Rating: 
Summary: Firing on all 8!
Review: I have been reading King now for several years. I flip-flop from old to new and back as books are released. I have enjoyed everything that he has written as he seems to write the same way as a character actor might play a part. Often a character actor will choose from a selection of hats when stepping into a character. If the actor plays two similar characters you might actually see him don a hat he has worn before. King writes in this way. It can be said that his books and writing can be grouped by the mood, style or "hat" King choose to write under.
From a Buick 8 is written in a much earlier style that much of his more recent work, however it has a sophistication that some earlier work lacks. There is a lesson that lies beneath, however it runs deeper and is much murkier. For those who enjoy a good creepy monster, you won't be disappointed. Another aspect I liked is how the chapters are broken into the perspectives of the participants. This is not necessarily a new path for the author but it really helps to draw you into the story. There is a certain intimacy as if you can see things through each of their eyes instead of just the third-person or a single individual.
I read this book in a weekend (I am a slow reader) and could not put it down. If you are a King fan, or if you like a scarry story, or you are a fantasy/sci-fi fan, I would highly recommend you pick up a copy of From A Buick 8. As for me, it will soon be taking its place on my shelf with the other venerable volumes that came before it. What shall come next is a matter of chance... or is it?
Rating:
Summary: From author Joy Lee Rutter (A Disturbing Presence)
Review: Where were the moviemakers when this one came out? "From a Buick 8" made me feel as though I was right there, in Pennsylvania, sitting near Shed B, drinking iced tea (I could almost taste it) and listening to Sandy tell his deceased comrade's son about the mysterious vintage car parked a few feet away. The book may seem a little slow at first, but it moves along nicely and the end is not a disappointment.There's something different about this book, from most of his others. Its setting is not in Maine. Althought I am a New Englander, I was not disappointed. His research into the area and his anecdote at the very end, which explains his choice of setting, made it quite interesting indeed. Don't miss this one!
Rating:
Summary: Classic King
Review: This book makes me want to read King again. After going weird for more than a few years, he has finally returned to his roots. Any fan of Carrie, Cujo, or the like will love this book.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book!
Review: This is classic Stephen King! Great story, interesting characters, good suspense, and best of all.. this book has heart. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Solid Stephen King - A Great Ride, er, Read!
Review: From a Buick 8 was written in full (in his head) during a car trip home from Florida. Stephen stopped in Pennsylvania to get gas and an attendant actually came out. It was a full-service country gas station. Well, not aving any more pressing needs he walked around the corner to use the restroom. On his way out he noticed a gentle slope leading down to a still mostly frozen stream. It looked very pretty, so he decided to go down for a closer look. He slipped and had he not caught a root in the snow, he belives he would have slid into the stream and under the ice. He wondered how long it would be before they found his body. That incident was the germ that sparked this book. A guy pulls up to a gas station exactly like the one Stephen stopped at that day. He tells the attendant that the oil is fine and walks around the corner. No one ever sees the guy again. The car remains. The people involved in the story are solid characters. You can almost smell their cigarette smoke, and hear their voices. This book comes out of the gate with a weird chill, and just keeps delivering.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down!
Review: I'm not a rabid King fan and don't read all his books, but I could not put this one down. The feeling I got was like waiting for the other shoe to drop. I new the Buick was going to do something more and it always did! Great story with a real sense of unsolved mystery. And since I actualy owned an early 50's Buick 8 I could picture that damn car to a T!
Rating: 
Summary: From a Buick 8
Review: For the first time ever with Stephen King books ... I found myself bored and didn't like From a Buick 8 at all. The characters just weren't as interesting, and when an interesting character snippet would come up, it was over too quickly. I'm still a big fan, but I definitely wouldn't recommend this to anyone who is looking for King at his best aka The Stand, Needful Things, Carrie (etc).
Rating: 
Summary: A Different Kind of King
Review: Well, I just finished this book and I honestly can't decide whether I'm happy with it or not. It's much quieter than King's usual fare - it's a more sedate and, arguably, mature book than many of his others. Rather than loud horror, its heart lies in suspense and quiet mystery. In a way, the message in this book is more profound and the theme more developed than in any of King's books besides, perhaps, "The Stand." I, for one, enjoyed it immensely. That I have a friend who owns a Roadmaster (the "Buick 8" of the title) may, of course, have contributed to that. For people looking for horror, complete with zombies and vampires, it won't be found in "From a Buick 8". But for anyone who has ever reflected on human curiosity, however, this is a powerful story. At times, it is difficult to put down. It falters in places, but overall, maintains its strong pull (much like the Buick 8 itself), and its main fault, if it has one, is that it leaves many questions unanswered at the end - but that, I believe, is King's own way of saying that nothing in life ever is known in full. And, finally, of course, if you or someone you know owns a Buick Roadmaster, you owe it to yourself to read this book. Really. Afterall, "There are Buicks everywhere..." You may never think of that Roadmaster in quite the same way again...
Rating: 
Summary: I want my time spent reading back...
Review: I am new to the world of Stephen King, and I became disenchanted by King with this book. The most active character in the story is the Buick (*NOTE* There are humans in the story.) This should give one an idea regarding kind of character development or lack therefrom this story contains. The book lacks any scarefactor, and the author really misses numerous chances to make up for the "kiddish" nature of the novel. Incidences are too silly to be taken seriously. Other than that, there isn't much to say about the book because little happens in the novel. To avoid senseless mental anguish, I'd suggest doing yourself a favor by pressing ALT+Left_Arrow_Key till you get back to the main Amazon.com page and hunting for a different book.
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Summary: Encore:)
Review: There is over 200 reviews for this particular title, so the question arose in my mind do I have anything to add? Then I decided that I was writing this review as much for myself as for King's "constant readers".
In an interview published last year Mr. King himself compared "From a Buick 8" with Christine, if only in the loosest way. I agree with the editorial review however in that the only common thread is that both involve vehicles. This novel is about a Pennsylvania State Trooper Patrol and their impounded Buick, or what looks like a Buick but is a gateway to a Kingesque dimension. Throughout the story the narrative is told by different viewpoints and flashes back and forth from the past to the present like a lightquake.
Although Christine itself was a chilling novel of high standards in the horror genre, this book only seems to contrast just how far King has traveled the literary highway since the publication of Christine.
CHRISTINE was written with almost a manic energy and plot whereas FROM A BUICK 8 builds the tension slowly and only picks up speed near the last chapters where the narrators seem to be almost interrupting each other and spewing the pieces of the story in a rush like the vomit they almost all disgorged at one point or another in the years the Buick has been kept in the barracks.
This device is ingenious as the reader feels the dread, curiosity and sheer terror along with the troopers telling Ned Wilcox the car's history.
It is also obvious in this novel that King's grasp of nuance and language in the art of storytelling has reached its pinnac le making this staunch reader ever more mournful this will be his last non DARK TOWER novel published and wish to cry out ENCORE!
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