Under the Dome

A Novel

By: Stephen King

Narrated by: Raul Esparza

Length: 34 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

On an entirely normal, beautiful fall day in Chester's Mill, Maine, the town is inexplicably and suddenly sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field. Planes crash into it and fall from the sky in flaming wreckage, a gardener's hand is severed as "the dome" comes down on it, people running errands in the neighboring town are divided from their families, and cars explode on impact. No one can fathom what this barrier is, where it came from, and when - or if - it will go away.

Dale Barbara, Iraq vet and now a short-order cook, finds himself teamed with a few intrepid citizens - town newspaper owner Julia Shumway, a physician's assistant at the hospital, a select-woman, and three brave kids. Against them stands Big Jim Rennie, a politician who will stop at nothing - even murder - to hold the reins of power, and his son, who is keeping a horrible secret in a dark pantry. But their main adversary is the Dome itself. Because time isn't just short. It's running out.

©2009 Stephen King (P)2009 Simon & Schuster

Ending doesn't work for me.

Would you listen to Under the Dome again? Why?

Don't believe so. After knowing how it ends it wouldn't have the same thrill for me.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

The story has a good flow and build up until the end. I would rather have seen the cause of the dome be something more base in reality.

Which character ??? as performed by Raul Esparza ??? was your favorite?

His portrayal of Big Jim was very good, hated that guy from the start. He should have had a more horrifying ending.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Simpson's did it

Any additional comments?

none

Great Story!

I was very surprised at some of the negative reviews. People who think of King only as a horror writer should listen to, or read this book. Great characters and an excellent story. Very well narrated, and well worth the listen.

Would prefer not voice characterizations.

The voice characterizations of the narrator distracted me, often took me away from the story.

Explosive ending that will leave you breathless

If you’ve read the book you get it. It’s an amazing epic compacted into one book. The book is much better than the show and more compact. Another king classic.

Intriguing and Entertaining Start to Finish

Where does Under the Dome rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This book was a great listen and very intriguing w/ respect to the sociological element - What could / would happen if an entire community - a small town - became cut off from the rest of the world for an indeterminate period of time? This study in human nature is what is so compelling to me about this book. W/ respect to this release of the book being much shorter than Mr. King's original, it's a shame so much was cut out to make it more "marketable" in today's world - a world in which people no longer have the patience (or time) to read a book that is lengthy and takes time to evolve. I'm old school. Had there been a release of the complete book, I'd have gladly purchased it instead.The narrator is a deciding factor in whether or not I'll choose to listen to an audio book beyond the first ten minutes. Raul Esparza did not disappoint. He is an excellent and entertaining narrator who brings the characters to life. I'll be looking for more books narrated by him.I recently viewed the pilot episode of "Under the Dome" on Netflix. Like so many film versions of books/novels, it is virtually unrecognizable - bearing only a passing resemblance to the novel where the story line and characters are concerned. If you're looking for an audio version of the story as it's told in the televised version, this isn't it. But try the novel (audio or book) anyway - I think you'll enjoy it.

LOVE this book!

If you could sum up Under the Dome in three words, what would they be?

A fantastic book!

Which character – as performed by Raul Esparza – was your favorite?

What a great narrator, the different voices and personalities performed made the story come alive.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not at first, like all good books you want them to last as long as possible...about a third of the way in I was hooked and couldn't stop listening.

Any additional comments?

Highly recommend, not the typical horror, Sci-Fi book I'm use to from King, instead he explores the horror that can come from humanity itself.

FAn

Really good, but a lot of characters so pay attention because its long. Interested to see how the TV version will hold up.

Awesome!

A plethera of characters. Awesome development in creating raw emotion for both the protagonist and antagonist alike.

better than the show

story was really good. narration was meh at best. Def read mr. kings work again

Did no one tell the narrator it's in Maine?

I mean really. As soon as he describes a character as lacking intelligence he immediately assigns a southern twang... Should have assigned Greg Wasson that read 11-22-63. That guy nails rural Maine.