took a lot longer to read than many of his others - it is a rare "I can put it down" endeavour: OK, this is like an old- fashioned mechanical roller coaster - hear the chain straining to pull us up to the top of that first long incline - clacka-clacka - and you know, you just know, that it's gonna be a wild and wooly ride once gravity takes hold. Only this time, it's a lot of anticipation and little more... Still, this Buick's a Stephen King model. I am about the 75th reviewer here - no need to restate plot summary, eh? I do have a bone to pick with the publishers. This was hard to read - literally. One of the last chapters is printed in a frustratingly anorexic italic font. Reviewed by TundraVision
Rating: 
Summary: From Under A Reader's Bed...
Review: Stephen IS King. "From A Buick 8" is far from a "Christine" knock-off. More like a compilation of "Tommyknockers", "The Regulators", "Hearts In Atlantis" with new elements of suspense thrown in. All in all, it makes a horrifying and well-told story, done in brilliant King style. No one draws characters like King does, and that amazing ability is shown to perfect advantage in "...Buick 8". Most of the story takes place on the grounds of a western Pennsylvania State Trooper department, where, in Shed B, rests an odd vehicle. One that pretends to be a Buick, but enough of its parts are just wrong enough to make it suspicious. And when it begins spewing bizarre, monstrous and dangerous items from its trunk--the State Troopers have their hands full trying to determine the nature of this particular beast. King allows his characters to tell the story, a task they undertake very well. Offering slightly different viewpoints, but still a consistent and flowing narrative, this storytelling style works marvelously in this novel. To King's credit, he does not offer easy answers to the events that take place, but leads the reader down many possible paths, allowing us to enjoy the story. And to draw our own conclusions. "From A Buick 8" is an excellent story, with all the expected King elements. A frightening page-turner!
Rating:
Summary: A snoozer
Review: I have read and enjoyed many of Kings books but this one is easily the most boring and senseless of them all. The bottom line is the story starts with a great premise but soon runs out of gas. It may have been a great short story but in no way can the premise hold to novel length.
The idea that a somewhat large group of individuals could keep such a thing as this car a secret for so many years is preposterous, especially since they do not allow even their families in on the story.
The charactors are boring. Their whole existence revolves around their work and this car. The car itself is somewhat boring, including what comes out of it.
I struggled to make it to the end and almost didn't get there. Only the hope that something interesting would happen kept me going. After all this is King! It didn't happen, not even close.
The loose ends are not tied together and you are left with the feeling of, that's it?
Maybe King has past his prime. I know I failed to enjoy almost all the stories in his lastest collection also. I hope he's just in a funk but I will be wary of taking the time to read anymore of his new offerings. Better off revisiting the classics.
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