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    Under The Dome: A Novel
    Under The Dome: A Novel
    Under The Dome: A Novel
    Audiobook34 hours

    Under The Dome: A Novel

    Written by Stephen King

    Narrated by Raul Esparza

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    Don’t miss the “harrowing” (The Washington Post) #1 New York Times bestselling thriller from master storyteller Stephen King that inspired the hit television series, following the apocalyptic scenario of a town cut off from the rest of the world.

    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.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateNov 10, 2009
    ISBN9780743597319
    Author

    Stephen King

    Stephen King is the author of more than sixty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His recent work includes the short story collection You Like It Darker, Holly, Fairy Tale, Billy Summers, If It Bleeds, The Institute, Elevation, The Outsider, Sleeping Beauties (cowritten with his son Owen King), and the Bill Hodges trilogy: End of Watch, Finders Keepers, and Mr. Mercedes (an Edgar Award winner for Best Novel and a television series streaming on Peacock). His novel 11/22/63 was named a top ten book of 2011 by The New York Times Book Review and won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller. His epic works The Dark Tower, It, Pet Sematary, Doctor Sleep, and Firestarter are the basis for major motion pictures, with It now the highest-grossing horror film of all time. He is the recipient of the 2020 Audio Publishers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2018 PEN America Literary Service Award, the 2014 National Medal of Arts, and the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He lives in Bangor, Maine, with his wife, novelist Tabitha King. 

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    Reviews for Under The Dome

    4.5/5

    939 ratings298 reviews

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    • 3/5
      A small New England town is suddenly, inexplicably cut off from the rest of the world, trapping a large cast of characters inside (or outside) a huge, clear dome. As the emergency escalates, various heroes (and villains) emerge to play a part in the drama. What is the dome? Why is it there? Will the town survive? This is the premise of Stephen King's big, long, (aren't they all?) thoroughly fascinating new novel.

      I've been reading Stephen King for 35 years now--I read his first 3 novels in college--and I've always been impressed by his work. But "Under the Dome" is in a small group of King stories that go far beyond merely being entertaining fiction. This novel will inevitably be compared to The Stand because it deals with the horrors of the world around us. Forget ghosts and vampires and space aliens--there's nothing as horrifying as what humans are capable of doing to one another.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      To begin, I hated the end of this book. Not the ending, but the reveal of the who and the why the dome came in to existence. It was so lame. Like epically lame. Now I don't want to "throw the baby out with the bathwater", so I have to admit that I did indeed like this story. The idea of the dome, and the reactions of the townsfolk really appealed to me. I did think some reactions were a bit to fast and extreme, especially in the first four days, but I did enjoy reading this. If only the ending...A strange aside - I went to YouTube to listen to James McMurtry's - Small Town (Talkin' At The Texaco) to hear the song that is so often mentioned in this book. And I liked it! I also enjoyed in the comments all of the people who had done the same - read the book, listened to the song. Then I saw this post from Eli Love -"And to all those who came here because of under the dome can get F*cked.....this is real music, welkkkome to the real world" ??? And then when people responded to his whack-a-doo post, he wrote "... how in the hell do you discover music thru books..." Wow, right? I guess there are Juniors in the world after all! O.K. - now for my rant - I bought this book on November 7, 2009, brand spankin' new, for $9!!! WITH free shipping!!! The price inside the book jacket is $35! I remember thinking at the time, "What the heck is Amazon doing?" Well, now I know. The were setting up to be the monopoly behemoth they are now, by taking losses back then. Just another reason to fear them...

