... I seem to fit Stephen King's novels into to specific genres, the one before his car accident and the other the aftermath but From a Buick 8 does not fit into either category. Part was written beforehand and the rest finished after. Stephen King is a complete perfectionist and refuses to release ... Read review
In Stephen King's From a Buick 8, a group of Pennsylvania State Troopers find, and keep ... more
secret, the Buick 8, a "car" that is a portal between our world and some world far more horrid. Animals and occasionally people disappear around the Buick 8 and eve...
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In Stephen King's From a Buick 8, a group of Pennsylvania State Troopers find, and keep ... more
secret, the Buick 8, a "car" that is a portal between our world and some world far more horrid. Animals and occasionally people disappear around the Buick 8 and eve...
Postage & Packaging: refer to website Availability: Check Site.
1-5 of 8 reviews of From a Buick 8 - Stephen King
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From a buick 8 came a torrid book
Advantages: Loosely based on a true story, written after stephen king's car accident, some very nice styles and enthrawling twists! Disadvantages: A killer car hrmmm... could this be Christine no.2?
...handling a fresh, new book from the shelf, the sweet papery scent that escaped it's clutches as you flickered through the pages, ahh the hidden delights of books.
I think Tom got slightly exasperated on many occasions when I looked at this novel, it's divine purple flashes of light drew my attention, it's chrome fender on the cover flashing with sweet elegance ahhh what a cover hehe, but I was warned and never took the advice but I ... ...the other the aftermath but From a Buick 8 does not fit into either category. Part was written beforehand and the rest finished after. Stephen King is a complete perfectionist and refuses to release a first draft, most of his novels and this in particular had certain references included that needed double checking and so resulted in a truthful display of Stephen King's modern day novels.
I mentioned that the book is loosely based on ... more
After many years of being intellectually illiterate and could not stand to even pick a book up my mate tom1clare who's on ciao together with gildor_inglorion put me through my paces with certain book recommendations, while tom drew my attention towards the Stephen King genre, Phill drew my attention towards Tolkeins masterpiece the hobbit( which still remains my fave. book of all time). I remember going into Smiths and eyeing the lovely new book covers of the new range of Stephen King books I seemed to be hypnotised by the shine of the crisp, bold lettering and the bright seductive colours, I know you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover but if i hadn't I wouldn't be writing a book review hehe. The sweetness of the new published range just had a certain elegance that could not be ignored, I found myself deeply emersed into the plots of the books without even a touch of my finger. The lush feel I got when handling a fresh, new book from the shelf, the sweet papery scent that escaped it's clutches as you flickered through the pages, ahh the hidden delights of books.
I think Tom got slightly exasperated on many occasions when I looked at this novel, it's divine purple flashes of light drew my attention, it's chrome fender on the cover flashing with sweet elegance ahhh what a cover hehe, but I was warned and never took the advice but I want to read all Stephen King books so it didn't matter which one I read. I just finished reading this one last night took me till 1 am but it was thoroughly satisfying. I seem to fit Stephen King's novels into to specific genres, the one before his car accident and the other the aftermath but From a Buick 8 does not fit into either category. Part was written beforehand and the rest finished after. Stephen King is a complete perfectionist and refuses to release a first draft, most of his novels and this in particular had certain references included that needed double checking and so resulted in a truthful display of Stephen King's modern day novels.
I mentioned that the book is loosely based on a true story, well I suppose you could say that. On the way back from Florida King and his wife travelled up towards their Maine home, Stephen King hated to fly so decided to drive. Passing through Pennsylvania he decided to get some gas at a peculiar station that seemed rather deserted. King took a walk around the back while the operator filled his tank, he saw a deep rivine filled with scrap metal junk and old tyres, there was a river below and he slipped and rolled down the steep slope eventually gaining some sort of grip, he climbed back up and drove on. He kept wondering to himself what would've happened if I'd had fallen into the river and got swept downstream what would happen to my car and thus Buick 8 was formed. It was written during a significant time in King's life, he had just finished ' The girl who loved Tom Gordon' and started to write out the plot of another book shortly after. He suffered his tragic accident and later on managed to complete Buick 8, so some points in the book seem like a paralelity to that of King, he intertwining force of both styles seem to blend quite vividly leaving no clear errors.
