Stephen King Book Reviews:

BLACK HOUSE

BAG OF BONES

BLOOD AND SMOKE

COLORADO KID

CYCLE OF THE WEREWOLF

CARRIE

CUJO

CELL

CHRISTINE

DANSE MACABRE

DARK HALF

DEAD ZONE

DESPERATION

DIFFERENT SEASONS

DOLORES CLAIBORNE

DREAMCATCHER

DRAWING OF THE THREE

EYES OF THE DRAGON

EVERYTHINGS EVENTUAL

FIRESTARTER

FROM A BUICK 8

FOUR PAST MIDNIGHT

GERALDS GAME

INSOMNIA

HEARTS IN ATLANTIS

IT

MISERY

Stephen King Book Reviews:

NEEDFUL THINGS

NIGHTMARES AND DREAMSCAPES

ON WRITING

PET CEMETERY

RAGE

REGULATORS

RIDING THE BULLET

ROADWORK

ROSE MADDER

SALEM'S LOT

SKELETON CREW

SONG OF SUSANNAH

STORM OF THE CENTURY

THE DARK TOWER

THE GREEN MILE

THE GUNSLINGER

THE LONG WALK

THE PLANT

THE RUNNING MAN

THE SHINING

THE TALISMAN

THE TOMMYKNOCKERS

THE WASTE LANDS

THINNER

TOM GORDON

WIZARD AND GLASS

WOLVES OF THE CALLA

 From a Buick 8 is not the first time Stephen King has dealt with the subject of possessed cars. In Christine, King turned a 1958 Plymouth Fury into a maniacal murderer. Now, however, King transplants that demonic fury into another vehicle, a Buick 8.

The Buick 8 differs from the 1958 Fury better known as Christine in that it doesn’t actual mow its victims down. The automobile in this story works more as an odd vortex with teeth. Though, technically, there are no teeth to be found.

Buick 8’s story is told through both flashbacks and present day occurrences much like King’s Delores Claiborne, although it’s more definite when King is asking his readers to switch time frames in From a Buick 8. However, unlike Delores Claiborne, From a Buick 8 doesn’t have a character who is quite as lyrically addictive as Delores.

While the story surrounds the mysterious energy surrounding the Buick 8, the story is actually that of the personnel of Troop D and Ned Wilcox, the son of a deceased member of Troop D. After his father is murdered by a drunk driver, Ned begins paying regular visits to the officers of Troop D and it is within this context that Sandy Dearborn and the other members of the troop begin telling Ned the story of the mysterious Buick 8.

As Ned becomes increasingly familiar with the story of the Buick 8, he begins to connect the death of his father with the otherworldly characteristics of the automobile. Intent on discovering the truth behind the Buick 8 and, as such, the truth behind the death of his father, Ned makes his way to the shed within the barracks that houses the Buick 8 and decides to climb in.

It is these moments that hold the resolution to the novel, yet readers might feel more confused as they leave the novel than when they first began it. While the story within From a Buick 8 is engaging and the characters interesting enough to hold one’s attention, readers might find themselves left a bit cold with the ending.