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      The day is like every other day. The people of Chester?s Mill, Maine are going about their usual routines and enjoying the beautiful fall weather. Suddenly their world comes closing in around them, quite literally. Out of nowhere an invisible, dome-shaped, force field has shut of Chester?s Mill from the towns around them. Planes and birds come crashing in to the wall they cannot see. Human body parts and animals are severed as this dome slams down. Without any warning residents of Chester?s Mill are separated from the world outside the mysterious dome and left with a chilling reality of isolation.Big Jim Rennie, the ruthless third selectman of Chester?s Mill, will stop at nothing to claim the Mill as his town and hide the nefarious drug business he has been running right under everyone?s noses. Standing in the way of Rennie?s plans is a group of rag tag residents. Dale Barbara, former Iraq veteran turned diner cook, joins forces with a Julia, the owner of the local newspaper, and Rusty, the town?s remaining medical expert to become the town?s ?good guys?. The trio quickly learn who they can trust and who is taking sides with Rennie. The battle for power isn?t the only problem for Chester?s Mill. Resources aren?t going to last forever, the air quality is rapidly decreasing, and the mystery of who dropped the dome are all problems residents need to worry about. Will Barbara and his team find a way to save Chester?s Mill before Rennie destroys the town?UNDER THE DOME is not just a story of intrigue and mystery over the dome encasing Chester?s Mill. This novel is also a complex and in-depth look in to the lengths that mankind will go when forced into a trapped and apocalyptic situation. King masterfully crafts multi-dimensional characters who the reader simultaneously loathes and takes pity upon. In a novel where many may feel overwhelmed by the never-ending list of residents, King creates standout characters to support this town?s journey. The backstories and present day turmoil that the Chester?s Mill residents face will play with your heart strings and even occasionally break them. For me, the story of the dome and the reasons behind why it was placed over Chester?s Mill fell second to the portrayal of characters and the supreme writing that builds this novel. At a staggering 1,000+ pages, UNDER THE DOME is no small undertaking, but a journey into the soul of mankind that I greatly urge readers to take.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Stephen King's Under the Dome relates the story of a small Maine town, Chester's Mill, which is suddenly cut off from the rest of the United States by what people call the Dome. The Dome is an invisible barrier that shuts off Chester's Mill completely. No one can get out, no one can get in. Its invisibility leads to many crashes in the beginning, starting with a plane crash and many cars crashing into the Dome.While the novel features a large set of characters, many of which have major roles in unfolding the plot, it is mainly the interplay between protagonist Dale 'Barbie' Barbara, a former Army lieutenant, and antagonist James 'Big Jim' Rennie, the town's Second Selectman and the owner of a used-car dealership, that is the dirivng force of the novel. Yet, there are so many other characters, whose stories make for a compelling reading experience. Dale Barbara wants to leave Chester's Mill after an altercation with Big Jim's son Junior Rennie and his friends. However, the Dome forces him to stay in Chester's Mill. James Rennie is an elected town official, sells used cars and is a self-proclaimed 'faithful servant' of the Lord. And he runs one of the biggest drug rings in the United States. Soon, they clash, Big Jim striving to have all the power in the city and Dale Barbara trying to help the city cope with the situation under the Dome and trying to find a way out.This is the setting for one of Stephen King's greatest novels. Not only because of its length of more than 1,000 pages it is reminiscent of King's major epic The Stand. King creates a credible scenario of what could happen if a city was shut off from the rest of the world. Despite its length, Under the Dome never fails to capture and is a fantastic read. It is only the ending that disappointed me a little. On the whole 4.5 stars.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      I loved this book! It took me forever to read, but it was suspenseful from start to finish and very enjoyable.
      The character drove me absolutely crazy sometimes, because they just don't understand how manipulative Big Jim is! I had to take a break every now and then to calm down...
