Under the Dome
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What did you think of it
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Mary
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rated it 4 stars
Dec 15, 2011 10:45PM
I just finished reading Under the Dome. It was good but I did not think it was one of his best. Much too long.
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Let's just say that I was very happy to have read this as an ebook and not, say, a hardcover :D I didn't get bored with the length, though. I thought it was very well paced in terms of story- and character development. I really loved how the dome was introduced. That was cool. But yeah, it's not my favorite King book either. Not sure what is, come to think of it,
Liked the length and charcters, but hated the ending!
I couldn't put it down! I maybe a bit biased...I am from central Maine where Under the Dome is set! Can't wait for the film!Nathalie
http://bookmenus.blogspot.com/2010/12...
Roderick wrote: "This was actually my very first Stephen King book. My wife had been after me for some time to read something of his and I was intrigued by the premise of Under the Dome. I must say, I love the way ..."You should try his newest novel, "11/22/63". It just came out in November. It's about a Maine high school English teacher who travels back in time to try preventing JFK's assisination!
Nathalie
http://bookmenus.blogspot.com/2011/12...
My favorite King book is Shawshank Redemption. Loved it. They made it into a movie. Loved that too.
Roderick wrote: "This was actually my very first Stephen King book. My wife had been after me for some time to read something of his and I was intrigued by the premise of Under the Dome. I must say, I love the way ..."As I just mentioned to Freckleface79, Shawshank Redemption comes in first, second is The Green Mile, and third is The Stand, another long book.
I enjoy Stephen King but didn't like this book very much. I also liked the introduction of the dome, but I hated the long and boring middle of the book. I also thought the ending was silly and unfullfilling.My favourite Stephen King book, without question, is The Shining.
I enjoyed this one but, like so many have already said, it wasn't one of my favorites. As for my favorite three... Desperation, Insomnia, and The Stand. All ones that I have reread multiple times.
Roderick wrote: "This was actually my very first Stephen King book. My wife had been after me for some time to read something of his and I was intrigued by the premise of Under the Dome. I must say, I love the way ..."Stephen King is my all-time favorite author, and I hope you don't give up on him yet!! My three favorite books are Rose Madder, The Shining, and Dreamcatcher...Try those.
Not his greatest work, the end is a bit lacking, felt more like something from an "Outer Limits" episode than from King, but an enjoyable read.Faves:
I like his elder work, "The Dead Zone" and "Pet Sematary" are must reads IMO, also his short story collection "Night shift" which contains some of his greatest stories.
Loved it, not his best work, no doubt, but still very good. Loved the length, there's nothing better than getting lost in almost 1,000 pages. My favorites are (not necessarily in order) Tommyknockers, Green Mile, Dreamcatcher
I love this one. The ending worked for me, but I know many others had issue with it. It was kind of funny. When I went to buy this book from the store the day it was released I didn't realize how big it was since it was on a display with the cover facing outward. The weight was unexpected as I tried to pick it up with one hand, and I dropped it on my foot right in front of several people. We all laughed about it, but it really hurt.
I loved this one, too...and the only problem that I had w/ the length was it was just that much longer that it interfered w/ my life, b/c I couldn't put it down til I finished. I was also a little disappointed w/ the explanation for the dome, but I still loved it. this one would probably be on my top 3 list...with maybe the stand and the shining.
Loved it also, picked it up a week ago and finished on Saturday. I was a little disappointed in the explanation for the dome but the book overall was great
"Surprise Aliens" is a friend's watchword, and I think this book is part of why. Seemed too neatly tied up with all that, but the characters now, and the internal town drama, that was where the story excelled. King makes me like people and feel for them. I love that about his work. Three Faves: Dark Tower Series (I'm counting it as one, but the Drawing of the Three was probably the absolute favorite), The Talisman, The Green Mile
Roderick wrote: "This was actually my very first Stephen King book. My wife had been after me for some time to read something of his and I was intrigued by the premise of Under the Dome. I must say, I love the way ..."If you're not into the horror/supernatural side of King, try The Green Mile and Dolores Claiborne. There is a bit of the supernatural in The Green Mile, but it's not overly much. These are my favorite King books of all time because they highlight his incredible skill at creating interesting, believable characters a reader can really relate to.
Trish wrote: ""Surprise Aliens" is a friend's watchword, and I think this book is part of why. Seemed too neatly tied up with all that, but the characters now, and the internal town drama, that was where the st..."I do like his characters. I am collecting The Darktower series again. I borrowed it from a friend when it first came out but I only read 3 or 4 of the books. So I am going to start again. Also, I forgot about the Talisman I enjoyed that too.
