- Hardcover: 416 pages
- Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton; BCA edition (28 Aug 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0739428985
- ISBN-13: 978-0739428986
- ASIN: 0340770694
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.8 x 4.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 520,176 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
In Stephen King's From a Buick 8, a group of Pennsylvania State Troopers find, and keep 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 every so often something unpleasant comes through from the other side. The alien monsters here are creatures of pure disgust; King terrifyingly argues here that somewhere in the universe there are things for which we can have no fellow-feeling. All of the narrators are marked by the Buick 8--it is a focus for personal disaster--but they believe, rightly, that they are the competent authorities, that to hand it over would make things worse. After the death of one of the original Troopers, the rest gather round his teenage son, and tell him the tale; this is a book about storytelling and about listening and about not hearing what you are told. As such, it is a worthy fictional companion to King's excellent On Writing; significantly, its considerable strengths come partly from King's imagination, partly from the technical mastery that lets him play the narrators off against each other, and partly from research, from King's own capacity to listen to real cops. --Roz Kaveney
Review
‘Still on top of his game...An unusual and disturbing mix that no other modern writer could pull off’ The Times on EVERYTHING'S EVENTUAL
‘Stephen King is blessed with an apparently inexhaustible imagination and a talent for storytelling that shows little sign of waning. In his hands at least, the art is far from being lost’ Daily Mail on EVERYTHING'S EVENTUAL
'Another masterpiece from Stephen King...Not only does he write better than anyone else in this genre, he also produces a narrative that never loosens its grip' (Evening Standard on DREAMCATCHER )
'King has inspired a whole generation to read. He's made them read good, witty prose...a fabulous teller of stories who can create an entire new world and make the reader live in it' (Express on DREAMCATCHER )
'Absolutely fascinating' (The Sunday Times on ON WRITING )
'Astonishingly good' (Independent on HEARTS IN ATLANTIS )
'Accomplished...unputdownable...his mesmerising best' (Observer on BAG OF BONES )
‘Stephen King is blessed with an apparently inexhaustible imagination and a talent for storytelling that shows little sign of waning. In his hands at least, the art is far from being lost’ Daily Mail on EVERYTHING'S EVENTUAL
'Another masterpiece from Stephen King...Not only does he write better than anyone else in this genre, he also produces a narrative that never loosens its grip' (Evening Standard on DREAMCATCHER )
'King has inspired a whole generation to read. He's made them read good, witty prose...a fabulous teller of stories who can create an entire new world and make the reader live in it' (Express on DREAMCATCHER )
'Absolutely fascinating' (The Sunday Times on ON WRITING )
'Astonishingly good' (Independent on HEARTS IN ATLANTIS )
'Accomplished...unputdownable...his mesmerising best' (Observer on BAG OF BONES )
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Well here it is .... this years Stephen King release, I always look forward to it and after the release of some of his shorter stories earlier this year -- this is no doubt his main course.
A claustrophobic affair more in keeping with Geralds Game or Misery than his epics like The Stand. Not set in Kings Country and he explains the reason at the end ... the main characters are Troopers who have a secret sitting in the shed behind their Station --- in the form of a Buick 8, an odd looking (and feeling) car. The book is basically the troopers telling their tales to a son of one of there dead compadres .... and this fills out the story so well. Odd animals and disappearing people all linked to the mysterious vehicle in shed b. What is it? Where is it from? and more questions asked -- are any answered? Maybe.
This is one of Kings sojourn into the Dark Tower backdrop ... but lets be honest - aren't they all! So for a first bite of King I probably wouldn't recommend it. To his constant readers this is a great read. Very well written ... maybe as a literary offering its one of his best .... maybe a little frustrasting for his older fans who yearn for Salems Lot or Pet Sematary ... but these have been done so each new book is a piece to the jigsaw that is Kings Universe.
