Customer Reviews

Under The Dome

5 star:		(552)
4 star:		(299)
3 star:		(215)
2 star:		(146)
1 star:		(156)

 

 

A small New England town is suddenly, inexplicably cut off from the rest of the world, trapping a large cast of characters inside (or outside) a huge, clear dome. As the emergency escalates, various heroes (and villains) emerge to play a part in the drama. What is the dome? Why is it there? Will the town survive? This is the premise of Stephen King's big, long, thoroughly fascinating new novel.

King has rarely written a book as ambitious as this. As I was reading, I was constantly wondering about the motives behind the deceptively simple story. As with the best of horror and science fiction, it isn't just about a monster on the rampage. What clearly interests King--and us, the readers--is the reaction of the "ordinary" people of Chester's Mill, Maine, who are placed in this extraordinary situation. In the struggles of these heroes, villains, lovers, and fools, we can all see ourselves. And that is the mark of a great work of art, isn't it?

I've been reading Stephen King for 35 years now--I read his first 3 novels in college--and I've always been impressed by his work. But UNDER THE DOME is in a small group of King stories that go far beyond merely being entertaining fiction. This novel will inevitably be compared to The Stand because it deals with the horrors of the world around us. Forget ghosts and vampires and space aliens--there's nothing as horrifying as what humans are capable of doing to one another. Stephen King knows that: it's the reason his stories are so effective. In his long, distinguished career, he's rarely been as effective--or as entertaining--as he is here. UNDER THE DOME is a fast-paced modern horror story, and it's also an amazingly perceptive modern novel. Highly recommended.

Stephen King, no novice at penning lengthy tomes, turns in another 1,000-plus-page behemoth with Under the Dome, a book he started writing in 1976 but abandoned for more than three decades. More than 30 years later, with one of the most remarkable literary careers in history under his belt, he tackled the project again, this time completing a story that plumbs the depths of human wickedness.

The town of Chester's Mill, Maine, is a pretty typical-seeming smallish New England community. It has a diner, a used car dealership, a couple of churches, a supermarket, a newspaper, and a religious radio station. Most of its 2,000 or so residents are good, honest people who genuinely care for each other and for their town.

The scene changes abruptly when a mysterious and invisible barrier materializes out of nowhere, completely cutting the town off from the rest of the world. Within minutes, the death toll begins to rise. A plane smashes into the barrier followed by a number of cars. As scientists and government and military officials scramble to find a way to break through the barrier, those inside the dome have to quickly adjust to their new reality. And with Stephen King manning the controls, it's just a matter of time before that reality turns sinister.

Within days, Chester's Mill turns into a depressing cauldron of murder, corruption, conspiracy, and increasing fear. The town's police fall under the control of a vicious town selectman with dictatorial ambitions. Resources are seized. Vocal dissenters are jailed--or worse. Soon the air quality inside the dome begins to change. Illnesses increase. Children begin to have seizures and frightening visions. Fear leads to anger, and people start to do things they wouldn't have dreamed of just days earlier. As tension mounts, the stage is set for a final cataclysmic showdown between those who will stop at nothing to enforce their agenda for the town and those who believe the town's increasingly dangerous leaders must be stopped at any cost.

On some levels, Under the Dome is almost allegorical. The town's blossoming dictatorship is reminiscent of Nazi Germany or Soviet Russia, with a charismatic leader ruling by force, police who operate outside the law, and "police solidarity" armbands for citizens. The worsening environment inside the dome could be a picture of climate change. The fact that the villains are all right-wing fundamentalist Christians (extremely hypocritical Christians at that) is probably a statement of some sort, and there are a few references to Falujah that some might see as antimilitary. In any case, whether or not the author intended to send a message through the story, the book absolutely illustrates the tendency of power to corrupt and the inherent wickedness of the human heart.

Under the Dome is not an easy book to read, and not only because of its size. Readers familiar with King's work will be unsurprised to find foul language and sexual content, some of it disturbing (most notably a gang rape scene and hints of necrophilia). There's plenty of violence, quite a bit of drug use, and lots of examples (very nearly too many, in fact) of people treating each other in all kinds of horrible ways. Though the dome is the reason the townspeople are in their predicament, the real conflict in the book is not people vs. the dome but people vs. each other. This book could just as easily have been titled The Worst-Case Scenario because on page after page, just when it seems the forces of good might be about to catch a break, King pulls the rug out from under them yet again. There's very little in the way of a redemptive message.

