October Stephen King Tribute Day 10: From A Buick 8

From A Buick 8 was originally published in September of 2002.

Warning, the following review does contain spoilers.

Ned begins hanging around the police barracks of Troop D soon after his father is killed. Everyone takes a liking to Ned and they begin relating bits and pieces of a story about an old abandoned Buick.

A man in black stopped to put fuel in the Buick and then disappeared leaving the Buick behind. Troop D moved the vehicle to storage shed B thinking that it would be claimed or proven stolen. But it sat there for quite a while. The members of Troop D soon found that the car was not at all what it appeared to be.

The Buick had the ability to heal itself if scratched or dented. It could even repel dust and dirt. Then, on occasion, it would put on a "lightquake", a long series of flashing purple light. Strange life forms, plants and animals, seemed to originate from the old Buick. Two people mysteriously disappear while in the vicinity of the car.

Ned begins thinking that the Buick had something to do with his father's death. Ned learns that the gas station attendant who called in the abandoned Buick is the same man involved in his father's fatal "accident". Ned decides to destroy the car. Sgt. Dearborn finds Ned sitting in the car and as he attempts to remove him, the Buick transforms into a portal to a different world. They are rescued by other members of Troop D.

The book ends with Ned dropping out of school to join the police force. The window on the Buick is broken and the car does not heal itself, implying that it is starting to lose it's power.

This book is told from the point of view of many narrators. This can be a little tricky at first, but once you wrap your mind around the idea you will see that King pulls it off wonderfully. The horror in this book is that of the unexplainable object. The Buick is an anomaly and not part of any other system of values.

According to Wikipedia, this book is currently being adapted into a movie. I hope they do this one justice, I really liked this book.