From a Buick 8

Like all of King's books, this one is about memory and the psychology of the subconscious. It's about getting inside the heads of the characters and seeing what rattles around. This is about a boy who losses his father and finds a new family in the men who had shared a secret with his dad. The decision to use multiple actors fits the style of the book perfectly, and makes the structure of the book easy to follow, even though it has multiple narrators and spans 25 years. To specifically address the complaint that the book doesn't go anywhere, maybe those folks missed one of the main points of the book; the repudiation of the "childish insistence that the story must have an ending, and that the ending must hold some kind of answer." As for lack of action, I disagree strongly. Most of the "action" in any Stephen King book is actually the tension around some event that he's already told you is coming, and he does a masterful job in this, as usual. He does an amazing job of keeping the tension building for long stretches of time, without any break or chance for release. The only reason that I can come up with for why some people didn't like this book is the fact that there are parts that made me truly uncomfortable. And this wasn't the supernatural "horror" stuff, it was some of the harsh realities of police work and life.

This is not the classic Steven King horror action story but it has great characters. I think that the narration style is one of the best I have heard. The story is told by several different characters and therefore narrated by several different actors. This makes the story work better than if you read it.

I never write reviews of books, but I had to after seeing that only negative reviews have been posted on Buick 8 so far. I guess I can understand why some people found this boring, but I am appalled to see that no one has disagreed yet.

I found Buick 8 to be a very human, very engrossing and unique tale. Yet again King takes a premise that cannot even be described (without sounding stupid) and makes it utterly believable, and at times terrifying. I respectfully disagree with the other reviewers, if you are a Stephen King fan, give Buick 8 a chance.

If you're like me, you enjoy anything Stephen King writes. This is not as bad as some of the reviews would lead you to believe, but certainly it is not his best. I believe that in "On Writing" he mentions that he threw this in a drawer for some time before taking it out to finish. Perhaps it should have stayed in there.

I have read nearly every Stephen King book. This book is easily one of my favorites. The use of different readers makes you believe that you are sitting with the characters, drinking a beer, as they are telling the story. The novel's theme of loyalty and generational bonds is powerfully moving. I have re-read this book 4 times. The captivated me each time. Enjoy!

I found myself listening to this story over and over. It keeps getting better and better each I hear it. The details bring it to life. I would never believed that a car story would be more than a another "Christine move". Boy, am I glad that liked the author's name enough to buy this one. What I would have missed! This is money well spent! I am in love with audio books because of this story. I can't wait to buy more books by this arthur!

I've been a Stephen King reader since 1979 (I was about 9 years old then) and I've enjoyed his books for years. This audiobook was such a pleasure to listen to. I loved hearing the different characters by such talented actors and the story really came alive for me. The overall tone of this story, since it's a "memory" has a nice quality to it, and I loved how Sandy really came to learn something from the experience and the memory of Ned's father - the father and son relationship being a good thing is not something you read about very often. I was not happy when the story ended but I liked everything about the story - the characters, narrative, the relationships and how everyone had come full circle at the end. Worth every penny!

LOVE STEPHEN KING! Hated this book. Could not finish.

I almost passed over this little gem after reading some of the other reviews. Yes, it is a bit slower than many of his other books, so if you are looking for trademark King terror, you won't find it here. What you will find is a thought-provoking bit of King philosophy that is both surprising and satisfying. If you can stick around for the last few chapters, you won't be disappointed.

If you're looking for a story that's big on non-stop action, or in which someone dies a gruesome death in the first 10 pages - this AIN'T it. If you're looking for something with great character development - people that you can empathize with: a story basically about how life goes on, regardless of how strange things get some times - this is definitely it. Not typical King, but a great read nonetheless.