Although based somewhat on King's near death experience the plot narrowly missed out on impressing the reader in comparison to his earlier novels I found this an extraordinary let down. It took me a mere 10 days to read 'Insomnia' which is King's best book so far and the book was twice the length, but it seemed to take an eternity to read Buick 8 and I found myself having to read other books halfway through. I reviewed 'Carrie' a few weeks ago and I read Carrie during this novel that I'm sure expresses my complete boredom and lack of interest. I could never find much of a reason to read on, the start of the novel seemed promising but when the novels plot was locked in and dwelled amongst the confounds of a police impound-like station my interest was lost at a fairly speedy pace.
The main plot of the novel begins with King's experience a peculiar Buick 8 pulls up for gas at a station and the attendant disappears. The car has no engine or any working connected car parts and seems a mystery to all how it could ever run. The state troopers decide to impound the car in a shed named SHED B at their station. The predictability is obvious especially to those who have read King's earlier car novel 'Christine', certain huge paranormal flashes of purple light begin to flash out of the shed on frequent occurrences and after the lightshow a disgusting and vile creature is spat out like a bat with 1 pulsating eye and a swarm of black, slimy insects. Certain members of the Troopers begin to disappear but the plot remains incredibly distant I never felt involved in the plot and the dialogue of the characters lacked energy and interest in many places.
The ending of the book shall remain a mystery as I don't wish to spoil the book for you but I assure you the so called' finale' isn't grand at all and its pace is as weak as a twig. I felt a bit letdown by this novel but I think it still contained certain unique styles never seen before which I found to be the only joy in this dreary novel. But enough criticism, I shall try and express what makes this book readable and what great advantages it may contain.
King used a certain style, which worked with the plot quite well, while in earlier novels like' Dreamcatcher' he used telepathy to switch from one characters point of view to another without warning that seemed a bit irritating he conducts this in a precise and readable manor. The way he heads each time and each character instead of the use of chapters is quite engenious. For example he uses past, present and future tenses along with the character who is involved which I found to be quite exhilarating but I must stress that this does not make up for the rather dry plot and lack of interest expressed by the characters to the plot.
In conclusion From a Buick 8 is Stephen King's worst book so far but if you love Stephen King books and wish to be a completist like me i urge you to give it a go you may like it as it seems to vary interest from one reader to another, but the overall opinion is that this book stinks if I may be so bold. Read, but read with care as time may pass from days to weeks and from weeks to months before you eventually finish!
Advantages: Good story, Different writing style Disadvantages: Convoluted, At times, slow and boring
...encounter with a man running from strange people from another dimension. "Christine" is a more obvious parallel drawing on a classic car that has a mind of it's own, albeit the Buick in question has a more static role than the fender bending star of "Christine".
The strength of the tale lies in King's attention to detail. What is unusual is that the setting differs from the usual one based in Maine. The reason for this is revealed in the notes at ... ...of the story. Returning from a trip to Florida, King stopped at a gas station in Pennsylvania. It was one of those with a pump attendant so whilst the car was attended to, he went to the rest rooms. Having done his business, he went outside and noticed a steep bank leading to a stream at the bottom. Curious as to what was down there, he slipped and nearly found out first hand. So it was that the "what if?" scenario came into play with Stephen Kind ...
Marandina 07.10.2003 (29.10.2003)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of From a Buick 8 - Stephen King
Advantages: It's Stephen King, I suppose Disadvantages: Plot, characters, awwwwwwww - I'm just disappointed in this book as a whole
...Fan' (see, I even quote from his books!) ever since I read Pet Semetary when I was about 14 and have read most of his books so you can imagine my excitement when a new book arrived on the shelves with a minimum of fuss. Why no fuss? Possibly because he's embarressed. This book doesn't hold a candle to his usual work - the characters are only half plausible and the books very hard to follow because it keeps jumping from a first person narration to ... ...a Buick 8 is recovered from a local garage where a strange man has asked the attendant to 'fill her up' and then simply disappeared. The car is impounded and taken to Troop D's barracks where it starts to behave very strangely. The car has 'miscarriages' where it throws up a revoltingly described creature from another dimension. It also has the ability to suck people and animals into this same place.