In my opinion, the book is too long by half. I understand the need to set things up prior to the appearance of the dome, but felt things could have been trimmed. Ditto some of the action that took place once the dome descended. Some scenes seemed there just to show us how bad people we already knew to be bad could be.At one point in the first section of the book, a scene took place that bordered on pornography of the worst kind. I actually put the book aside for several days considering not even finishing it. My final judgement is that I wasted more than a week of reading time.
Please, don't even bring up the ending! My college Creative Writing teacher wouldn't have accepted it.
Roderick wrote: "This was actually my very first Stephen King book. My wife had been after me for some time to read something of his and I was intrigued by the premise of Under the Dome. I must say, I love the way ..."I'd go with "Pet Semetary", "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon" (not real horror, but with creepy moments) and my fave, "'Salem's Lot". Give you an idea of King at his best and how well he writes children. His short story collections are also a good bet, especially NIGHT SHIFT.
Roderick wrote: "This was actually my very first Stephen King book. My wife had been after me for some time to read something of his and I was intrigued by the premise of Under the Dome. I must say, I love the way ..."His older stuff is definitely better (before Tommyknockers). My favorites are The Long Walk (one of the 4 novellas in The Bachman Books), The Dead Zone and the short story collection Night Shift. Also - Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption (one of the novellas in Different Seasons).
His worst by far is "From a Buick 8" - truly awful.
As for "Under the Dome" (and the same goes for the new one, 11/22/63) the character development was excellent, the story was good, the ending was weak. Don't know why he feels it necessary to drag aliens and/or the supernatural into a good solid tale about what regular people can and will do in extraordinary circumstances.
As for the ending being weak,the author writes horror/supernatural. What else did you expect? I look forward to his latest 11/22/63 but have to wait till the library gets it. I'm also looking forward to one coming out next year another Dark Tower,"The Wind Through The Keyhole".
I really enjoyed this book. Of course, I had to take it with me whenever I took my kids to the park. The length didn't bother me. I was kind of hoping for some more info on the intruders though. I felt like, by the end, he got tired of writing and the answer to the suspense was too simple. I would have actually liked to know more about that.
Me wrote: "I was kind of upset that a friend of mine accidentally let slip the ending (although I hadn't actually started reading it, so there is no blame there), but I still liked the summing up of everythin..."I would have liked to know more about the "good guys"!
Even it's happy ending but pretty scary story.But I do enjoy reading it.
After reading and enjoying The Dark Tower Series I thought this would be great.. I was disappointed by the ending and thought it was way too long..
Roderick wrote: "This was actually my very first Stephen King book. My wife had been after me for some time to read something of his and I was intrigued by the premise of Under the Dome. I must say, I love the way ..."I agree that the ending of Under the Dome was disappointing, though the idea was pretty inventive. I thought that Stephen King did a good job in creating characters that leaped off the page. I have always felt that it was his strong suit, but also felt that he hasn't really done that since he wrote his fourth book "The Stand". For my money, if you liked his style and want a better story, that would be the one you should try. It was written in his earlier years, before he was well known. His books, after that time, seemed to be written more with the idea of getting them on the shelves, rather than developing the stories and characters. Public demand for a book every year made it very obvious that he was not taking the time with these stories. His books were better thought out in the earlier days and you felt that you knew the characters and really cared about them. Even if you didn't like them, you understood what drove them or what brought them to be the "bad guys" and you could sympathize with their character. This is what made King my favorite author, Carrie, Salem's Lot, The Shining & The Stand, his first 4 books were the absolute cream of the crop for me personally. I would recommend any one of these.
Freckleface79 wrote: "Let's just say that I was very happy to have read this as an ebook and not, say, a hardcover :D I didn't get bored with the length, though. I thought it was very well paced in terms of story- and c..."green mileis anexcellent book, as is carrie and pet semetary
i didnt finish unde the dome- went back to it after a while and lost the thread of it
The book was way to long in my opinion.
I would have to agree that this is not one of my favorites, but he is such a great author that I still really liked it. The ending really turned my husband off, but I thought it was kinda of neat.
You are right Mary, he is a great author, it is amazing to see such variety from one person. I also liked the end. Some parts in the middle if feel he could have done without. I like his books, they make you think.
Although I was lost in some parts, forcing me to re-read some vital sections, this was actually a very well played out book. It had a good variety in between each individual chapter, but I thought some parts (mainly in the middle most section) could of been left out.
