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.
Rating: 
Summary: Average at Best
Review: I keep hearing rumors that this is King's last stand-alone novel, and the only thing he intends to publish for the rest of his career are the final three books of his inferior Dark Tower series. I hope these rumors are false. I'd hate to think his last novel was a book this average. Not a bad book, but certainly not a great one either.
Rating:
Summary: Now and then he produces a book like this....
Review: In his time, Stephen King has produced some fantastic horror novels, but only a couple fantastic novels, full stop. "Bag of Bones", for example. (Which is his masterpiece.) This book lurks somewhere in between the two categories. it is not quite a brilliant horror novel (more just very chilling) and it is not quite a brilliant novel. (Some of the characters don't sit quite right for one.) But, in my opinion, this book ranks among King's very best works. The story is told with some very original and effective narrative devices, which work very effectively. He tells the tale in a number of "voices", and each one is individual and well construcated. The plot is structured well, too. the writing is subtle, and the story teased out in such a way as suspense is created. It attempts to explore several things: The fascination that the unkown, and also deadly things, have for us. The nature of stories, and the nature of relationships not bound by blood. It also serves as materful police procedural novel. The procedural aspects strike true, and work to give this novel yet another level. Possibly not quite King's best book (as i say, "Bag of Bones" shall forever hold that acolade) but certainly up there with some of his greats.
Rating:
Summary: Bad car! Bad!
Review: OK, so it's a 356-page book about a car that isn't really a car. And the "car" just sits in a garage and does some occasional odd things. *Yawn*. In my opinion, this book isn't in the same league as some of King's classics ("The Stand," "The Dead Zone," etc.), and isn't even half as good as the more recent "DreamCatcher."
Rating:
Summary: It's not "It"
Review: Having been a long-time reader of Kings, and having plowed through every one of his books, with the exception of Dolores Claiborne (which I could only force myself through half of), I can say with some authority that there's been a decline in intensity over the past decade or so, as compared to what he used to write. It started with Tommyknockers, and aside from a few bright spots (Desperation, Dreamcatcher, a very few others), it's all been down hill, and it hasn't stopped with Buick 8.
For what it's worth, it's not a bad story, really, it's just that there's not much to it. I wanted a *really* good story packed into that skimpy 350 pages...I wanted it not to be full of mental ramblings about morals and music and death and Ned by the main character. I wanted a good conclusion that would explain what was going on. I wanted King to get off his "I'm a literateur" kick he's been on for awhile now. I was disappointed in all these, but at least I've filled another space in my book-case with a pretty jacket.
100 pages were good, and the other 250 were just filler and fluff like only King and Clancy can do.
Next!
Rating:
Summary: weird, yet unbelievably powerful
Review: I was absolutely stunned by this novel. At first, when I read the reviews, I was let down. It seemed as though this was a story, in which, you would not be as close to the characters as in King's previous works. However, the only negative side to this book, was one of the last creatures to come out of the car. The previous ones, he made similar to real life animals, which made the story much more real. However, one was completely alien, and had no comparison to any creatures we know of (this is the only reason I do not give it five stars instead of four). At this point in the book, I was thrust out of the story. Though I was still very tense as to what was going to happen, unlike the previous scenes, it was more surreal. Still, the rest of the book was almost too real. And the end of it was amazing. Right when you thought he might be trying to bring the story to an end, the climax hit. I found this to be brilliantly done, and I was shocked because I rarely see this type of strategy in King's writing. The many messages, and symbols, hidden in this book are beautifully put in. They will have a huge impact because it is the story itself that makes these points. Which has rarely been done by King (except for Desperation, and possibly some of The Green Mile's points). I have a feeling that no matter which of King's books you enjoy, everyone will like this one to some degree.
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