Paperback, 896 pages
Published Aug. 19, 2009 by Gallery Books.
Under the Dome is a 2009 science fiction novel by the American author, Stephen King. Under the Dome is the 58th book published by Stephen King, and it is his 48th novel. The novel focuses on a small Maine town, and tells an intricate, multi-character, alternating perspective story of how the town's inhabitants contend with the calamity of being suddenly cut off from the outside world by an impassable, invisible glass dome-like barrier that seemingly falls out of the sky, transforming the community into a domed city.
Contains:
Under the Dome is a 2009 science fiction novel by the American author, Stephen King. Under the Dome is the 58th book published by Stephen King, and it is his 48th novel. The novel focuses on a small Maine town, and tells an intricate, multi-character, alternating perspective story of how the town's inhabitants contend with the calamity of being suddenly cut off from the outside world by an impassable, invisible glass dome-like barrier that seemingly falls out of the sky, transforming the community into a domed city.
Contains:
Will we ever know what truly happened? That’s what bothers me. Aside from that, it was a gripping, disenchanting tale where almost everyone you’re rooting for dies, but you just can’t stop reading. And I like that.
Under the Dome chronicles a town that finds itself suddenly cut off from the rest of the world. Things take a turn for the worse very quickly.
As with many Stephen King books, this is an exquisitely written book with very interesting characters that you either love or love to hate. Some characters feel a little stereotypical at first, but that doesn't last.
The story itself is also very moving and, especially in the second part of the book, it's just very difficult to put it down.
While I'm a fan of the book, I'm not a fan of one part of the story. A part that is either very important or not really, depending on how you look at it. It is kind of hard to explain without spoiling anything. "leatherheads"
Little trivia: The Dutch version of the book is split into two books, both about 500 pages. I'm …
Under the Dome chronicles a town that finds itself suddenly cut off from the rest of the world. Things take a turn for the worse very quickly.
As with many Stephen King books, this is an exquisitely written book with very interesting characters that you either love or love to hate. Some characters feel a little stereotypical at first, but that doesn't last.
The story itself is also very moving and, especially in the second part of the book, it's just very difficult to put it down.
While I'm a fan of the book, I'm not a fan of one part of the story. A part that is either very important or not really, depending on how you look at it. It is kind of hard to explain without spoiling anything. "leatherheads"
Little trivia: The Dutch version of the book is split into two books, both about 500 pages. I'm not sure why this was done (I don't think the English version has this), but I feel the transition from the first to the second part also marks when things really start to get going. The first book is a nice story with interesting characters. The second book is an extremely thrilling pageturner that you can't put down.
PS: I have not seen the TV series with the same name, but will probably watch it in the near future.
3-3.5 stars for me. I have to admit I was disappointed after Duma Key. Of the two recent King books that I have read, I felt Duma Key was far superior. Under the Dome is the return of King with a more epic scale. Duma Key is a more intimate book, similar to maybe Misery, which also had a very narrow character focus.
In Under the Dome, Chester Mills, yet another New England town in King's universe of small towns, you have a vast set of characters, dealing with a disaster that happens straight in the first few minutes into the book. An invisible dome forms around the small town, keeping those inside in the town, and those on the outside stay out. The sudden creation of the dome causes lots of accidents that are described in King-style detail. The main protagonist is Dale Barbara, short Barbie, a cook who …
3-3.5 stars for me. I have to admit I was disappointed after Duma Key. Of the two recent King books that I have read, I felt Duma Key was far superior. Under the Dome is the return of King with a more epic scale. Duma Key is a more intimate book, similar to maybe Misery, which also had a very narrow character focus.
In Under the Dome, Chester Mills, yet another New England town in King's universe of small towns, you have a vast set of characters, dealing with a disaster that happens straight in the first few minutes into the book. An invisible dome forms around the small town, keeping those inside in the town, and those on the outside stay out. The sudden creation of the dome causes lots of accidents that are described in King-style detail. The main protagonist is Dale Barbara, short Barbie, a cook who used to be in the military. He reminded me a bit of Stu in The Stand. You never find out how he ended up in the small town, but I guess it doesn't matter. The military on the outside promote him to Colonel and want him to take control of the situation, but the power-hungry used car salesman Jim Rennie who also happens to be one of three political leaders of the town, takes control, hires town brutes as cops, and starts his reign of terror.
It's not a boring book, there's always something going on. It's violent, and some of the details I really could have done without, but it definitely keeps you reading til the bitter end. Once you are done, you have read over a thousand pages of that crazy week of the small town under the dome, seen the dark tea time of the soul in there and probably found it just as predictable as I found it. It'd probably make an action packed movie, but one of the better Kings, it is not. It is merely entertaining instead of brilliant.
What an interesting concept: what would happen if a small town gets completely isolated from the outside world with a sort of dome-like cover? Speaking about living in a glass cage... I guess it's only natural for Stephen King to bring out the worst in people in such circumstances. Although it's very believable and superbly written, my own experience of the areas under the siege in the war circumstances taught me that people mostly don't react the way King made them behave in the book. Usually, living under the siege brings out the camaraderie and charitable nature of people—they help each other and cope together. Even the bad guys, while trying to take advantage of the situation to advance their self-interests, will still work with the others.
Still, King's cast of characters works well for the plot, and the power struggle in the little town under the dome is both …
What an interesting concept: what would happen if a small town gets completely isolated from the outside world with a sort of dome-like cover? Speaking about living in a glass cage... I guess it's only natural for Stephen King to bring out the worst in people in such circumstances. Although it's very believable and superbly written, my own experience of the areas under the siege in the war circumstances taught me that people mostly don't react the way King made them behave in the book. Usually, living under the siege brings out the camaraderie and charitable nature of people—they help each other and cope together. Even the bad guys, while trying to take advantage of the situation to advance their self-interests, will still work with the others.
Still, King's cast of characters works well for the plot, and the power struggle in the little town under the dome is both conceivable and entertaining. The long list of characters is given thoroughly, with their virtues and flaws, and are either really likable or dislikable in a very real way. To really get us to know them all, King spun his tale over a thousand pages. The only thing I have problem digesting is the nature of the dome itself. I was so inclined to accept any wild scientific explanation rather than the extra-terrestrial one! All in all, an entertaining read. Slow at the beginning, but ending with a bang, fire and smoke! Literally!