The Trooper who shows the most interest in the ...
Fruity_Tart 16.05.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of From a Buick 8 - Stephen King
Advantages: Great Characters Disadvantages: It's about a car!
...awful. So in fear of From A Buick 8 turning into another 'Christine' I avoided reading it, but I am glad that finally I overcame that fear and started to read it.
So this book is about a car, well yes and no, there is a car, and a very strange one at that, but it's about much more than the car, it's about a group of characters who happen to be state troopers and their past and a young son coming to terms with his father's death. As always King develops ... ...fascination/fear of the Buick mainly from the point of view of one man in particular telling the tale of the car to the young son who's father's death on duty has left him grief-stricken. But others who work at the station and have history with the car take over the tale when appropriate. So, you have Ned Wilcox, who's father was a state trooper working in Troop D who was killed on duty, and he is spending time with the state troopers of Troop D ...
kitty17 21.07.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of From a Buick 8 - Stephen King
Advantages: The usual King 'feel' to it all Disadvantages: Too much padding, goes nowhere, faceless characters
...morning, as I was with From a Buick 8.
So, Imagine my disappointment when reading it!
Firstly, I will give you details of the story: Ned Wilcox’s father has died and he starts working for the police force his father worked for, generally cleaning up the place at weekends – he is still at school - and learning how to use dispatch. Everyone there loves the kid.
Troop D (a division of the Pennsylvania police department) has a secret, ... ...OD’d on this best-selling writing from Maine, USA. Still, I suppose you cannot be perfect all of the time, you can sometimes miss the mark – and Stephen king certainly has done so this time, as he has done in past (Pet Semetery), but not for a long time!
Thanks for reading…
Borg 2003 ...
Borg 06.03.2003 (22.03.2003)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of From a Buick 8 - Stephen King
Advantages: King's style, the characters, the overall writing of it. Disadvantages: Not 'The Best King Ever', some goriness, v. nasty dog demise.
...in and out, taking things from our world, and exhaling things from another. I know I haven’t really reached a climax in the plot description, but I can’t really say too much without ruining it. What I will say, is that it is worth a read in my book (what mirth!), though not necessarily the best work Stephen King has ever produced.
Stephen King is always going to be classed as a horror writer, and probably rightly so, but sometimes I find that some ... ...is being told in chapters from Sandy’s perspective, or from another trooper’s. Occasionally there is a switch back to the present, where Ned will ask questions about the story being told, or the characters will stop to eat sandwiches! Which is nice, in a way, as it also gives you time to break to go to sleep, or go back to work. But the first half, to me, seems a lot more thrillery with a great deal of suspense. The scenes where the first inspection ...
jess0910 18.09.2002
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Advantages: A standard, non "Dark Tower" novel from Stephen King Disadvantages: Very little that is truly original
Ever since the publication of 2002's "From a Buick8", StephenKing's focus has been on finishing his "Dark Tower" series. There has been the odd side trip, into non fiction for "Faithful", his review of the 2004 Boston Red Sox season and the more recent "The Colorado Kid", which was really little more than a short story and not being in King's usual horror style. Not being a great fan of "The Dark Tower", it was with great anticipation I awaited the publication of "Cell", which promised to be a return to King's strengths and, hopefully, the kind of invention and story telling that first made me a fan twenty years ago and has turned me into one of the people he frequently refers to as "Constant Reader" in the years since.
Like many other King fans, I was intrigued to know what he could come up with now. His recent publications have ...
Years after his police trooper father is killed in the line of duty, young Ned Wilcox starts investigating a mysterious vintage vehicle, kept locked in the station barracks, in the hope of uncovering the sinister secrets surrounding it.
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