From a Buick 8: A Novel

If this really is King's last real novel (the forthcoming Dark Tower books don't quite count), then he's going out with style and grace. "From A Buick 8" is a wonderfully gripping read, full of the creepy crawlies, but mostly it's a moving, melancholy meditation on time and loss, more "Green Mile" than "Christine". His command of character and flow are wondrous at times. You believe in these people; you can see them, you know them. I've always thought that was his great gift and the real secret to his popularity--his people live in the same world we do. In them, we recognize ourselves (and our landscapes), and somehow that provides solace, as if we're finally being seen and understood. (It's similar to what Springsteen does.) The scary stuff was always secondary. Anyway, this one's awfully fine. It kept me up nights--and there's really nothing better in the world than a book that keeps you up nights. (It's like having a secret power source, and is almost as rare.) There are more subtle writers in the world, but there's not another who's given me more pure pleasure. I always feel wide awake when I'm reading Stephen King, as if I'm reading with my whole self. Being one of his Constant Readers has been one of the best relationships of my life. We sort of grew up together. I think he really means it about not publishing anything else, and that's a loss destined to be as resonant for me as the ones he details so beautifully in this last, best book.

I spoke to a few people and read many reviews about this book. And they said it wasn't Kings best or really that good. I disagree, I just finished reading it. It's not an action/terrifying type story. It's a haunting camp fire story. You get to know ALL the characters and care what happens. Even the minor characters seem like their main characters. Is it a bit slow? Yes, but that's because when you learn things about people, it doesn't happen rapidly. More importantly, King brings in his trademark with Monsters. It's a story about one police department and the people involved, and they deal with loss and overcoming tragedy. It's also about a son learning about a father he never had the chance to get to know. It's about the people in our life's that are not blood related, yet they are family. A haunting tale! This is a fantastic horror story.

You have to hand it to King...over his prolific, heralded/bashed career, he has managed to write books that even at their most ineffectual, still demonstrate his mastery of characterization, and the terror we find in ordinary settings and places. In "From a Buick 8," it's not so much the "horror aspect" that makes this such an engaging read. It's the characters---the troopers who have kept a horrific secret for almost three decades, and whose lives are played out in reminiscences from many of the troopers. All for the sake of young Ned Wilcox, whose father was killed in a terrible accident just a year before our story begins. Seems his father was the most mesmerized by this strange car that comes out of nowhere and over the course of these thirty years, does some strange things. It's not as compelling a plot as I would have liked, but the characters are all gripping, believable and speak the vernacular that has both won praise and condemnation from those nasty critics. At any rate, if you enjoy Mr. King's novels as much as I have over the years, this one won't disappoint. At times, it's leisurely, but never dull. The character of Shirley Pasternak is one of the best female characters has created since Dolores Claiborne. She is rich in compassion, humor, and is the kind of woman any man would delight in going home to. Although King does go a bit overboard with Brian Lippy (no one really behaves like this, do they?), it does help in the full realization of the wonderful character, Eddie, whose fate is inevitable, but sad nonetheless. Don't get me wrong..King hasn't lost his touch for creating some really creepy, horrifying scenes. Just focus on his wonderful style; even his personal experience of being hit by an automobile is woven into the story, and it's as frightening as the Buick 8. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. HE IS THE KING.

