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

Keep em coming King

top 10 of his works. A little drug out at times but almost had to be to get the whole picture and get truly involved with the characters and circumstances.

Entertaining, but not King's best work

Hey, it's not "The Stand", but I found it entertaining. The biggest negative in listening to it was Raul Esparza's narration. He just wasn't up to voicing people living in rural western Maine, often using accents that just didn't make sense, and the voices he gave female characters and children were bizarre and irritating. If you can get past that though, it's not a bad book, even if not King's best work. I saw other reviews warning of left-wing preachiness and foul language. I'm not sure what those reviewers were objecting to. I didn't find the book particularly left leaning, and while there was a small amount of bad language, it didn't strike me at all as gratuitous.

One caveat: I got this book at a steep discount, under the subscription plan I have at Audible. If I had paid full price for it, I don't think I would have been nearly as satisfied with my purchase.

Was really bothered by narrator

What made the experience of listening to Under the Dome the most enjoyable?

I love the story

What aspect of Raul Esparza’s performance would you have changed?

I can tell whenever he resumes reading after a break. His cadence fluctuates with out rhyme or reason at some points. When first starting the story i noticed his inflections did not seem to reflect to mood or the events of the text he was reading. overall he did alright but too plucky for me

Captivating Listen

I can't add much more than what others have already said. It's a very captivating book to listen to. King has written a hefty book full of interesting characters and a compelling plot. I'm about half way through the story. And big kudos go to Raul Esparza for his excellent narration. He does a wonderful job of keeping the characters as distinct as possible. He's got a natural voice for narration and that can make all the difference in the world. I look forward to more from Raul. Between King's prose and Esparza's narration, it's a thrilling listen.

Great story almost killed by the narrator

As a Constant Reader, I read Under The Dome in its hardcover version. The narration on this was subject at best for me. The story is great, I truly enjoyed disliking particular characters again. However, the narrators voices created for the women and children were unoriginal and childish. I would not be terribly quick to jump into another book he nattates.

characters are great

For such a far out premise a lot of the story is predictable, but the characters are great.

A breathtaking work of monumental genius and depth

it left me speechless and empty inside when I finally closed the book the first time I finished it alone.

I listened to the audiobook with my wife, and we both got to share the same experience, from the adrenaline rushes, the terror, encapsulating wonder, and finally, that last crushing sadness that it was over.

beautiful. thank you King.

definitely top three Stephen King novels

this book really gave a honest depiction of what it would be like to be cut off from civilization and the effects it would have on it. the community was wonderful both the good and the bad characters. I sincerely loved the character of chef he was weird and awesome and also Barbie was wonderful as well too. I'm going to start relistening to this book immediately. it was amazing. definitely something that everybody should look into if they are a Stephen King fan and want something a little bit outside the box

Amazing story, odd narration

I keep listening to this book because I love the story. But the narration brings me out of the story instead of into it. Too many odd, affected accents — this is Maine, not Southern California. Too many of the characters have an off, 1980s surfer dude quality that is quite disconcerting.

good

I enjoyed all but the narrators voices for the women in the story. it annoyed me. everything else was great