Rating: 
Summary: Now What?
Review: First off, let me get this out of the way, I love Steven King and have enjoyed just about all of his recent books. However, From a Buick 8 left me with a bad feeling after closing the back cover. Why am I supposed to care? What was really resolved here, other than an overly long shaggy dog story? I thoroughly enjoyed the different perspectives in the story, which was not my problem with it. My metaphor for the book will be a movie. At the beginning of the movie a huge killer robot is introduced, tall, shiny and deadly with menace, then it is never dealt with again. Nobody mentions the robot again and the plot point is left dangling. However, I did enjoy the imagery and the mystery of the thing and I know the ending is supposed to be ambigious, but 'I want answers!' as Ned would say. Like every other Steven King reader, I pray this won't be his last "traditional" King book. However, I will continue to enjoy my vast King library, and 'From a Buick 8' will definitely occupy a shelf.
Rating:
Summary: Not so good...
Review: I am a big Stephen King fan. However, I have been very disapointed in his last couple of books. My favorite thing about S. King's writing is how you come to know & like his characters (i.e. IT). I can not say this about this book. The story dragged on. There seemed no real point to it. I am ever loyal & will read everything he writes, but his writing has definately took a turn for the worse.
Rating: 
Summary: Publisher's Glitch!
Review: It's disappointing that King's publisher allowed a picture of a 1953 Buick to grace the cover of a book about a 1954 Buick!
Rating: 
Summary: One of his weaker stories...
Review: Imagine reading a book about a bunch of college professors who stare at a spooky trunk full of old college textbooks for over 20 years! Ocassionally an oversized bookwork wiggles out and they freak! Then they go back to teach classes all day haunted by what they have seen. Sounds pretty weak doesn't it? Just swap in a Buick and some state troopers and you have the the terribly weak premise of this novel. The ONE IDEA that constitutes this book can only be drawn out so far (flashing "portal car" plops out creatures that decompose ASAP--troopers gawk in amazement!). At some point it all needs to MEAN something, which, in the end, it doesn't. There is always room for a novel that makes the absence of answers its strong point, but this book simply pushes that pretense too far. If you want to be creeped out by the inexplicable I recommend that you read books by the author that obviously influenced King's trunk-born creations--H.P. Lovecraft.
Rating:
Summary: Okay, so the car is weird, get on with it.
Review: I love Stephen King's work, don't get me wrong. This book, however, leaves quite a bit to be desired. It has some pretty weird stuff in it, like an alien bat creature, the alien fish creature, and some weird pod-thing. Cool, imaginative stuff, but the story itself is, well, boring.
The ending, as per the Stephen King usual, is a little off, which is his style and likely his intention. But does it always have to be so anticlimactic and cryptic? A State Trooper's (and his son's) obsession with the thing is interesting, but probably only to them. This is a novel about unexplainable things, and about how satisfaction doesn't really bring the cat back, and is certainly worth reading, though it isn't top-notch stuff, and I'm not sure anyone but a truly famous author would be able to get it published.
Rating: 
Summary: Is This the End?
Review: It's a rarity for me to buy a book, much less a hardback. But being rumored this is Stephen King's last novel (I'm not sure with the conclusion of the Dark Tower series) I decided to buy it. I'm happy to say that my [money] did not go to waste. This is a great book and is very different from his earlier "Christine". If this really is King's last novel then he's going out on a good note. All I have to say is get this book.
Rating:
Summary: Not his best...a little bit boring.
Review: I've read them all, so I know what I'm talking about. This book was not up to par with any of King's other books (nearly eclipsing Gerald's Game as his worst novel ever). It was kind of interesting at times, but I was (hopelessly) waiting for this book to "really get going". It never did. It was an OK read, definetely not a "page turner", and, all in all, one that I could have done without. If you want to read some great King novels, start with IT, The Stand, Pet Semetary, or, just about anything else King has written. Don't start with this one...you may never pick up another King novel again.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: Fantastic! The best King ever! Buy it now, because it's destined to become a classic, and you'll want to own the first edition of this incredibly horrific novel. Also recommended: The Dead Zone, Carrie, Salem's Lot, The Green Mile, etc.
Rating:
Summary: Strong Stuff, to be sure
Review: This is no regurgitation of past stories. Yes, it will make you look over your shoulder, but the lives and relationships King has so artfully crafted here will really bring you in.
Rating:
Summary: Say it ain't so - King to retire J.D. Salinger style!
Review: From a Buick 8 is reported to be King's last novel (other than the final 3 books in the Dark Tower series, scheduled to come out over the next few years), and King chooses an interesting topic to serve as an epilogue to his amazing career: curiosity - and the obsessions and fear that it can unleash. King writes about the power the unkown can have over us and the best parts of "From a Buick 8" deal with the various reactions characters have to the mysterious events that fill the pages of this book. This book starts out strong - the first 100 pages can be considered "vintage King". The middle act gets a little repetitive, but the conclusion plays out well (although some Constant Readers will be frustrated that all of the "loose ends" aren't tied up). Wisely, King leaves things somewhat ambiguous at the end. I liked his approach - I think many readers will find that this story stays with you, leaving you curious at the end and still wanting more. This is intentional, and ties in well with the novel's themes. Fans of the gungslinger series, however, may get some of their questions answered as I suspect King's Buick (or maybe its creepy driver?) may find its way into Roland's tale. Recently, King has commented that although Buick 8 and the Dark Tower finale are his last novels, he will continue to write...he just won't publish. I thought of this statement as I closed the final pages of "Buick 8" and wondered how many other Constant Readers would become curious, much like Curtis Wilcox, wanting to know why King is retiring or trying to imagine what books he may write, never to publish? In conclusion, this is a solid King novel, not his best, but very good. I think King could have trimmed about 50-100 pages from the text and left us with one fewer "autopsy" or "light quake" scene - also, keep track of how many times characters puke in this book, definitely a King record.
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