As a long time reader of Stephen King's fiction (I started in 1977), this is the one author who I treasure more than life itself. I personally think of him as the "Charles Dickens" of American Literature for the 20th Century and would gladly argue the case with any critic. With Mr. King's newest novel, FROM A BUICK 8, he once again proves that no one can do it better. This is the story of Troop D of the Pennsylvania State Police and the 1954 Buick that they've kept hidden for twenty-two years in Shed B behind their barracks in the rural community of Statler Township. It begins in 2001, the year after Trooper Curtis Wilcox is killed in a terrible traffic accident. His eighteen-year-old son, Ned, begins to hang around the barracks in an effort to keep the memory of his father alive. In time, he discovers the Buick in Shed B and questions Sandy Dearborn, the commander of Troop D, about it. Sandy decides to tell Ned the background history of the car and the part his late father played in it-from the discovery of the abandoned Buick at a gas station by Troopers Curtis Wilcox and Ennis Rafferty in 1979, to the disappearance of Rafferty a few hours later, to the stark realization of just how dangerous this oddity of a vehicle was, and to the hideous other-world creatures that occasionally popped out of its trunk. Twenty-three years later, however, the car is still hungry and decides to go after the son of the man it could never catch unaware. FROM A BUICK 8 takes us into the small family of Troop D and the secrets they kept hidden for over two decades. It's about a car that may be a portal to another dimension...a car that's always waiting patiently for someone to get too close to it at the wrong time. But more than anything, this is a story about friendship, the curiosity that people have for the unknown, and the journey an eighteen-year-old boy has to take in order to become a man. Only Stephen King could write a book in which the characters don't just come alive for the reader, they become your friends in every sense of the word and you care about what happens to them. That's the power of Mr. King's storytelling. You're not reading a novel; you're living it! This book grabbed me in the first few pages and didn't let go till the end, when I felt a deep sadness in my heart for a past that can never be relived. The other night, after I'd finished reading FROM A BUICK 8, I saw a GM commercial on television about the legendary car designer, Harley Earl, and guess what he was standing beside-a 1954 Buick Roadmaster! The whole thing gave me goose bumps. Thank you, Mr. King, for doing it again.

A confession: As a lover of old cars I fell in love with the car on the front cover. Perhaps it was lust. Same thing! As far as the book goes I had the feeling this was two novellas circulating within the creative vortex and they combined inside a classic automobile. Wow where did that come from? Regardless climb in and take a spin through the pages of a fun tale. The story works, it's fun and you can suspend reality for a little while.

It's not too scary and when you step out you will have had a fun ride. What else do you need?

Having been disappointed with the past few King offerings, including the current "Doctor Sleep", it felt prudent to revisit older work by this prolific author. I remembered that "From a "Buick 8" was the last King novel that felt authentically King. For this reader, King's great gift as a writer has always been his ability to write Americans as...Americans. He understands how we talk to one another and for many years was able to convey our speech, the rhythms of our discourse, our slang, and how we communicate when things are at their worst/best.

"Buick 8" is King's last great exhalation of how we speak. By now, the story of the not-car "Buick 8" comes to possess the men of Troop D and a young man who is balancing on the edge of manhood is established. There are not many pyrotechnical literary flourishes in this tale of regular folks who have to learn to handle that which is not regular. The decision to keep the narrative simple is the novel's great trick. Whatever we think the "car" is takes a back seat to the individuals involved in the story of keeping a great secret away from anyone else. The vagaries of the "car" and whatever it really is frames the stories shared. It's a shame that King eventually seemed to lose the ability to effectively write dialogue that is both compelling and familiar. This is his "just the facts, ma'am" swan song. Somehow, we know the narrators of this unearthly story. They probably live next door.

Also, King pulls off one of his most amazing literary tricks here in the first pages of the novel, paying tribute to the insect-man created by Donald A. Wollheim in the seminal short story "Mimic". Surely the driver of the not-a-car is one of the Mimic's children who escaped at the end of that 1942 (!!) skin-crawler, down to the black duster, hat, melted "ear" and the jellied voice heard by Bradley Roach, the pump jockey. For those in the know, this delightful cameo by one of Sci-Fi's most interesting creatures is a real treat.