Yet all this is offset by King's trademark brilliance in character development and plot pacing, and much of the prose is beautifully crafted. King utilizes an antiquated but effective technique in his narration, slipping into present tense and addressing the reader directly at times to draw attention to a particular item of interest in a scene or to explicitly foreshadow some coming tragedy. Careful readers will find a few references to other Stephen King books peppered throughout.

When he wants to, Stephen King is capable of writing stunningly beautiful stories championing the human spirit in the face of extreme adversity (Duma Key is an example). Under the Dome is not such a book. This is a story about human ugliness, and it's all the more uncomfortable because it rings true. Even so, the brilliance of King's writing is evident on every one of the 1,074 pages. Fair warning: don't start this book unless you have some time on your hands. Uncomfortable though the book may be, it's compelling and suspenseful, and once you start reading, it quickly becomes very difficult to put down.

From the moment I heard the premise of Under the Dome, I couldn't wait to read it. Here it is in a nutshell: On a perfectly ordinary fall day, an invisible, impregnable barrier surrounds the small town of Chester's Mill, Maine. Nightmare ensues. And I do mean nightmare. Uncle Stevie isn't playing around. This isn't one of his tall tales filled with imaginary monsters and buckets of gore. The monsters here are human, and they are terrifying.

Okay, as an editor, when I see a 1,000+ page novel, my first thought is, "Does it really need to be this long?" Maybe not. I'm sure a few pages could have been trimmed. But I will tell you this... The deeper I got into this novel, the quicker I turned pages--right up until the end, when I was in a veritable page-turning frenzy. It reminded me, right from the start, of the fine work he did in the 70's, when as a child I devoured each new novel upon publication. King hasn't lost his touch with character, and he remains a consummate storyteller.

Under the Dome is epic. The time span is short, but the novel deals with the lives of more than 2,000 people trapped in a combustible hothouse. These are truly terrifying and incomprehensible circumstances. Things in Chester's Mill are bad, and hour by hour the situation got so much worse I didn't want to believe it. But I did. I believed it all. And THAT is Stephen King's genius.

Me: Huge King fan. I have five bookshelves with nothing but King -- not just books BY King but books ABOUT his books. Hardcover firsts, special limited editions, graphic novels, and some books I bought only because King wrote the introduction. I've read him from the beginning and have been repaid with hundreds of hours of enjoyment. Anyone else remember the Castle Rock newsletter put out by his secretary?

I was enthralled with the first couple hundred pages of Under the Dome. Clear, concise language, vivid images, a well-paced story, and some characters who looked like they were going to be interesting. When the characters failed to develop and it became apparent that most of them were introduced just so we could watch them die in various ways, my interest flagged. Pretty soon I was reading just to get it all over with.

Now it's over. With the best books, you have the sense that the characters lived before you met them and that they will live on when you close the book. Stu Redman is still with me. So is Annie Wilkes. Jack Torrance. But the people of Chester's Mill never came alive -- they're just characters in a novel, thinly drawn pawns that King played with for awhile, moving them here and there without much thought or care.

Specific complaints -- unrealistic expository dialogue, an almost-cartoonish villain, too much foreshadowing that someone was going to die (sometimes King spoils his own books), and a few unbelievable and contrived spots where if you know anything at all about how things really work, you're taken right out of the story.

Maybe if I hadn't been looking forward to this book for so long, it wouldn't have been so disappointing. I hyped it up in my own mind. I'll never do that again.

"Under the Dome" is a stand alone novel by Stephen King...it is 1072 pages in length.

I picked up this book because I was initially intrigued by the cover. I've read other Stephen King books before and was somewhat hesitant to buy this huge volume because of King's tendency to use large areas of unnecessary 'fill' to drag out his novels. However caution was thrown to the wind, and I purchased (regrettably) the book anyway.

*Spoiler*

A transparent alien dome has encapsulated and totally isolated the Maine town of Chester Mill from the rest of the world...welcome to this 2010 version of "The Lord of the Flies".