King is the best ... end of story -- this is a good book and is a must for his constant readers --- as a mainstream effort I ain't too sure.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I can't say From a Buick 8 was one of the best S King books i have read, but I didn't exactly hate it either. There isn't much of a plot, just a collection of incidents that have taken place around the existence of this car, that isn't a car. I felt I wanted to know more about the car and where it came from, but then again so did the characters in the story, and I suppose the mystery of it's existence is what this book is all about. At the end of the day, I guess, some things just remain mysteries.
However, the characters are all very much alive on the pages and I thoroughly enjoyed reading them. I am just not too keen on the monsters myself, but that doesn't mean others won't like this book.
However, the characters are all very much alive on the pages and I thoroughly enjoyed reading them. I am just not too keen on the monsters myself, but that doesn't mean others won't like this book.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I love Stephen King's writing - I think he has a style and a class all of his own. I buy everything he writes because I have never been disappointed by anything he has written and I know that I am not buying something that will take me weeks to trawl through. Buick was not disappointing - just flat and a little below what King's fan's are entitled to expect from him.
His command of language and interesting comparison is usually second to none - but here it seems clumsy and forced. I appreciate that this is because the story is being told from the viewpoint of characters who are not by nature narrators; nonetheless it plodded in parts and seemed weak in places. Some of the analogies and descriptions were downright cringing worthy - falling straight into the traps King warns would-be writers of in 'On Writing.' Perhaps that is the problem - perhaps King has given us an insight into what we are entitled to expect from him and this misses the mark.
It won't stop me buying his other books - but if you are thinking about this as your first foray into the amazing world of Stephen King then I'd strongly recommend you opt for 'The Stand' if you have the time to read it - or something like the 'Different Seasons' novellas. Those will give you a real taste of why he is truly the King!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
From the bottom of the barrel
The first King book I read was Pet Sematary, in the early 80s. I was hooked and quickly read all he had written to that point. Read more
Published 11 days ago by Philtrum
boring
I gave this book one star and I think I was being generous,it just rambles on saying nothing ,it may have been better as a short story,then Stephen King won't have had to fill in... Read more
Published 7 months ago by billybob
Much More Than Sci-fi Horror
A real page turner.
On the surface a Sci-Fi Thriller set in the rural USA. In reallity a story about, love, grief, friendship, change and ageing. Read more
On the surface a Sci-Fi Thriller set in the rural USA. In reallity a story about, love, grief, friendship, change and ageing. Read more
Published 8 months ago by RL Cloherty
After the crash
I cant say that I hated this book, but it just didnt really hold my interest. Feeling more like a sci-fi novel that anything else, the story whilst ok didnt really rise to any... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Glosblue
A poor offering from a exceptional author
I have a soft spot for Stephen King, as I guess millions of others do too (just look at the amount of reviews his books get here on Amazon). Read more
Published 23 months ago by The Godfather!
Poor, very poor
This must be the worst Stephen King book I've ever read. Usually such an enjoyable author with clever ideas and plotting but this one is a real turkey. Read more
Published on 21 Nov 2009 by Stephen C. Grantham
my favourite ever Steven King novel!!
I loved this book!! I honestly can't believe this novel isn't more well-known.
However I think I understand what has prompted alot of the negative criticism about From a... Read more
However I think I understand what has prompted alot of the negative criticism about From a... Read more
Published on 11 May 2009 by JA Taylor
Good but not the best
I have read a few Stephen King books, and whilst the likes of the Shining and Misery had me on the edge of my seat, feeling a little freaked out, this book just didnt have the same... Read more
Published on 13 July 2008 by dizzyshelly
Effortless Mastery
I'm not a Stephen King addict but I've read enough to know what he's about - and in this case I found myself haunted by his tale which is a good recommendation for a horror story. Read more
Published on 4 July 2008 by A. J. King
rubbish
worst book i have ever read, awful no plot.I thought if the story is this bad it must have a great ending RUBBISH
Published on 27 Mar 2008 by Mr. Stephen J. Ainsworth
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