Rating: 
Summary: TALES FROM THE TRUNK
Review: You have to hand it to King...over his prolific, heralded/bashed career, he has managed to write books that even at their most ineffectual, still demonstrate his mastery of characterization, and the terror we find in ordinary settings and places. In "From a Buick 8," it's not so much the "horror aspect" that makes this such an engaging read. It's the characters---the troopers who have kept a horrific secret for almost three decades, and whose lives are played out in reminiscences from many of the troopers. All for the sake of young Ned Wilcox, whose father was killed in a terrible accident just a year before our story begins. Seems his father was the most mesmerized by this strange car that comes out of nowhere and over the course of these thirty years, does some strange things. It's not as compelling a plot as I would have liked, but the characters are all gripping, believable and speak the vernacular that has both won praise and condemnation from those nasty critics. At any rate, if you enjoy Mr. King's novels as much as I have over the years, this one won't disappoint. At times, it's leisurely, but never dull. The character of Shirley Pasternak is one of the best female characters has created since Dolores Claiborne. She is rich in compassion, humor, and is the kind of woman any man would delight in going home to. Although King does go a bit overboard with Brian Lippy (no one really behaves like this, do they?), it does help in the full realization of the wonderful character, Eddie, whose fate is inevitable, but sad nonetheless. Don't get me wrong..King hasn't lost his touch for creating some really creepy, horrifying scenes. Just focus on his wonderful style; even his personal experience of being hit by an automobile is woven into the story, and it's as frightening as the Buick 8.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. HE IS THE KING.
Rating: 
Summary: Durr
Review: From a Buick 8 written by Stephen King is a book about the stuff that happens on the police force. It's about weird stuff that goes on people missing strange lights and sounds. Wierd stuff like bugs are cut open and are all green inside and are not normal. The bugs squirt icky goopy stuff out. The buick has powers that cannot be explaned. The owner of the car is missing.
Rating: 
Summary: Could Have Been Better
Review: The writing since Mr. King's accident has been somewhat erratic. The book left too many unanswered questions. This was an easy reading, but felt that something was missing. Good concept but some unexpected story development is how I would describe this story. Not one of this best work but is worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: Good book, but not his best
Review: I am an avid Stephen King reader, but I've noticed that through the years his work has become very sci-fi. While I did enjoy this book, it is somewhat "sci-fi" and it didn't give me that feeling that I was afraid to turn off the light.
Rating:
Summary: Decent book from a great author
Review: From A Buick 8, by author Stephen King, is a science fiction novel about human fascination with deadly objects, our insistence on answers when there are none, and terror and courage in the face of the unknowable. In the novel a Pennsylvania state trooper named Curt Wilcox is killed by a drunk driver. His son, Ned Wilcox, starts spending all his free time around the police station, working maintenance on the building, trying to hold on to his father's memory. While working at the police station, Ned notices an old but mint condition Buick 8 automobile in a storage shed. After asking the officers of Pennsylvania State Patrol Troop D about the car, Ned learns how they come into possession of a classic Buick 8. Later, Ned learns that what appears to be a Buick 8 automobile is actually a gateway between our world and possibly another dimension.
Although From A Buick 8 is full of interesting ideas none of them are really developed. The car which is the most fascinating aspect of the entire novel is said to be "thinking," "alive," and possibly "waiting" for the right moment to spew monstrosities from an otherworldly dimension out of its trunk. However, this idea of the car really being a living, breathing organism that can transport living organisms to and from Earth is never explained or advanced beyond characters skepticizing.
The novel takes place in a tiny Pennsylvania town called Statler. This works well for the book, but, the problem is the scenery never changes.The majority of the book takes place at the police station and the parking/storage area beside it. The reader never really sees the troopers anywhere but the grounds of the police station and a couple times at a local reataurant.
Although, the most interesting of King's ideas are never furthered beyond uncertain "answers" and more questions, King makes you can care about the characters. From the hardened but caring head of Troop D, Sandy, the sweet and loving dispatcher Shirley, and the lost and ambitious Ned Wilcox, Stephen King forces you to care about what has happened to the characters in the novel. Nevertheless, without any concrete answers to the difficulties that plague the characters, and with a weak ending, Stephen King's From A Buick 8 leaves the reader dissapointed and like the main character Ned, frustrated that there are no answers.
Rating: 
Summary: ANOTHER DISAPPOINTMENT FROM A GREAT WRITER
Review: There was a time when you knew you were going to get a great story because the name Stephen King was printed on the dust jacket. But those books are few and far between. I can't recommend this book to anyone. I stick with SK because I hope to get another SALEM'S LOT, GREEN MILE, or MISERY. Every once in a while SK will sneak up on you and deliver a gem, but he's been shooting blanks for a long time. I'm getting really tired of waiting and reading and being sorely disappointed. Only King's great prose carry you through this mercifully short novel.
Rating:
Summary: Quite a Disappointment from King
Review: "From a Buick 8" actually started out okay, but it eventually went downhill from there. "8" is not like your usual HORROR novel from King. Bottomline: There's no real scary part in the whole book. Except for the Buick spitting out some gross 'things' from the trunk and sucking people in, the whole novel just fell flat.The only reason I stuck to the book was to see if there were any other really scary scene in the novel, only to be deeply disappointed. The ending was abrupt and did not seem like an ending at all. To all first time King readers: Don't read "8". If you are looking for horror, go for older novels by King like "Carrie" or "Christine" instead.
Rating:
Summary: Just a damn good ripping yarn
Review: It has been some ten years since I have read a Stephen King novel, the last been IT, which although I found chilling, just didn't involve me enough with the story, half way through I got bored and came back to finish "IT" a few months later regretting I'd decided to make the effort. So it was with trepidation that I decided to buy this book, to be perfectly honest its choice was more related to the opportunity of another car story with the hope of Christine Pt2. Its not, but it is worth your time, I soon found myself becoming absorbed with the tale of the Buick as you follow every twist and turn of the page. The characters literally jump out at you, and you're there with them, rooting in their corner right through to the dramatic end. As I have said its ripping yarn that grabs hold, it's rare you put a book down at the end and feel good inside and say "YES NICE JOB", and then swept with a twinge of disappointment that the ride is over.
The master still has it, is it his best? no, but its way far from his worst. So take my advice turn the page and take a peek in the Troopers shed, because there's something parked at the back just out of sight, in the darkness and its well worth investigating.
Rating:
Summary: Not worth the paper it's printed on
Review: I received "From a Buick 8" as a gift, and I have to say I was appalled at what seemed to me to be a very simplistic novel with easily detectable plot devices, one-dimensional characters and amateur attempts at suspense. I was very disappointed in this book. If you're just getting to know Mr. King, please read the older books first and avoid this one at all costs.
Rating:
Summary: Steve: We still wanna love ya, but...
Review: As a diehard SK fan, I wanted to believe that The Master could still do it after all these years. Just my opinion, but he just has not been the same after the car accident. I'll eat my words (with a bit of salt) if The Gunslinger final three books turn out better. But Steve: time to become William Forrester, if you get my drift.
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