      I was also impressed by how King could have a story with so many characters and write in a way that allowed be to know who everyone was the whole time.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Six-word review: Chaos overtakes a suddenly isolated town.Extended review:If 11/22/63 was Stephen King the Author pulling out all the stops in a virtuoso display of everything he'd mastered while successfully publishing some 50 novels over 37 years, Under the Dome was King the Trickster playing God in the sandbox, blowing up anthills with cherry bombs, laughing his head off the whole time.And honestly, I don't begrudge him the joke. I'm recalling the old Zen koan about the goose in the bottle. Steve knows how to get the goose out.There was a time when I'd kept up with King, read everything he wrote as fast as it came out. That ended with Christine in 1983. From there it was an occasional return (Misery, Needful Things, Rose Madder), only to back off again, and a few abandonments (forgotten). As far as I was concerned, he was straining to recapture the essence of what had made his early work so gripping, using a formula that more or less boiled down to "a magic X" (touch, necklace, cemetery, car), and it wasn't working for me any longer. I moved on.But I couldn't resist delving into his take on the defining moment of our youth--ours, because King and I are only months apart in age--namely, the Kennedy assassination. With that he won me back completely, reminding me of what he could do and how well he could do it when he focused and gave it his all. 11/22/63 rated four and a half stars from me, and it was probably only the H.G. Wells Time Machine ending that kept it from being five. I could happily have gone on with it for several hundred more pages, experiencing my own time travel as King took me vividly back to scenes of my youth in New England--and hoping against hope that even for just one fictional moment I might see a different outcome on that terrible November day.And so, when my husband suggested it, I was ready after all this time to tackle another voluminous King novel. He enticed me into reading--or, rather, listening to him read--Under the Dome by promising me that it was loaded with instances of things that King oughtn't to have done as an author, but he did. (An odd footnote here is that my husband had already read all 874 pages of the thing, and here he was offering to go through it again, this time at a slow read-aloud pace that would take months.) And that made me curious. More: it whetted my appetite. After 16 years of weekly read-alouds, my husband well knows the pleasure I take in picking on an author's mistakes--continuity errors, egregious repetition, malapropisms, et cetera--and, even more so, editorial lapses, frequently a different breed of error entirely. Think of it as a variant of how a sports fan reacts when an athlete blows a play: calling out his screwups is part of the entertainment. I began my editorial career just about when King published The Dead Zone, and I've been reading with an editor's double vision ever since. Retirement doesn't shut off the instinct. And this was, you might say, a target-rich environment.So we hooted when King suddenly slipped into cinematic mode and gave us crane shots panning a crowd scene. We jeered when he switched into present tense and hopped from vignette to vignette as if he were narrating a double-page spread in a Where's Waldo? book. We groaned when he lapsed into a paternalistic nineteenth-century voice with dear-reader asides commenting on characters' motives and behavior or remarking on what was about to happen. And we scolded when he forgot what he'd just said and repeated himself or lost track of the location of a character or prop.But we also forgave him for going with the impulses, for goofing off and breaking the rules. He can afford it. He can even laugh at us. It's his game.Because he has nothing more to prove. He still tells a thumping good yarn, always did. He creates characters and builds suspense like the pro that he is. And he has that special knack of creating a distinctive character, even a minor one, out of just a few words and giving him or her a moment--even if only a cameo--in which to be seen. Just as we are all cameos or indistinct faces in the crowd scenes of someone else's drama. The camera rolls on and the moment is past, but we contributed something--a little color, a little perspective, a space-filler--that enriched the story somehow. King's novels are full of people like us.King's novels are full of people just like us.And we, King reminds us forcefully, all have our little lives.Under the Dome didn't quite wrap up the way I hoped it would. I wanted a complete, logical answer to what and why and how. I expected a real confrontational come-uppance for the bad guy, with justice overflowing to slake a thirst for payback. What's more, it was too stretched out in places and could have stood to lose a couple hundred pages of nonessential authorially self-indulgent verbiage.Still, I enjoyed it very much, enjoyed seeing how a single dramatically weird premise played out somewhat realistically (an impenetrable dome settles over a town and isolates its inhabitants from the rest of the world; now what?)--not, however, a unique one: any number of authors have stranded a group of people on an island, in a remote country house, on a ship, on a spacecraft or an airplane, on a planet, and so on--and then watched to see what would happen. This is just the first time it's been done this way.So, Steve, it did take me a couple of days after finishing Under the Dome, but only a couple, and then I knew whose the leather faces were.Thanks, I get it now. And you've earned a good laugh.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      Long, drawn out, and semi-predictable. I was also mildly disappointed by the ending. The characters were interesting, as were the sub stories, but I still expected more after slogging through such a long book.
