Under the Dome

A Novel

By: Stephen King

Narrated by: Raul Esparza

The “propulsively intriguing, staggeringly addictive” (USA TODAY) novel from master storyteller Stephen King—a #1 New York Times bestseller.

It is a typical October morning in Chester’s Mill, Maine: glorious weather, a perfectly blue sky, and quiet. Then, all hell breaks loose. Inexplicably, and simultaneously, a plane falls from the sky in flames; a woman’s hand is severed; and a farmer’s John Deere explores (with him on it). A few moments later, a pulp-truck crashes spectacularly. Somehow, an invisible and impermeable barrier—exactly following the town’s perimeter—has descended upon the town.

Life under the dome quickly becomes a hothouse—with the best in some people and the worst in others flourishing. There are unambiguous heroes and villains, from a supremely corrupt local politician to a very enterprising newspaper reporter. The situation under the dome deteriorates by the minute: supplies of everything are diminishing quickly, the citizens are panicking, and the police force, under the control of the diabolically devious alderman Jim Rennie, implement their own version of martial law. Meanwhile, Barbie, brave Iraq war vet and short order cook, and a band of intrepid pals engage in a race against time to find the source of the dome and raise it before there’s nobody left alive in Chester’s Mill.

Under the Dome is filled with a marvelous and enormous cast of over 100 characters. King’s trademark idiomatic language is pure pleasure to read. “Nowhere in Mr. King’s immense body of work have his real and fantasy world collided with such head-on force” (The New York Times Book Review).©2009 Stephen King; (P)2009 Simon & Schuster

I was in until the end.

I am not going to spoil anything so no worries there.

I had no real issue with the narration as some others have expressed. The accents were a bit strange in some cases, but I knew who everyone was and that was fine.

I was into this story. I think the character development is classic King. I loved some of the characters and hated others, just as I was supposed to. The story was interesting and had me hooked. It is classic king... to a point.

My problem with this book was where the story went... nowhere. It was a long journey and I enjoyed most of it but was ultimately very disappointed in how it fizzled to an ending. There was a big build-up to a big finale which never happened. Without going into details, I considered how it ended to be about as dumb as it could have gone.

I know King's endings can be a bit on the tragic side or anti-crowd-pleasing but I disliked this ending more than any King book into which I have ever invested this much time.

Well worth the time to listen.

I am a huge fan of Stephen King and have read just about everything he has written. I was afraid that the book would not translate well into audio but it was GREAT. Although I could see some of the plot development a little early, it was really well done and I anticipated the development as opposed to saying "oh, now this is going to happen". Also, there were times the story was going along and it did NOT go in the direction you thought. Kudos to Raul Esparza as the reader as he does a wonderful job with not only the voices but the tones and inflections as well. Each personality is given their own distinguishible voice in the story. 5 stars book, 5 stars narration.

Prob Fav Steve King

This book rips.
People say they don’t like the ending but I did.
Worth it.

Not antireligious

I have read a lot of reviews that suggest this is a pandering left-wing antireligion novel. I guess you don't read much King. He has a deep spiritual center which is evidenced in most of his novels. The Stand and Desperation come to mind as very spiritual novels. However, I agree he is perhaps critical of religion used to control others rather than religion as curative.

That aside, this is a very good novel. It is interesting, informative, and topical. As it is very today, I don't know if it will stand the test of time of The Stand. However, this book is not The Stand. It is Under The Dome and as such is moving, irritating, frightening, and entertaining. I recommend it to those who maintain an open and progressive mind. Those who know King.

What a story teller

I was an early fan of Steven King. Then he got too dark for me, but this sci-fi premise made me rent it. There are so many sci-fi writers out there with big ideas, great concepts, but their writing is so turgid, so stolid, i.e. Gibson, Sawyer, Baxter. King is a master. 1000 pages (5 parts) and I wanted more! Yes, sometimes his smart characters make dumb decisions for the sake of the plot and there are some loose ends I can't discuss since they are important to the plot. Nonetheless, these are quibbles. King is still dark, and the tension twists tighter because you know he is willing to kill off anybody if his muse directs him thus. It was almost painful to listen to, in a good way. "Things will get worse" is a repeated line. A word about Raul Esparza, the narrator: 1000 pages of near perfection. One pronunciation error, one usage error, and a transparent purity of delivery that made me hate the villains and focus on the story. I am rarely a fan of abrupt endings, which are supposed to be dramatic but are often just an excuse because the author could not think of a meaningful conclusion. Not King. He spends a careful and satisfying time on his wind-up. Loved this book.