Status
Available
Call number
Publication
New English Library Ltd (2003), Edition: New edition, Paperback, 496 pages
Description
On the heels of his hugely successful "Dreamcatchers" King delivers another classic novel about boys, men, and a terrifying force only they can contain. The state police of Troop D in rural Pennsylvania have kept a secret in Shed B out back of the barracks ever since 1979, when Troopers Ennis Rafferty and Curtis Wilcox answered a call from a gas station just down the road and came back with an abandoned Buick Roadmaster. Curt Wilcox knew old cars, and he knew immediately that this one was ... wrong, just wrong. A few hours later, when Rafferty vanished, Wilcox and his fellow troopers knew the car was worse than dangerous -- and that it would be better if John Q. Public never found out about it. Curt's avid curiosity taking the lead, they investigated as best they could, as much as they dared. Over the years the troop absorbed the mystery as part of the background to their work, the Buick 8 sitting out there like a still life painting that breathes -- inhaling a little bit of this world, exhaling a little bit of whatever world it came from. In the fall of 2001, a few months after Curt Wilcox is killed in a gruesome auto accident, his 18-year-old boy Ned starts coming by the barracks, mowing the lawn, washing windows, shoveling snow. Sandy Dearborn, Sergeant Commanding, knows it's the boy's way of holding onto his father, and Ned is allowed to become part of the Troop D family. One day he looks in the window of Shed B and discovers the family secret. Like his father, Ned wants answers, and the secret begins to stir, not only in the minds and hearts of the veteran troopers who surround him, but in Shed B as well.… (more)
Media reviews
Give this much to Stephen King: He doesn't sit on his laurels and rely on formulas.
Yes, "From a Buick 8" is about an evil car, in a manner of speaking. And yes, King trod that ground years ago with "Christine," which was engaging if mediocre. But this latest novel is different in many ways — in
Yes, "From a Buick 8" is about an evil car, in a manner of speaking. And yes, King trod that ground years ago with "Christine," which was engaging if mediocre. But this latest novel is different in many ways — in
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topic, style and in the way King chooses to tell his story. Show Less
Is From a Buick 8 Stephen King's last real novel? He insists as much, and -- bad sign -- his latest main character is a dissatisfied storyteller. A Pennsylvania state trooper fills a mournful teen in on the confounding history of a grinning, otherworldly Roadmaster that may or may not have offed
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the boy's father. Show Less
IT must get exhausting, inventing monstrous evils year in and year out, especially the sort of ancient, supernatural forces that start by insinuating themselves into the fabric of everyday life and grow to threaten everything sane and decent before being vanquished, against all odds, by a valiant
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band of unlikely heroes. You can see why Stephen King, who has done this many times, might get tired of it, might look around him at a world that certainly enjoys no shortage of terrors as it is, and write a book like ''From a Buick 8.'' Show Less
Back in 1983, Stephen King tried to send a collective shiver through his audience with "Christine," a novel about a killer hot rod that could mow down unsuspecting pedestrians all by itself. Despite some effective scenes, that book proved to be one of his sillier offerings.
Stephen King was driving from Florida to Maine in 1999 when nature called. He pulled off the highway, found a gas station and used the restroom. Then he walked behind the building and lost his footing, sliding down a slope and almost landing in a stream. That was when nature -- his nature -- called
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upon him to dream up ''From a Buick 8.'' Show Less
The best part of Stephen King's new 350-page novel is the end. No, not that end. I mean the very end -- the author's note in which we learn the genesis of this disappointing, no-thrills, no-chills, no-frills, pay-the-bills piece of pap.
User reviews
LibraryThing member wispywillow
I've read several evil-possessed-car stories by Stephen King. This one was by far the best.
LibraryThing member Carol420
This book has a lot more personal philosophy to impart rather than horror. This is about growing old. This is about mysteries in life. This is about sticking to duty. This is about the chains that we can feel but rarely know. The Buick 8 pulls up to the gas pumps at a full-serve gas station in
"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. Give this book a try, it's a great read.