I decided to check out a King book with a bad reputation that I’d always been curious about. From A Buick 8. I sort of expected it to be pretty mid00s and not very good. And while I will say that it is uneven and a little padded, I was really surprised by it in the end. It plays a little meaner and ends up with more of the Revival nihilism without ever getting quite so bleak as that one or landing as hard. The padding and sort of aimless nature actually does end up fitting the rather interesting thematic hooks he lays, even if it comes off a little more like an experiment than a slam dunk. I don’t think it stands up to his better works but there’s more chutzpah in it than it gets credit for. Anchoring your book on the premise that from day to day and even generation to generation, we seldom get any sort of solace or peace from the answers we feel entitled to is pretty bold. Following through on that with themes of how the only way to avoid falling prey to our own hunger is to re-dedicate ourselves daily to some smaller portion of the greater mystery is another interesting swing, and I feel like the book mostly gets there, even if some of the characters themselves feel a bit like weaker echoes of better books. All in all it could have been a lot stronger on that front, and less reliant on the King staple of characters sitting and having a crucial and sprawling palaver, but I’ll concede that in total it’s a lot stronger than I’d been led to believe. Interesting in the shape and structure of how it delivers its themes, if not so fleshed out or vital as some of his established masterpieces.

I chose to read From a Buick 8 by Stephen King as a Lovecraftian read. I had heard mixed opinions about the novel. Some people hated it, and other people felt it is very underrated, overlooked, and deserves more credit. In other words they love it. I have to say I am a bit torn as to my opinion, but maybe my review can shed some light.

From a Buick 8 is a story that focuses on the son of a deceased Pennsylvania State Trooper, and a mysterious Buick Roadmaster that shows up in their town. Ned is the son of the late Trooper Curtis Wilcox, and the men and women of Troop D decide to sit down and talk with Ned. The aged Troopers tell Ned a tale that leaves him with more questions. Will their complete story answer questions from days gone by? Will the Buick’s mysteries be revealed? Will more death ensue?

I love King’s writing, and of course his story telling and descriptiveness is amazing. From a Buick 8 is a book I feel may grow on you in time. I really enjoyed the telling of the story that spanned from the late 70’s to 2001. It was also interesting how it was told by the older Troop D Troopers. A lot of the descriptions require a lot of imagination. (When it comes to the Buick). I am also torn by the ending.

Overall I give From a Buick 8 by Stephen King three and a half stars out of five stars. I really enjoyed the book, but it wasn’t my absolute favorite. It definitely is a book that makes you think, and use your imagination. There was an issue I saw where King said in one chapter that Curt was the one Trooper who didn’t Smoke when they went to the diner. Then a few chapters later it said his wife nagged him to quit smoking for years. That bothered me. I also felt a little bummed at the end outcome even though the journey was fantastic. Until next time, my friends.

"From A Buick 8" is a decent, but sometimes slow moving, science fiction novel set in Western Pennsylvania. It is mostly highly readable. In some ways it is a typical Stephen King science fiction novel. I like Stephen King novels and there were parts I liked very much.

The primary location of this story is set at a police facility. The story shifts back and forth in timeframes and narrators. I like the way it is structured but at times it seems to lag. The character development is good and Stephen King made me like and identify with certain characters.

Occasionally I encounter in reading something that seems an incredible coincidence to me. In this case, I had just finished a pretty good novella by John Campbell titled "Who Goes There?". In that work is found the word "Ichor". As far as I know, that is an unusual word in contemporary American Literature. Its origins lie in Greek Mythology. Then I read this novel under review. As I was reading it, I felt that there is a vague structural similarity to "Who Goes There?". Only after perceiving that, I come upon the word "Ichor". Conincidence? Maybe... If I ever get a chance to correspond with Stephen King, I hope to ask him...

As is often the case I purchased both the Kindle and audiobook and listened and read simultaneously. As a production, the audiobook is particularly strong. There are multiple narrators including males for male narration and a female for female narration. I really liked the quality of the audiobook as a product on its own merits. However there were times the story moved slow enough that I speeded up the narration on my device in order to keep up with my natural reading pace when the story moved slowly.

In summary, I liked this novel. I put it in the middle of the pack as far as Stephen King novels. In the unlikely event that it matters, my favorite Stephen King novel remains is "11 22 63". I also like a collection of short stories, "Different Seasons". Thank You...