Rating: 
Summary: Not that great
Review: I was looking forward to this book because I absolutely loved Christine. But.....1) I never cared for the alternate world of Talisman/Gunslinger
2) This book is so boring that I put it down for a week to read another book
3) I think it would have been a much better 100 page novella than a huge book that it was (does anyone edit for him any more? Maybe he should re-read his "On Writing"). It wasn't scary. It was fantasy. Quite frankly, I don't care for much for fantasy, so this book is resigned to the bottom of my Stephen King recommendations. Don't get me wrong, he's a good writer, but this baby deserved to be tossed out with the bathwater.
Rating: 
Summary: Pedestrian
Review: Let's use the old cliche here, "I'm a big fan but...". I'd give this a 2.5 were half stars allowed. In this reasonably short(for King) novel we see how a Pennsylvania police department reacts to the appearance of an interstellar/interdimensional transporter in the guise of a slightly off Buick. The tale is told to the son of the trooper most involved with the Buick by the long time troopers and employees of the station round robin style. As others have mentioned, nothing much really happens. Which can be fine because King's strength has always been characterisation. Unfortunately that is completely lacking here. We have some sketches of the characters but even at the end of the book not much reason to care for any of them nor do we know them all that well. The climax takes a long time to get to, and is rather short. However it is effective, tense, and saves the book from having been a complete waste of time. Were it not for the nice climax that did keep me turning pages this would have been a 2 or 1 star book. What went wrong? I think what we have here is a book that is neither younger King which would have had much more happen with the car, nor mature King in which the characterisations of the troopers would take precedence over creatures popping out of the car. Instead we have nothing really happening with the car, and despite all the jawing, nothing really in the way of characterisation. A younger King would have terrified us with an onslaught of creatures from the car, a mature King would have made us feel for the state troopers as they dealt with something so far out of the realm of their understanding. Unfortunately, we get neither. So consider this My Dinner with Andre and a Car. Guys sit around talking but nothing much happens.
Rating:
Summary: Not his best, but definitely not "Christine". Just OK.
Review: When I first picked up this book, I thought it was another story about a car that goes wild, killing anyone that gets in its way. I can tell I was wrong there. This book is an OK read. It was not one that I had trouble putting down though. I would read it, then not pick it up again for a day or two. I must say the front cover looks menacing though. It makes the car look as if it has an actual face on it and it's ready to eat someone. This book does not resolve all the issues either. People disappear without a trace, and you would think we would find out where they went. Plus, I was waiting for the car's owner to appear again, maybe explain what all of this was about. Not a chance. So, in all, we never really find out where this car came from, who owned it, nothing. It just sits in a shed forever creating light shows and spewing out creatures from another world. With all that happens, the burning question is this: Why don't they blow up this car or take it to a junkyard and destroy it? Why would a town hold on to something they know is dangerous? In any case, I'm sorry to say that this book is not the way for Stephen King to retire. If he's going to retire with one last novel, it should be something that goes out with a bang, not a fizzle.
Rating: 
Summary: A great way to begin the end
Review: It truly is a shame that Mr King's writing career is coming to a close but outside of the Dark Tower's close, there could have been no better note to end on. King weaves a wonderful tale aout a possesed Buick thorugh the eyes of some of the greatest characters of his career. after reading this book i really felt like i had known all of those people for my entire life. Not since the stand have his characters been more developed. Through his story reminds us that no matter what is going on in our lives to remember where we came from and our families. i would imagine that all of King's fans have purchased this book already or have made plans to do so, so if you are skeptical of him, just read this book and realize his supream grasp of the english language. unlike mine. so enjoy, i know you will
Rating:
Summary: Okay but...
Review: This is essentially a short story idea blown up to fill a novel. When you have multiple character viewpoints it usually means there isn't enough story to stand alone. As a short story, this would have worked a lot better than a dragged out novel.
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.
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