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Western Pennsylvania in 1979. While the statio attendant is filling the tank, the driver walks around to the back of the station and...disappears. The local police, two Pennsylvania State Troopers named Ennis Rafferty and Curtis Wilcox from Troop D, show up and almost immediately notice that this car isn't...right. For one thing, it can't be driven. And...it hums. You can't really hear it, but it's there. Troop D takes custody of it and they watch it. This is one Buick 8 that bears watching. And guarding. Whatever it is, it's not a car. Worse than that, it breathes. It exhales things out into our world and inhales things in to...who knows where. You don't want to know, and you don't want to go there. You won't come back. The car becomes Troop D's family secret, kept in Shed B and quietly but vigilantly guarded. When Wilcox is killed in a senseless accident in the fall of 2001, Ned, his 18 year old son, begins doing odd jobs around the barracks, trying to hold onto his father's memory. Ned discovers the car and the story behind it and he wants to know more. And the car is ready to give him far, far more than he will ever want."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. Give this book a try, it's a great read.
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LibraryThing member JBarringer
This is not one of the Stephen King books most people talk about, so I didn't expect much, but I liked this one. I thought Christine was creepier, in an evil, killer-car sort of way, but the alien car in From a Buick 8 is pretty weird, as is the guy who flits through the story early one to convey
I love the idea that the car is a portal lock sent through a science experiment that began in a lab on some other planet where scientists are experimenting with high energy physics and time/dimension/large distance travel, but this book never really tells us what the car is, or why it turned up where it did.
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the car to the small Pennsylvania town where it lodges itself. Mostly, this book is about small-town life from the perspective of a boy whose dad was killed on duty. The kid is brought up by the rest of the men in the police precinct, and gains a more grown-up perspective on life and his own place in the world. Threaded into this coming-of-age novel is the alien car, which may be responsible for a lot, or maybe almost nothing of what happens in the boy's life, as it mostly just sits in a shed doing nothing, for most of the book. I love the idea that the car is a portal lock sent through a science experiment that began in a lab on some other planet where scientists are experimenting with high energy physics and time/dimension/large distance travel, but this book never really tells us what the car is, or why it turned up where it did.
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LibraryThing member queencersei
In rural Pennsylvania Troop D performs all the usual work that a small town police force performs. They answer the calls, assist the public and keep order. But Troop D provides one other not so public service. Out behind the station house in an unremarkable shed they have worked since 1979 to keep
Stephen King has managed to blend a traditional haunted house story into his fable of an otherworldly Buick that is far more than it first seems. As the troopers tell their spellbinding history to Ned, the son of one of their fallen commands the Buick listens and it waits…
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one very big secret. A strange abandoned Buick 8, which is not really a Buick 8 at all, but a portal of some sort. A portal that occasionally brings strange creatures forth into our world. And on the rare occasion snatches someone from our world and takes them ‘elsewhere’. Stephen King has managed to blend a traditional haunted house story into his fable of an otherworldly Buick that is far more than it first seems. As the troopers tell their spellbinding history to Ned, the son of one of their fallen commands the Buick listens and it waits…
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LibraryThing member readingrat
This probably would have worked better as a short story rather than a full sized novel, but overall it was a good, quick read that held my interest.
LibraryThing member Michael_P
Not one of his better books simply because it's too long. This was a novella stretched out to a novel, and should have been cut down to about half its length. It's a good story and was worth the read.
It has a wonderful theme. The young boy, Ned, eventually learns that in life there may be no point
It has a wonderful theme. The young boy, Ned, eventually learns that in life there may be no point
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to the story, there may not be a satisfactory conclusion that wraps up all the loose ends. Sometimes life leaves us with more questions than answers and we just have to learn to live with that. Show Less
LibraryThing member shejake
Stephen King is great again. I anticipated the ending but enjoyed it nevertheless.
LibraryThing member DarkRaven2
I really liked this book. I thought it was really good. It would make a good movie I think. The car is obviously alive in some way yet it doesn't tell you exactly "why" it's alive. The story stays consistent throughout and the people's story they tell stays consistent and I like that. This is truly
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a King tale. Show Less
LibraryThing member PghDragonMan
Stephen King writes some of the best suspense stories today. H.P Lovecraft wrote some of the best "strange" stories of his day. Now, imagine if they went out for a few drinks and collaborated on a novel. That is what you have in "From a Buick 8".
While not directly connected to the Dark Tower
The excellent job of the narrators only adds to the flavor of the story.
While not directly connected to the Dark Tower
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stories, the title vehicle is a car that probably came from next door to Roland's world. The car is a doorway to . . . somewhere else. What sometimes comes through bears no resemblance to anything as nice as what came through the Wardrobe from "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe".The excellent job of the narrators only adds to the flavor of the story.