    • 5/5
      I absolutely recovered this book, it was a constant thrill ride with lots of twists and turns!!!
    • 3/5
      The ending was less than satisfying. Like the characters but a better explanation of the dome would have been nice.
    • 5/5
      A great and entertaining book stephen king does not disappoint.
      ? ?
    • 3/5
      I really had to push through this one. There were some interesting ideas in here; I always love reading about how small groups of relative strangers come together in times of crisis. However, I think a lot got lost in this book because it was so bloated. One thing that I don't personally enjoy about King is his dialogue; it seems so unnatural. Another thing that bothered me about this book was the ending. I thought it was terrible. I don't want to ruin anything for anyone, so I won't get into particulars. I just wish that after having invested so much time in this book, the reward had been greater.After all that being said, I will admit that I did find parts of the book enjoyable and some of the plot points were exciting or interesting. I didn't give up on the book even though I did have to put it aside for weeks at a time. Probably won't revisit this one.
    • 4/5
      Under the Dome by Stephen King was a huge (literally) disappointment. As a long-time King fan, I expected an intriguing mystery, exciting thriller, engaging suspense, or gory horror. Instead, I got a middle-of-the-road fiction novel.At over 1088 pages, I found the book needlessly long. It was fast-paced, but after a few hundred pages, I didn't feel that much was happening. The middle 700 pages could be deleted without missing much of the story.Considering the length of the book, I would have expected more well-developed characters. Instead, I got an overload of one-dimensional "good guys" and "bad guys." The characters were predictable making the bulk of the book about the bad guys being bad and the good guys acting good. I was disappointed that dome itself didn't play a larger role in the book. It seemed to be more about "what bad guys do when they're put in charge," as a result, I felt like the conclusion didn't really fit with the rest of the book.King's classic, "over the top" focus on sex, violence, and cruelty met my needs and the premise was excellent. The idea of an isolated community is filled with potential. This book was okay, but it could have been excellent.
    • 5/5
      Another Stephen King masterpiece. This book starts in the action and never leaves.
    • 4/5
      First Line: From two thousand feet, where Claudette Sanders was taking a flying lesson, the town of Chester's Mill gleamed in the morning light like something freshly made and just set down.Under the Dome is huge. I never did get around to weighing the thing, but if you chucked it at someone, you could cause some real damage. It comes with a map and a cast of characters. I went through it like a house afire, and the only thing I got tired of was the feeling that I'd strapped a sleeping toddler to the end of my arm.A dome comes down over the small town of Chester's Mill, Maine. If you're inside the dome, you can't get out. If you're outside the dome and want in, you're out of luck. If you happen to be caught halfway, you're really out of luck. You can't dig under the dome, and you can't fly over it, and used car salesman Jim Rennie thinks all his prayers have been answered. The town and the people of Chester's Mill have been put right in the palm of his sanctimonious, greedy, power hungry hand.Although the cast of characters is huge, and the action continuously shifts from place to place, after the initial inspection upon opening the book, I never referred back to either the map or the cast of characters. I grew up in a small town, and I think I mentally put Stephen King's dome down over my own home town and called many of its people by King's names. I would imagine that I'm not the only one who did this. For those who didn't, the map and the cast list will probably come in very handy.The dome immediately becomes a media event, and the military shows up even before CNN and Fox. It doesn't take long before people realize that the dome has an ecological effect on the town, and as people feverishly work to get rid of it, King's characters became etched in my mind: Big Jim Rennie and his spoiled son, young Rennie's pack of no-good friends, "Barbie" the Iraqi war veteran, the newspaperwoman, the minister who isn't so sure she believes in God... it's a large cast, and each character remained clear in my mind.As the pages flew by, character after character paid dearly for hasty decisions, and I didn't always like the consequences. Fortunately King provided just enough comic relief for Under the Dome to avoid becoming overwhelmingly dark. His opinion of the human race isn't very kind; unfortunately, it's often right on the mark, so if you like reading a fast-paced novel about good and evil filled with memorable characters, pick up Under the Dome. With its heft, you'll also be giving yourself a workout.