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| |  | Buick Books | | Home » | | | | | | | Description: | | Stephen King, an evil car, and a teenage boy coming to terms with the fragility and randomness of life.... Wait, haven't we read this before? Diehard King fans, worry not. Aside from the titular car playing a main role in the story, From a Buick 8 could not be less like King's 1983 masterpiece, Christine. If anything, this story resembles King's serial novel The Green Mile, with reminiscing police characters flashing back on bizarre events that took place decades earlier. The book's intriguing plot revolves around the troopers of Pennsylvania State Patrol Troop D, who come into possession of what at first appears to be a vintage automobile. Closer inspection and experimentation conducted by the troopers reveal that this car's doors (and trunk) sometimes open to another dimension populated by gross-out creatures straight out of ... well, a Stephen King novel. As the plot progresses, the veteran troopers' tales of these visits from interdimensional nasties, and the occasional "lightquakes" put on by the car, are passed on to the son of a fallen comrade whose fascination with the car bordered on dangerous obsession. Unlike earlier King works, there is no active threat here; no monster is stalking the heroes of the story, unless you count the characters' own curiosity. In past books, King has terrorized readers with vampires, werewolves, a killer clown, ghosts, and aliens, but this time around, the bogeyman is a more passive, cerebral threat, and one for which they don't make a ready-to-wear Halloween costume--man's fascination with and fear of the unknown. While some readers may find this tale less exciting than the horror master's earlier works, From a Buick 8 is a wonderful example of how much King's plotting skills and literary finesse have matured over his long career. And, most of all, it's a darn creepy book. --Benjamin Reese | | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Stephen King | | Audio CD:
| 5 pages | | Publisher:
| Simon & Schuster Audio | | Publication Date:
| September 01, 2002 | | ISBN:
| 0743520963 | | Package Length:
| 5.9 inches | | Package Width:
| 5.08 inches | | Package Height:
| 1.99 inches | | Package Weight:
| 1.04 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 343 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
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 From a Buick 8Jul 16, 2008
What a nightmare this story is! And Stephen King does a breathtakingly adept job of guiding us through it with ease. State Troopers in Pennsylvania encounter a Buick, which is not really a Buick. The horrific and impossible plot is made so incredibly real with King's masterful skill. The plot meanders between the past and the present, as the story of the Buick unravels. The characters, as always in a King novel, are amazingly authentic and readily invoke our compassion. This is one of my favorite King novels of all. I highly recommend it. Just be sure the lights are on!
0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 A chore.Apr 29, 2008
**REVIEW HAS SPOILERS**
Now don't get me wrong, I'm a pretty big King fan, but this book was absolutely terrible. I really only have two complaints about this book:
1. It was too wordy. I know that King is known for this, but in this novel it was out of control. This 500 page book should have been a short story, or maybe a novella at most. Instead of plot, 90% of this book is filled with pointless descriptions and fluff. There were times when I skipped pages at a time without missing anything of significance.
2. The format of the story was unnecessary. Bouncing between the past and present was stupid, and telling the story from different characters' perspectives was even worse. Both of these devices work in the right context, and this book was NOT that context. First of all, the entire book should just be a flashback. Second of all, I didn't feel like I gained any additional insight by switching the first person narration around. It was completely unnecessary and ruined the natural flow of the book. This story should have been told in the standard, third person narration.
There were aspects of the novel that I did like. The overall concept was an interesting one. I also liked the fact that we never really found out much about the car. That was an interesting angle because the reader knew exactly what the characters knew and nothing more. This novel also had a handful of great, quotable statements. I wish I'd written them down, but I remember that one was, "We spoil the grief-stricken have you ever noticed that? And they become used to the treatment."
In a nutshell: Don't. While this novel does have its moments, overall it's slow pace and length make it almost unreadable.
 Middle of the road King; it's still fun.Mar 03, 2008
"From a Buick 8" is neither King's best nor his worst. It strikes me as about average for his recent (ie: post-accident) books. Still, it is a fun read. If the story lacks a bit in the substance department, it is more than compensated by King's always reliable story TELLING talents. I swear the man could make a recounting of what he had for breakfast interesting. Bottom line: if you are new to King, there are better titles of his that I'd recommend to cut your teeth on; if you're a King fan, "From a Buick 8" is a worth while notch to add to your belt.
Spectacular imageryFeb 28, 2008
This book stays with you for a long while after you put it down. King creates such atmosphere and the characters are all so engaging. I felt as if I were standing in that old dusty shed looking at a run down Buick. Not only will this book cause you to break out in "goose flesh", but it will cause you to feel such empathy for each person and genuinely care about what happens to them. How many authors are capable of this?? I am astonished at the negative reviews on here to be honest. I'm very happy that I don't read book reviews until afer I'm finished w/ the actual product!! Keep on pumping them out Mr. King, I'd read the back of a box of cereal if you wrote it.....
"From A Buick 8" By Stephen King Feb 20, 2008
Not long ago i saw From a Buick 8 in my local Borders store at a Bargin price of 7.99 by that time king had become one of my favorite writers and i fugered that i should get it at a low price and at a steal for a hardcover novel But you dont want to know about that.
From A Buick 8 Tells the the story of Troop D a police troop in western Pennsylvania but within the troop it tells the story of Curtis Willcox a tropper who was sturck by a car and killed But willcox had a son named Ned Willcox who started to come by the barrik after his father died and help out.
One day while washing the windows of Shed B ned discovers that there is a car in Shed B The car he sees in there is a 1954 Buick Roadmaster he asks cheif Sandy Dearbourne The story behind the old Buick.
Dearbourne then nararates the story with it switching out between the other troopers and even Shurley the Dispatcher, he tells the story of the Buick and how it ties in to the supernatural things that go on around Troop D and even how it ties into his fathers death.
Some readers might Be reminded of another story by King "Christine" but with diffrient things happning with this story Christine And From A buick 8 are totaly diffrient orginal Stories.
King Once again gave us a great work of Fiction that can be read over and over agian well into the night. 5/5
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