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LibraryThing member maquisleader
I never did figure out exactly wtf the Buick 8 was supposed to be, but I think that was the point. The book was damn good anyway.
LibraryThing member jhagiya
High school student Ned Wilcox is determined to solve the mystery behind his father’s death, who was a Pennsylvania State Trooper. There is a haunting revelation surrounding a Buick 8 hidden in the Trooper’s Shed 8, and Ned is determined to solve this connection. The story and character
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development is slow, so readers may be apt to lose interest. The strength of the story lies in the use of ordinary, relatable people and situations, and formulating all these elements into a strange, eerie, and terrifying “ride.” This novel crosses many genres so a variety of readers will find it interesting. Show Less
LibraryThing member Djupstrom
One of my favorite of King's novels. I like the storyline and the cross novelization with some of his characters.
LibraryThing member andyray
What to say that hasn't been said? It's been said that King's accident (which almost killed him) soured his writing. Agreed.
It's been said that where there were optimistic resolves in previous novel, now Evil pervails. Agreed.
It''s been said that King will "write no more forever." Fuhgeddabouttit!
King rules.Unfortunately, on this one, he rules with a stingy mace.
It's been said that where there were optimistic resolves in previous novel, now Evil pervails. Agreed.
It''s been said that King will "write no more forever." Fuhgeddabouttit!
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The man will write as long as he breathes. He is the rare one of us writers, the one who lives to write, and then writes to live. I believe this is a transitional novel, and that his best work lies ahead. I believe that despite the fact that great work lies behind.King rules.Unfortunately, on this one, he rules with a stingy mace.
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LibraryThing member srboone
One of King's 21st -century masterpieces. Flawlessly handles mutliple narrators and delivers a story of mesmerizing impact.
LibraryThing member lalaland
Even though I typically don't like books about aliens, I enjoyed this one. The character portrayals were real (if the world was ever "invaded" by aliens, I would think they would act like King's characters) even if the events were supernatural.
LibraryThing member eleanor_eader
It's a mistake to compare Buick 8 to Christine simply because the two stories are about cars. For one thing, the Buick isn't really a car... it's a metaphor on one level, and an alien artefact on another. Christine was full of murderous rage, both possessed by and possessing her owners - the Buick
A further difference between Christine and Buick, is the ending - Christine is a fully formed story, with a beginning, lots of guts, and the perfect horror-story ending. Buick is a story about how stories unfold in real life (an increasing preoccupation in King's writing) and how they don't necessarily come tied up neatly with all four corners properly inside the wrapping. In this respect, Buick has more in common with later work, such as The Colorado Kid, and even Cell or the Dark Tower.
Buick 8 is readable, thought-provoking and full of things that make you go 'dude, gross'. It's an important part of any King collection.
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is never conclusively considered sentient.A further difference between Christine and Buick, is the ending - Christine is a fully formed story, with a beginning, lots of guts, and the perfect horror-story ending. Buick is a story about how stories unfold in real life (an increasing preoccupation in King's writing) and how they don't necessarily come tied up neatly with all four corners properly inside the wrapping. In this respect, Buick has more in common with later work, such as The Colorado Kid, and even Cell or the Dark Tower.
Buick 8 is readable, thought-provoking and full of things that make you go 'dude, gross'. It's an important part of any King collection.
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LibraryThing member sturlington
While From a Buick 8 is neither as strong nor as compelling as King’s best books, it’s eerie that the central theme so closely paralleled my own thoughts in recent months. On the surface, this book is about a strange car that looks like a Buick, but only if you don’t examine it too closely,
That’s the plot in a nutshell – your basic horror yarn. But this book is not about a Buick from another dimension, not really. It’s about the senselessness of death. It’s about how we, as human beings, try to impose some sort of pattern and meaning on our lives, when everything really is just chains of random events linked together. There are no easy answers to all these questions what we all ask, but which really come down to one thing: Why? We can’t even hope to understand death, no matter how much science we apply to it, no matter how many frustrated emotions we throw at it, not matter what we do.
