Under the Dome

A Novel

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

Decent but a lot of preaching.

This is my first review, but after listening to this book and reading some of the reviews I thought I would add my two-cents.
First,Raul Esparza is amazing bringing these characters to life. He had me hating and loving characters entirely based on his performance and I believe he stayed true to SK's intent. Amazingly done.
Second, the book itself is an extremely veiled sermon on the terrors and horrors of conservatives and religious people of any ilk. I spent a good bit of time just wondering why he didn't just publish an essay on the true subject he wanted to talk about, "How me the conservative reader and all those I know are ignorant and evil."
I have the ability to separate the sermon from the book and did like the overall story and conclusion. But if you can't you may want to skip this one.

Lenghtly but good, ending was rushed

I really enjoyed this audiobook except where I feel the last segment (5 parts) was rushed and the ending was a bit disappointing. Not my typical Stephen King ending. The narrator is very good as he has the voice of many many characters. This is another thing you may need to know.. many many characters here. Overall a very interesting listen. Approximately 54 hours I believe. Well worth your money. It took me about 2 weeks to get the whole book through and with me taking every day to see what happens next. I took this week me to the pool and just sit and relaxed.

Entertaining, fun and ...

I had to return more than 10 years later and fix this review. It was not fair, I did not give the book a fair chance. I must admit I was wrong, hence returning and undoing my mistake. The story is well thought out, entertaining, and sometimes a bit fun. The ending was very interesting, at least for me, makes you wonder if we're living in the matrix. Give it a try, with Audible new policy you can return it if you don't like it, but I believe you'll enjoy it.

Great King Book

I do not like King's books but when I see the ratings sometimes I try it out. Yes, I have been disappointed....lord knows, but not this time. Ok it gets a bit far fetched, ok the whole thing is but it gets far fetched within being far fetched....yes that's right. I like it, I really liked it and would recommend it. It's a fun story, rated R though

Vintage King, but the narrator is a distraction...

This book is a true "formula" Stephen King, and his die-hard fans (like me) will thoroughly enjoy it. It starts out as a peaceful day in a small town...and THEN, something inexplicable happens. The narrator, as Janet mentions, has an unusual style. He is quite good with narrative, once you get used to his style, but not so good at dialogue. He tries for a Maine accent with some of the characters, but some end up sounding like they are from the deep south. In Maine? Stretches credulity, but not enough to dampen my enjoyment of the book.