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.
Rating:
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!
Rating: 
Summary: If it was a short story then....
Review: it would of been better. This is a good novel, but King (my most favorite novelist) just drags on and on throughout the novel. Unlike most King novels where he put vampires, aliens, the devil in disguise, and evil beings stalking us, this is different.
I am not saying this is his best novel (that is The Stand) but it is good. Also to note, this is NOT his last novel, he is planning to write sequels for all his novels.
The story goes around a rural Police department in Pennsylvania (Most of the stories beside the Dark Tower, Misery, and some parts of The Stand take place in Maine, all of his books take place in Maine. That is his most favorite place to write because he loves the state and he knows it.) and Ned's father gets run over making a traffic stop. Now he goes to the police department and becomes part of the "family" as King puts it. Then one day, he discovers the "car". Now the "family" decides to tell the tale of the "car".
Ned's father discovers the car after it gets left by a mysterious stranger in a gas station, the driver never comes back to claim it, he is GONE! Now Ned's father brings it to the police station, and sets it in the barrack behind the Police station.
Now things start happening, the "car" starts spitting out weird creatures, and Ned makes his basement into a lab for dissecting the creatures. One day, one of the police officers gets trapped in there, and he is gone. It is a mysterious world in the car, but King does not bring us into that world, I wish he did, but he didnt.
Now the thing about the "car", it puts on light shows, I am talking about blinding white light, and it has done this since they had the "car". The ending is good, but like I said, if King made this into a short story, then I would of given it five stars, but since it is a novel, then it is good, not the best, but good.
Rating:
Summary: Just proves they'll publish anything...
Review: Ah, to get back the days I wasted reading this pointless excuse of a horror novel. As a lifelong and devoted King fan, I eagerly purchased the book when I saw it on the bargain cart at Barnes & Noble (oh, the better things I could have done with that $5), and dug in. "From A Buick 8" is a fine example that shows being a "name" in literature will get your worst ideas published. I bet if Steve were to write a longwinded novel about his favorite cheeseburger it would get released to rave reviews. This is a major waste of any reader's time. I have always loved the way King's stories made me jump at shadows and rethink whether or not there was a monster under my bed. That was definately not found here. I got so bored with the book it ended up on the shelf in the bathroom, read only when I was taking a... bath. Ignore this book. If you receive it as a gift, return it for something better, like any of the Dark Tower series.
Rating:
Summary: A King masterpiece
Review: "From a Buick 8" is vintage King, and I'd give it 6 stars if I could. Don't think that because both "Christine" and this book are about cars that they share any similarity - they don't. This Buick Roadmaster is not really a car, although the state troopers of Pennsylvania Troop D, who found it abandoned at a gas station and stored it out back of the barracks in Shed B, are not sure exactly what it really is. But whatever it is, it produces some astounding and frightening phenomena, many of which stretch the reader's imagination to its limits. The story line alternates between the present and flashbacks to the past as told by members of Troop D to Ned Wilcox, the son of a trooper who died in the line of duty. Ned has peeked in the windows of Shed B and has seen the Buick do one of its tricks, and now he wants to know its history. King demonstrates his mastery of characterization as the reader hears each part of the story in the distinctive voice and viewpoint of its narrator. Through the narrative, not only does the tale of the Buick unfold, but so does the story of the troopers themselves. The reader learns of their lives, their troop camaraderie, their fears, and their hopes. It is comforting to know that if Stephen King adheres to the statement that he will write a few more Gunslinger books and then retire, at least he is going out in style with this book.
Rating:
Summary: Worthless!
Review: This book is pure garbage. Don't waste your time. Even if you're a Stephen King fan. Awful!
Rating:
Summary: King at his finest
Review: Some may be disappointed at the lack of a "Boogie Man" men, or thing in this book. But they are wrong.. Readers of King will recognize the oft used axim that "Curiosity Killed the Cat, satisfaction brought him back". That curisoity is the nemesis in this book, the curiosity that resides in the back of all our minds, and it is that very curiosity that will keep the pages turning and turning. It's one of those books I kept on my coffee table for a week or so after finishing. I was as reluctant to put it away as one is to shelving a great friendship.
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