*End Spoiler*

The Positive:
1.)an interesting premise for a story; a story that had great potential...and had moments that were truly captivating and made me want to read on.
2.)a intriguing and splendid villain in the form of the delusional despot, Jim Rennie.
3.)a useful and detailed map of the 'domed' area of Chester Mill and surrounding area.

The Negative:
1.)a fairly predictable story line of events...a faltering 'good' faction versus the ever strengthening evil-doers.
2.)a lot (IMHO) of 'fill' areas...events and conversation that were, in fairness, related to the overall story, but in reality had little to do with anything other than make a long book even longer that it needed to be.
3.)and finally (and most important) a totally absurd ending to the 'dome' problem.

Conclusion:
I really liked the story here...it started out well...it had moments of great suspense and intrigue. I could even put up with some extended areas of 'very little going on' however, the ending just seemed to make the week I put into reading this novel, feel like a total and utter waste of time. I ended up wondering if King was simply tired and/or maybe just ran out of ideas. Whatever the case, the results were disappointing. 2 Stars.

R. Nicholson

Roger Ebert has often written (and I am paraphrasing) that good movies are neither too short nor too long, but rather the length that they need to be to tell the story. The same is true for books. Stephen King writes books and stories that run the gamut of lengths....but he does have a propensity for long novels....many 600+ pages. Arguably, the two books that are most popular among King fans are his two longest: "The Stand" and "It". Both topped 1000 pages. Now King's latest effort, "Under the Dome", also comes in at over 1000 pages.....but for such a long book it is incredibly readable. I found myself consistently turning off the TV or stopping other activities to pick it up.....I finished in under 2 weeks. "Under the Dome" is a story about a small town in Maine that is suddenly cut off from the rest of the world by a force field. The entire story takes place in this town....any more information would spoil the plot. "Under the Dome" contains many of the things King does best: a high-concept story, a large cast of well-drawn characters, pop-culture references, and an exciting plot. Typically, King has a sensational set-up, but has trouble with how to resolve the story (if you look up "deus ex machina", you'll probably see King's picture).....as was the case in both "The Stand" and "It". Generally speaking, "Under the Dome" succeeds better in this regard. I wasn't completely satisfied with the "secret" of the Dome, but given all the great things about the book, I can't really complain. As a word of warning, while the book is not "horror" per say, some elements are quite gruesome and there are some very graphic descriptions of violence. Read this book!!!

Dear Stephen King,

Longtime reader, first time reviewer. I've been reading your stuff most of my life. But I've gotta tell you, you've already written this book. It's called the Tommyknockers. You write it in the 80's. I think that a guy that writes as much as you write could possible forget stuff like that. Somewhere along the way you also read the Drive In books by Joe Lansdale, and forgot about this too. The reason that I mention this is that if you cross the Tommy Knockers with the Drive in Books...you get Under the Dome.
That's actually OK. I loved the Tommyknockers and I loved the Drive In books. So that's actually cool.
But there's a bigger problem. It's the two dimensional stereotypes. Your villain in this book was an Obese, Right Wing Christian Used Car Dealer Who Drives a Hummer and has a Sarah Palin Picture On His Wall and Manufactures Chrystal Meth On the Side.
Your Hero? An Iraq War Vet So Traumatized By The Horror Of Interrogating Innocent Iraqis That He's Now A Drifter. He constantly asks the small town newspaper editor if she's "Really a Republican."
Not only is this REALLY LAZY, it's insulting your audience's intelligence. You became the Great American Author by writing with deep love and affection-warts and all--for small town America, for Middle America, for the people in Flyover County.

It really doesn't sound like you really like us anymore.

This person who wrote this is not the person who wrote The Talisman, The Stand, Rita Haworth and the Shawshank Redemption, and the Gunslinger Series. This list could get really really long.
Under the Dome was nasty, vindictive and small. It was petty.

We get that you're a democrat, you don't need to sound like Keith Olbermann.

So buck up, cupcake.

