661 reviews for:

From a Buick 8

Stephen King

3.32 AVERAGE

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

This was the book that made me realize that Stephen King novels are a thing that some people can grow out of. I'll give him props for not setting the thing in Maine this time, but in a way that reminded me of Orson Scott Card's Lost Boys, the action King's really known for doesn't actually get going until the very end of the book. Essentially, From a Buick 8 is a long, meandering slog that makes its 350-odd pages seem much longer than it actually is. I'll give King credit for ending a book about unresolved loose ends
Spoilerwithout really leaving any unresolved loose ends;
it was possibly the boldest thing about this story. The
Spoilerfuneral bait-and-switch
was also surprisingly effective, and I'm going to attribute that to how low the rest of the book leading up to it had set the bar for my expectations. Unless you're either a diehard motorhead, a diehard King fan, or you're from Pennsylvania, I'd skip this one.

Somehow, I fell like I've missed the point/story of the book... I can't believe that I'm giving just 3 stars to King's book, but after reading this book left more questions than answers, the book feels rushed, the story lacks a proper depth and characters are just bland and I didn't feel connected to any of them.
dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book was tough to get through. Had I not been listening to the audio, it most definitely would have been a DNF. I just could not get into a story about a "car" that "birthed" strange creatures and sucked others in.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

This was one of the few King books I hadn't read at some point during high school and college, however, I've always been aware of it on some fundamental level. In fact, I've sort of been drawn to it in an odd way -- maybe because I'm drawn toward King's more underrated works, and From a Buick 8 is the epitome of that distinction.

That said, I was more mixed on this book. It has some good elements, but, much like The Colorado Kid, I think I like the idea of the story more than the story itself. Maybe this would have worked better as a novella or a short story, but it seemed uncharacteristically inert compared to King's other work.
dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: N/A
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

After seeing a lot of negative reviews for this book throughout the years, I was a little hesitant about starting this if I’m being  completely honest. However, I am so glad that I did because I absolutely loved it! It was the perfect blend of weird sci-fi and an emotional+thoughtful storyline. It explores grief and delves into how dangerously quick curiosity can turn into obsession. This has definitely become one of my favorite King books! 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark mysterious tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No
dark mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Maybe it was because of the headspace I was in at the time, but I found it so hard to get into this one. It wasn't until I was about 200 pages in that I felt the story was really starting to do it for me. I'm surprised it took that long given that this book has a lot of what I enjoy. It's Lovecraftian cosmic horror with Stephen King characters. I also really enjoyed the way the story was told between different POVs and timelines. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Libro que me ha encantado, muy del estilo de los de king, con cosas sobrenaturales y terror como siempre