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Feb 05, 2011

brian rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

222 comments like (117 people liked it)

Jan 28, 2010

karen rated it:

in brief, because i am nearly starting my first day of readers advisory class (yay!) and i have to prepare mentally for the schoolplace after the long break, plus i'm not really in the mood to write this review what with salinger and all casting a pall over my day, but book report compulsion gets the best of me, so.

this book ... whole lotta length, not much depth. and as any lady will tell you...etc etc... i don't have a problem with stephen king. i stopped reading him when i was a More...

86 comments like (55 people liked it)

Jan 15, 2010

Kemper rated it:

Here’s a nightmare scenario. A mysterious disaster occurs. The area is completely cut off from any outside help. Resources are limited. People are confused and scared. And Dick Cheney is in charge….

That terrifying idea is what makes Under the Dome one of the best books King has done.

Chester’s Mill, Maine, is a typical Stephen King small town, filled with people both good and criminally insane. One fall day, a force-field crashes down around the area, causing a fair a More...

25 comments like (41 people liked it)

Feb 14, 2010

Amanda rated it:

More like 3 1/2 stars. This is my first full-fledged Stephen King novel, so I'm not sure how it measures up against other King classics like The Stand, It, Salem's Lot, or Carrie. Sure, I've read The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, but only because it was described as a young adult novel (King-lite, if you will). I have spent most of my life actively avoiding Stephen King and here's my story as to why Mr. King and I parted ways before I even read anything by him.

When I was but a wee More...

42 comments like (33 people liked it)

Feb 03, 2010

Dorsi rated it:

Whew! I finally finished it! It took me almost 2 weeks. That is the longest it has ever taken for me to read a book. This book was quite the undertaking but well worth it. I have never been much of a Stephen King follower but that has changed. I have converted to a SK fan! I take my hat off to King for the ability to write such a complex novel with so many characters & story lines merging into one. What a fantastic smooth read. The characters came to life! While reading it, I almost felt as if More...

4 comments like (15 people liked it)

Feb 26, 2010

Jason rated it:

(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com:]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)

Like millions of others, some of the very first grown-up books I ever read when a teenager were Stephen King ones, which kept me an avid fan of his throughout high school and college; but then also like millions of others, in my twenties I grew to have more and more problems with King's writin More...

11 comments like (19 people liked it)

Oct 12, 2011

Gavin marked it as to-read

Third time is the charm...I am going to read a bit of this every night until I'm done...wish me luck! (9-24-11)
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6 comments like (4 people liked it)

Apr 22, 2011

Becky rated it:

Wow. In the author's note at the end of this book, King wrote "I tried to write a book that would keep the pedal consistently to the metal." I think he succeeded. If there is one thing that this book is not, it's a leisurely walk through the park.

And this is what makes King my favorite author (well, the main thing, anyway), when he writes a fast-paced novel, I don't dare look away. Not only is it fast-paced, but King brings the characters and their community to life so con More...

3 comments like (9 people liked it)

May 01, 2010

Sandi rated it:

Once I got past the whole "Simpsons Movie" correlation, I really liked this story. It's more science fiction than horror, but it's got plenty for the horror fan too. The horror may have been a little too real though because it was about the terrible things people can do, not the supernatural. I would have given it 4 stars if it had just been shorter. The story rambled way too much and a lot of it wasn't even necessary.

ADDED MAY 1, 2010:

Oops! I forgot to tal More...

2 comments like (5 people liked it)

Nov 21, 2010

Maciek rated it:

Many things can be said about Under The dome, but tedious is not one of them. This is clearly King's most fast paced novel since Cell. He even states in the afterword that he aimed at writing a book that "would keep the pedal consistently to the metal" and in that department he succeeded.

However, that was not to be without sacrifice. King is well known for his famous characters, always well drawn and memorable - even non-readers know about Carrie and Jack Torrance. Those w More...