Like many readers, I once loved Stephen King. Every book he wrote was an event my friends and I anticipated. My favorites? The Stand, It, Dead Zone, Salem's Lot, and Misery. But for the past 15 years, nothing King wrote had any real power. (I have not read Dumas Key, which I am told is quite good.) I thought the violence was gratuitous. The foul language was so excessive I could only shake my head with disgust. And then a friend bought Under the Dome because it was only $9. He started reading. He couldn't stop reading. So I bought a copy. And started reading. And couldn't stop reading until this morning when I finished the book with tears in my eyes. This is not a perfect book. But it gave me hours and hours (and hours) of reading pleasure. Before I finish this review I'd like to respond to a few trends I've noted in the negative reviews of the book.
1) Yes, there is still a lot of swearing. But, King's vocabulary no long seems most notable for his ability to use and re-use the f-bomb in a myriad of ways.
2) Yes, there's still lots of violence. Lots of gore. But, that is what any reader of King expects. I did not consider it gratuitous. There is a deeply rooted human evil at the core of this book, and that evil most clearly expresses itself through the violence of our daily lives. (Heck, that's one of the story's primary themes.)
3) A criticism of Republicans? As I don't think anyone other than the newspaper editor -- and a main character, Julia, -- was labeled a Republican, that criticism seems a little odd. Still, as I know very few Democrats who happily use the "n-word", homophobic slurs, or revel in self-righteous, hypocritical religiosity, I suppose Republicans might get their "undies in a bundle." King's criticism is a social criticism -- the main characters have all committed their evil deeds. The only thing that makes Barbie, Julia,Thurse, Rusty, and even the town drunk better than the racist, homophobic, religious bigots is that they are redeemable. And redeemed.
4) The length. Unfortunately, this darn book weighs too much. It could be shorter in that there is lots of wasted white space on the page and throughout the book. Still, kind of a foolish criticism.

In short, this is a great read. One of King's best. Certainly the best he's written in the past 15 years.

I feel like I need to apologize for not liking a King novel. I am definitely a Constant Reader (and re-reader!), and I feel a loyalty to the man. However, my final thoughts on the book can be summed up with: "Seriously? Is this just a bad joke on us?" I was so excited to start reading this book, as I have been craving a new story in which to lose myself. Seeing the size of it, I was hoping for a new "Stand" or "Talisman". Teach me to go into something with such high hopes. While parts of it held my attention, I found myself skipping forward and pushing for the end. And as someone who often mourns the end of a book, this is not something I would typically do.

ALERT - SPOILERS BELOW!!!!

My issues with the story are as follows:
-Characters that didn't seem to exist for anything other than to be killed off.
-Outrageous amount of violence. I am not a squeamish person, but there was way more than the story needed, IMO.
-Too many subplots and goings-on that the story seemed messy. I'm not sure there is a way to combine rape, numerous murders, bigotry, drug manufacturing, shady public officials, brain tumors, space aliens, religious freakouts, and more in one story without seeming messy.
-Most of the characters seemed fairly shallow and non-believable.
-And last, but certainly not least..the ending stunk! If it would have been worked into the story all along, I could accept it, but it came totally out of left field. You can't just throw aliens in at the end of the story and call it a resolution - it made no sense! Especially since none of the issues the townsfolk were encountering were directly caused by the aliens. It was a crappy town with crappy people that were made crappier by the dome, but it didn't change who they really were. Now, if there was some mind-control going on with aliens causing the bad behavior, it might have made more sense, but that wasn't the case. Heck, if King had written the dome was put there by god in order to test/purge an "evil" town, I might have even bought that. At least that would have tied in with the crappy people and religious freakouts.

So, to wrap it up, I am giving it two stars because it did keep me occupied for a few days and I needed that. But really... if you are looking for a great read, look somewhere else.

Sorry, again, Mr. King.

I've always said that Stephen King may not be the best writer but he is certainly an exceptional storyteller.

"Under the Dome" is probably the finest novel I've read from him in years. It reads exceptionally quick for such a massive novel and while there are a few slow spots they are few and far between. I also think it's some of the finest writing he's ever done. The allegory works perfectly and the characters are very well-crafted, although he does still sink into the typical King cheesiness that often derails even his finest works.

All in all, I highly recommend it but you might want to stay clear if you value your sleep. I stayed up far too late on many a night because I just couldn't put this one down.