I loved this book. I had a hard putting it down. King does such a great job writing about the minds of evil evil men. This story had great character's , And an even better story.. Even if you might not be a King fan you should read this book.Its a story like you have never read before, It has a such a unique idea.
I was at an author lecture series at Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore in San Diego a year or so ago. I had brought Under the Dome with me to read in between. Charlaine Harris commented that it was a huge book to lug around but to keep reading - the ending is great. I did and I totally agree. I loved the ending.
I personally loved this book, it was a good story about human nature but wasn't too fond of the end
I also like the book but the ending was very sudden and the build up was big I though that something big was going to happen. After I read this book I felt like I needed a break from SK beacuse the book was very long but I just started The Green Mile and that feeling has disappeared!
I loved this book once i started reading it i could not stop and finished it in 3 days. It is definatly 1 of my favourite king books, this and desperation x
I enjoyed this book but like others thought that it was a little long. The first few books that King wrote after his accident felt like he had lost some of what made his earlier works so great. Under the Dome seems to be a step back to what I enjoyed in those books. His character development is always wonderful and you truly find yourself interested in what happens in their lives.
Roderick,for non-horror King, I'd highly recommend:
Duma Key
Lisey's Story
Bag of Bones
and secondarily, Dreamcatchers, then From a Buick8 (which yes, is rather Supernatural, but what he does with the characterisations, imho, is superb)
Paula wrote: "I loved this book once i started reading it i could not stop and finished it in 3 days. It is definatly 1 of my favourite king books, this and desperation x"I too read it in 3 days! I loved it, but the ending was a little 'out there'. Loved to hate Big Jim!
Thought the 'Dome' was just ok. What I didn't like is that by the time the bad guys got what was coming to them, I had stopped caring. Some great characters.Liked 11/23/63 a lot more. Thought it was the best SK book I've read in 20+ years. The best, for me, are The Stand, Firestarter, and The Dead Zone. Rita Hayworth & the Shawshank Redemption demonstratates that King can write excellent fiction that does not employ the supernatural.
What I love about Stephen King is his characters, I finish his books sad to leave these fictional people that I've come to grow so fond of. But with "Dome", I didn't feel that. It was an ok read but not one I see myself in a rush to reread. Duma Key I've read three times, and is definitely one of my favorites. I finished 11/22/63 and THAT one felt like vintage King, not in that it was scary but his story telling and characters were excellent. Definitely one I look forward to rereading soon!
Love the Dome! I couldn't put it down, but was disappointed with the end. Seriously? (view spoiler) (I apologize that I didn't know the group's spoiler policy and if I ruined anything for anyone. Post is now edited per group rules.) I didn't mind the length... it was well-paced and took a lot less time to read than it looked like it would. I wish King had spent more time with the ending, but it felt like he was tired of the book and wrapped it up quickly. For Roderick, I didn't like King's early work because I thought it was too much horror, too scary. I've fallen in love with the way he spins his tale and draws his characters. Ah, if I could only write like King! Alas! I would read his current one about JFK and then start working your way backward. Some of his recent ones that I dearly love are Duma Key, Bag of Bones, Cell. The Stand is excellent. Once you've fallen in love with King, keep moving backwards. I'm still working my way back. Maybe someday I'll be able to read Cujo and Pet Semetery... but maybe not!
I read the book on audio - which had a fantastic narration by Raul Esparza. Stephen King is a master of taking a small idea ("What if alien children trapped and tortured us like ants?") and blooming a fully realized and populated world around that idea. When I say that I don't like how the book ended, it is because it wasn't how I wanted the book to end (especially Big Jim's too merciful end); but I respect how King was able to stay true to his core vision, and give his story the ending that it needed, rather than simply what his audience might want.
Jonna wrote: "Liked the length and charcters, but hated the ending!"I`m with you, I loved the book, characters, story, but the ending lost me. Any Idea what he was trying to do there? I have ideas from the premise of what they thought it was, but I`m still not sure I get it.
I too really liked the book, read it in 4 days, could not put it down. Like many others here I found the ending hard to take. Not really sure what it even was.
Roderick wrote: "This was actually my very first Stephen King book. My wife had been after me for some time to read something of his and I was intrigued by the premise of Under the Dome. I must say, I love the way ..."IT, Gerald's Game, & Salem's Lot. All three are worth the time to read.
I couldn't finish The dreamcatcher and From the Buick 8, but I really liked Under the Dome.
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