31 comments like (9 people liked it)

Jun 01, 2011

Mark rated it:

When a transparent dome mysteriously cuts off the small Maine town of Chester Mill from the rest of the world, it serves to amplify the best and worst in those trapped beneath. An opportunistic bully, Big Jim Rennie, sees his chance to take control and cover his illegal exploits at the same time. Panicked townies who see him as a man who can get things done soon grant Rennie the near total power he craves. King delivers fantastic characterization (when doesn't he) and tension throughout that qui More...

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

May 22, 2011

Braden rated it:

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2 comments like (11 people liked it)

Jul 24, 2011

Amy rated it:

I was about 50 pages into this book when a girl sitting opposite me on the tube asked if I was enjoying it. She was maybe fifteen or sixteen and seemed sweet, so I let her read the first chapter - and the first chapter is a doozy, a real hook you in starter - to see if she liked it. Reading on through the book later though, I felt guilty that I had recommended it to her as this book is full of bad thoughts, worse behaviour and blood and guts and gore. I was reading this sort of stuff at sixtee More...

13 comments like (5 people liked it)

Oct 17, 2011

Debby rated it:

WOW! What a phenomenal story and cast of characters!! Under the Dome ranks right up there with The Stand as one of my favorite Stephen King books. It's long (over 1000 pages or over 33 hours on CD), but well worth the investment in time. The story is captivating and thought provoling and the characters are a full spectrum of the good, the bad, the weird and the truly wicked.
Imagine being a resident in a small town in Maine and suddenly being trapped inside the city limits by an invisible More...

4 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 20, 2010

Jessie rated it:

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3 comments like (13 people liked it)

Aug 22, 2010

Mitchel rated it:

First of all, this review contains no spoilers, because i wold kill someone a violent death if i had been told of the crazy twists towards the end of the book.

Okay, so i was pretty sure i'd like this book, i've only read 2 of King's other novels (Cell and The Mist) and i liked them enough, Cell especially, but i never thought i would love this book so much. The characters are so well developed, with individual back stories, relationships, families, dilemmas and problems. But it neve More...

0 comments like (8 people liked it)

Nov 24, 2011

Felina rated it:

Of all the King books I've read so far this one was my favorite. Because of my working situation I was only ever able to read this book in 10 to 20 minute intervals and it took me about 3 months. Even with the constant breaks and interruptions I still found this book very engrossing.

This book isn't conventionally scary. There are no monsters or creepers (well not really) but I think the villians in this story are much more terrifying because of the recent outbreak of fear-mongering in More...

6 comments like (7 people liked it)

Aug 26, 2011

Cheryl rated it:

This was a longggg book, but definitely vintage Stephen King. Mr. King has a very fertile, bizarre imagination and, in my opinion, has quite the gift for character development and for depicting the mentalities, prejudices, and secrets of small-town America. I think the most chilling part of the story was not how or why the Dome suddenly descended on Chester's Mill and cut the town off from the rest of the world, but how the citizens handled the terrible situation.

There were all the u More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jan 19, 2010

Beth rated it:

One random afternoon, an invisible, impenetrable dome seals off the town of Chester's Mill ME from the rest of the world. The car salesman selectman who runs the town is determined that the meth lab he's masterminded won't be discovered, and will go to any lengths to do so in this novel of small town politics gone awry that seems to be a microcosm for life in post 9-11 US.

King says in his author's note that he got the idea for Under the Dome 35 years ago, but it certainly resonates w More...

7 comments like (6 people liked it)

Jan 30, 2010

Rosina rated it:

I have purposefully not read other reviews for this book, because I didn't want to be influenced and I know people will have strong opinions.

To me, this feels like early King. It is a more classically structured novel -- which has in part to do with the containment of the village under the dome itself -- and the structure suits him. I imagine people will be talking about The Stand, and the similarities between the two (or lack of similarities). I loved The Stand, but I love Under the More...

1 comment like (15 people liked it)

Mar 10, 2011

Rachel rated it:

This book was a monster of a book to read (over 1,000 pages!), but it was fast paced so I got through it pretty quickly (considering). It was a real pain to carry it around, though.

