You know what? There's a big wide world out there, it's called 'real life' - I suggest some of you...
You know what? There's a big wide world out there, it's called 'real life' - I suggest some of you get out and see a bit of it! I'm off now so I'll see ya round.
Member since:22.11.2002
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I'm shocked. Simply shocked. What about? I'm shocked that this book is written by Stephen King. I've been Stephen King's 'Number One 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 the story telling you about that person in the past. And the first person narrator changes regularly too! Confused? You will be!
The story is about a police department (Troop D) based in the fictional town of Statler in Pennsylvania. Many years ago, 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 car is killed on duty years later and his son starts hanging around the barracks so he can stay close to his dad. The Sergeant (Sandy Dearborn) takes pity on the boy (Ned Wilcox) and arranges for him to do some work at the barracks while he waits to go to college. One day Sandy finds Ned staring through the window into the shed where the Buick is now stored (it's considered too dangerous to be near anyone) and then proceeds to tell him about the car.
Ned wants to find out why his dad was so obsessed with this car so gets the whole story from Sandy and ends up ultimately blaming the car for his dad's death. Whether the car could have been responsible is never answered in the book, along with many other questions that are posed throughout the story such as where are the creatures from and where did the Buick even come from in the beginning!
And the whole story isn't a particularly long one. In a nutshell, they come across the car and decide to keep it rather than hand it over to the authorities (it isn't really explained why they would want to keep it), then it does a few wierd and awful things over the years and that's basically it. A short book is then made into a longer one by clever story telling from Stephen King and there's a lot in the book that isn't relevant to the story at all.
The narration is mainly done by Sandy Dearborn to begin with, mixed with flashbacks to the time he's talking about. But as the story goes on and more people drift over to the smokers bench (which is where the story is being told) the narration gets really confusing and you have to make sure you check the top of the page as you start a new chapter to see the name of the person who's telling the story now! And even then you'll occasionally see a name you don't recognise and have to flick back through the pages to find out who it is.
This didn't seem like a Stephen King book to me at all. His writing style is completely different to his other books and I couldn't picture any of the characters, unlike his other books where you can put yourself in their place and really experience the tale. It has the feel of someone trying out different writing styles and it just doesn't work. The story doesn't 'fit' either - I got totally confused with all the to-ing and fro-ing at one point and had to go back 2 chapters so I could catch up. There isn't much of a climax at the end and the story more tails off than anything else..... and when you get to the end you're none the wiser!
There's some gory bits and parts that are so disgusting you feel sick, but the suspense and chill that Stephen King is known for isn't there.
I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but I really don't recommend this to anyone but a die hard Stephen King fan. And if you've never read Stephen King before, don't read this book first because it's definitely the poorest one I've come across and it might put you off reading some of his excellent work like The Shining and Carrie.
Thanks for reading. :o)
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Good review, but I disagree, I think that the narration isn't complicated, I think the story blends well with the different characters telling their parts. Ellie
Nicsel 14.12.2003 21:03
I know what u mean about the narration jumping! I found myself having to go back to the title of each chapter to work out who was telling the story half the time! I thought it was an ok book but you're right in saying its different to his others. I think thats to do with the fact that before he wrote the book he had that near death experience and it made him a little more thoughtful! Im sure he must have recovered by now though!
clarajay 08.12.2003 22:54
i totally agree with you, this book is poor for Stephen King and i found it to be very slow startin, it left me feeling like i did after i read The girl who loved tom gorden (very disappionted).
In Stephen King'sFrom 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 ever...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
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: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
In Stephen King'sFrom 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 ever...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
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: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
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?
May 16th, 2003
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