So, while FaB8 is not the intricate, suspenseful epic story that characterizes my favorite King books, there is a lot going on here – a lot more than in many of King’s more ordinary horror tales. Perhaps that’s why it feels so unsatisfying at the end – because that’s the point. The reader – like the character of young Ned, who lost his father in a traffic stop gone horrifically wrong – will never get any satisfying answers, and in the end, the reader – like Sandy Dearborn, the cop who has lived with the weird Buick for two decades – will just have to accept that.
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because then you’ll see that it is like no other car ever imagined. Abandoned at a western Pennsylvania gas station by its equally weird driver, the Buick is impounded by the State Police and kept out back of the barracks in Shed B, where it occasionally shows signs of life. Sometimes things come out of its trunk, and sometimes people go in.That’s the plot in a nutshell – your basic horror yarn. But this book is not about a Buick from another dimension, not really. It’s about the senselessness of death. It’s about how we, as human beings, try to impose some sort of pattern and meaning on our lives, when everything really is just chains of random events linked together. There are no easy answers to all these questions what we all ask, but which really come down to one thing: Why? We can’t even hope to understand death, no matter how much science we apply to it, no matter how many frustrated emotions we throw at it, not matter what we do.
So, while FaB8 is not the intricate, suspenseful epic story that characterizes my favorite King books, there is a lot going on here – a lot more than in many of King’s more ordinary horror tales. Perhaps that’s why it feels so unsatisfying at the end – because that’s the point. The reader – like the character of young Ned, who lost his father in a traffic stop gone horrifically wrong – will never get any satisfying answers, and in the end, the reader – like Sandy Dearborn, the cop who has lived with the weird Buick for two decades – will just have to accept that.
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LibraryThing member merryish
Some of his best writing, period; definitely one of his best books post-accident. I read this once or twice a year. Where some of his later books insert his accident midstream, interrupting a story that was otherwise about something else, this one integrates it smoothly and binds it to the story
It's told to a boy just about to graduate from high school, by people who knew and worked with his father, all of whom were tied up in the mystery/horror of the car in some way; the voices are strong and distinct, and the stories themselves were highly disturbing. I kind of loved this one!
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inextricably. It's a book about sons and fathers, about growing up, about questions that don't have answers, about the strangeness of worlds unseen. And it's also a book about this REALLY creepy car that turns up one day...It's told to a boy just about to graduate from high school, by people who knew and worked with his father, all of whom were tied up in the mystery/horror of the car in some way; the voices are strong and distinct, and the stories themselves were highly disturbing. I kind of loved this one!
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LibraryThing member woolenough
Like "The Colorado Kid," "From A Buick 8" uses the narrative device of having old codgers tell a young person about something that happened in the past. The story begins in 1979 when the mysterious Buick is abandoned at a gas station in western Pennsylvania. Most of the book consists of the
This book is far more philosophical than typical early King novels – not a lot of action and not much resolution. The Buick becomes a symbol of the mysteries of life and the nature of obsession. Those who prefer classic King might not appreciate this book, but I enjoyed it. Stephen King has become so adept at character voice that I can hear each one of them speaking. And occasionally there are bits that sound more like poetry than prose.
Another King novel with something of the same flavor is "Lisey's Story" -- a lot of mysterious and unexplained happenings, with the reader left to draw his own conclusions.
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now-middle-aged state troopers who impounded the car relating the events over the past 20 years that convinced them the Buick is actually a portal to another world. This book is far more philosophical than typical early King novels – not a lot of action and not much resolution. The Buick becomes a symbol of the mysteries of life and the nature of obsession. Those who prefer classic King might not appreciate this book, but I enjoyed it. Stephen King has become so adept at character voice that I can hear each one of them speaking. And occasionally there are bits that sound more like poetry than prose.
Another King novel with something of the same flavor is "Lisey's Story" -- a lot of mysterious and unexplained happenings, with the reader left to draw his own conclusions.
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LibraryThing member jaypee
He's a great storyteller. Wasn't scared of anything, but it's still enjoyable.
LibraryThing member dagon12
Maybe it was because of lowered expectations but I didn't think this book was as bad as some of the reviews said it was. I saw a lot of articles that commented on how this was just another scary car novel, a la CHRISTINE. And how this wasn't some of his strongest writing. And I believe it was after
I'll agree that it was not one of his better books. Since there is no active threat, no monster looming or no quest driving folks forward, the action was minimal. The tale unfolds as several troopers reveal the history of a car that was impounded many years back. Their recipient of the story is Ned Wilcox, a young man who recently lost his dad, a fellow trooper.