It is about a small town in Maine which is suddenly trapped under a giant dome. There is no way to break it or remove it, so the people who are trapped in the town are left to cope on their own. The real villain in the book was not the dome, but Big Jim Rennie, a power hungry, Bible thumping town polit More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 30, 2011

Emily rated it:

I really tried to love this book, but I couldn't. And it wasn't just because of the ridiculously inaccurate stereotypes that, quite frankly, made me laugh at just how wrong they were. No, I'd have to say what really made me give this book a low rating was how it became increasingly clear as I read it that Stephen King got lazy. Some of the details in the book were very spot-on, but other areas were absolutely, 100% inaccurate, and didn't have to be if he'd just done a little research.

More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Sep 27, 2009

Kathy rated it:

Very excited and shocked about getting this copy! I have been looking forward to this for a long time! I hope it lives up to everything that I have heard! Here we go....

I wanted to share a letter, written by Nan Graham, Vice President & Editor-In-Chief at Simon & Schuster. It was inside the advance I got of Under The Dome.

"Dear All,
I hope you have three or four nights free for a 100 horse power, 1000 plus page read that is as mega in every way as THE STAND. More...

24 comments like (12 people liked it)

Apr 02, 2011

Derek rated it:

The main thing I liked about this book was how it showed what mankind is capable of doing when a group of people are isolated from the outside world. Also, it was very interesting to read about how one corrupt businessman can effectively control a town through money and politics.

I don't know how many of you find this interesting, but the way the dome affected the environment was very interesting to me. The details on how the rivers and streams were cut off and how the air could bare More...

3 comments like (3 people liked it)

Apr 30, 2011

Geo rated it:

So....

Stephen King is someone I've always admired for one particular part of his writing. His "manner" and flow of writing is smooth as silk. I always feel like I'm wrapped in a warm blanket when I'm reading his books, and especially anything written in the last 5 years or so, perhaps _Dumas Key_ standing out with this quality especially. _Under the Dome_ is no exception, its still there, he hasn't lost it.

Characters develop well, despite there being a large pop More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Dec 19, 2009

Todd rated it:

An 'epic' return (pun very much intended) by Mr. King.

It's no coincidence that King's past epics, The Stand and It, are often cited as his many of his fans' favorites. 'Regular' King novels are good, and often great, but there's something about the door-stopper books that seem to make him step up to the plate and really deliver.

Under the Dome is very much in the mold of The Stand particularly in that there is a Cecil B. DeMille cast of hundreds and, King's specialty, seve More...

1 comment like (13 people liked it)

Nov 28, 2011

Heidi rated it:

Likely King's best novel in many years, UtD grabs you at the first page and never lets up, with a propulsive narrative that is both as disturbing as you might expect, and even more so. Everything you need to know is right there in the title: the town of Chester's Mill, Maine has become cut off from the world by a mysterious transparent "dome" which appears out of nowhere on a crisp fall day. No one can leave, and no one can enter. The town is on its own.

Less a traditional " More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 29, 2011

Mary JL rated it:

Many persons regard this is King's best book since The Stand. I agree--I rate them both a very high four stars.

This is vintage KIng, with his usual large cast of characters facing a mysterious and horrifying danger.

One thing I found really chilling in this books was the realistic characterization of Big Jim Rennie. I don't believe in hauted houses or haunted cars; I doubt that a Dome could exist.

But corrupt politicians---correction, corrupt individuals of a More...

2 comments like (4 people liked it)

Oct 13, 2011

Lori rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Sep 28, 2011

Fred rated it:

I've read a lot of Stephen King. I was a big fan when I was in my teenage years. The Stand and The Long Walk are among his best. Under The Dome is sadly one of his worst. It was a book which started as an idea for a project called "The Cannibals" in 1976. He never finished it. I was kind of disappointed, there are no cannibals in Under The Dome.

The book is colossal at more than 1000 pages. This isn't anything new for King fans as many of his books are more than 700 pages. I More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)