While the story is interesting and intriguing, there is also a level of detachment to the telling. This is probably due to it being told to Ned while sitting around a picnic table rather than experiencing the story live, so to speak. I'm not sure if this hurt the story or not but I know that I wasn't pulled into it as much as I am with other novels. At the same time though, Stephen King on his off-days is still tons better than a lot of other stuff out there. And for you completists, it does tie-in to the Dark Tower series but more on the peripheral than directly. In that regards it is a nice complement to Hearts In Atlantis.
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the release and some of those reviews that King announced his planned retirement, a retirement that I'll believe when I see. Personally I think that he'll be like The Rolling Stones or Ozzy or Cher who announce their retirement but then keep on doing what they love. And even now King has announced his plans to do a crime novel called THE COLORADO KID. But I digress, back to FROM A BUICK 8.I'll agree that it was not one of his better books. Since there is no active threat, no monster looming or no quest driving folks forward, the action was minimal. The tale unfolds as several troopers reveal the history of a car that was impounded many years back. Their recipient of the story is Ned Wilcox, a young man who recently lost his dad, a fellow trooper.
While the story is interesting and intriguing, there is also a level of detachment to the telling. This is probably due to it being told to Ned while sitting around a picnic table rather than experiencing the story live, so to speak. I'm not sure if this hurt the story or not but I know that I wasn't pulled into it as much as I am with other novels. At the same time though, Stephen King on his off-days is still tons better than a lot of other stuff out there. And for you completists, it does tie-in to the Dark Tower series but more on the peripheral than directly. In that regards it is a nice complement to Hearts In Atlantis.
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LibraryThing member ctmserst
The state police of Troop D in Pennsylvania have kept a very deep secret in Shed B outside of the station since 1979. When Troopers Ennis Rafferty and Curtis Wilcox went to the gas station and came back with a Buick Roadmaster. Curt Wilcox knew old cars, and he knew right away that this one was
This was a great mystery/horror book that Stephen King wrote, in my opinion. This book kept me sitting at the edge of my seat waiting for more. I would highly recommend this novel to anyone who likes to sit at the edge of their seat waiting for more. I personally never liked horror books, but after reading this book I might have to change my thoughts about horror books.
-ERICH
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wrong. A few hours later Rafferty vanished. Wilcox and his fellow police men knew the car was worse and that it would be better if the Public never found out about it.This was a great mystery/horror book that Stephen King wrote, in my opinion. This book kept me sitting at the edge of my seat waiting for more. I would highly recommend this novel to anyone who likes to sit at the edge of their seat waiting for more. I personally never liked horror books, but after reading this book I might have to change my thoughts about horror books.
-ERICH
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LibraryThing member camarie
I love this book, but it was not one of King's best works. A mysterious car that is a portal to another world spews out monsters that die immediately (because they can't breathe in our atmosphere) and also sucks people into the other world. Creepy, yes. Could it have been creepier? And improve the
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story? I'm not sure. It is still good enough to recommend. Show Less
LibraryThing member Marlene-NL
Read in 2003 I think and I remember that I did not like it as much as I did his other books. I want to re read some of his books. Read them in English for the first time although I must say the Dutch translator of his work back in the days when I bought his books the minute they were in the shop,
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did a fantastic job. Show Less
LibraryThing member hellonicole
Usually I hate to see a story narrated by several different characters. It tends to complicate and confuse, but King pulls it off in Buick 8. I'm still trying to figure out the whole point to the story, but perhaps that is the point ... there is none. Not one of King's best, but an interesting read
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all the same. Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Bram Stoker Award (Nominee — Novel — 2002)
International Horror Guild Award (Nominee — Best Novel — 2002)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2002-09-24
Physical description
467 p.; 17.8 cm
ISBN
0340770708 / 9780340770702
Local notes
Omslag: Larry Rostant
Omslaget viser en Buick i en garage og et lyn ser ud til at slå ned i bilen. Kølergitteret ser sultent ud.
Indskannet omslag - N650U - 150 dpi
Omslaget viser en Buick i en garage og et lyn ser ud til at slå ned i bilen. Kølergitteret ser sultent ud.
Indskannet omslag - N650U - 150 dpi
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Pages
467
DDC/MDS
| 813 |