[Note: if you have a low tolerance for gore, I'd advise you to avoid this one. I normally don't think about this because I have a high gore tolerance. Must come from going hunting with my grandfather and cleaning what was brought home to eat.]
    • 4/5
      Great book. Couldn?t stop reading. Dissapointing ending. Cant wait until the tw shows starts
    • 5/5
      King's latest behemoth of a novel, like all of his best works, is more interested in the sociological ramifications of his scenario than in out-and-out horror. The characterization and small-town setting ring true as ever and propel the narrative to its harrowing conclusion. One can read it as a chess game, from placing the pieces in the proper positions on the board, setting them in motion and concluding with an endgame.An invisible force field of unknown origin has descended on Chesters Mill, Maine, literally cutting it off from the rest of the world. Nothing physical can penetrate the dome. The early part of the novel details the various catastrophes which befall the town and its inhabitants as a direct result of the dome's appearance. Then, while the federal government attempts to determine where it came from and how to rescue the town, the classic King battle between good and evil begins to set itself up.King's politics are on full display here, though he has made no secret of them in the past decade or so. The town's First Selectman is ostensibly in charge, though actually accedes to every demand of the power-hungry Second Selectman, who knows he is too gruff and coldhearted to ever be the face of power. The Third Selectman is actually a woman. She has also always followed the proscribed path of the Second Selectman, but undergoes a transformation that allows her to see the error of her ways and endorse the outsider, an Iraq War veteran chosen by the government as their inside man in charge. Bush, Cheney, Powell as Selectmen anyone?Other than the existence of the dome itself, there are no real supernatural elements at play here. Instead, we are witnesses to the horror we are capable of as a people. The drive for power and control leads to environmental catastrophe, a dividing of the townsfolk and a cataclysmic conclusion. Stephen King is at the top of his game here.
    • 4/5
      I read the Kindle edition.A page turner from Stephen King. Lots of characers--at times this worked great, and at times, they seemed like page fillers.The setting was great, and reminded me of The Mist. The science behind the story also seemed well researched on the one-hand and stretching credibility at critical parts. Characters were generally one-dimensional, perhaps because there were so many of them. Mostly good, but I had expected a stronger ending.
    • 3/5
      Rating: 3 of 5Essentially, ants under a magnifying glass at high noon. What will the ants do? Who's holding the magnifying glass, and why do "they" wanna watch all the ants die?The premise - a dome that traps and isolates a small town from the rest of the world - fascinated me. The characters served their purpose within the story, and the main cast was memorable and fully developed. The climax was terrifying and painful to read, especially its aftermath. The ending left me a tad unsatisfied, though: I wanted everyone to know what Big Jim had done; I wanted the "they" to be more than what I had expected from the story's get-go; I wanted to know something about what happened to the survivors after the dome was removed. Overall, I'm happy I read Under the Dome but I won't read it again.As usual for me, in these types of novels, the animal deaths hit the hardest.
    • 4/5
      Well, it's huge, but I knew that going in. The cast of characters is enormous, but King does his usual good job of introducing the important characters and making them memorable. Some of the characters didn't have enough depth and I would have liked to know them better - Brenda Perkins for example. Some of the characters were very stereotypical, but having enjoyed other King works like this one, I think that is just his way of making a point. Or several points. You love the characters that you are supposed to love and you hate those that you are supposed to hate.

      The Stand was my favorite King novel ever. Still is. But this one is very reminiscent of The Stand. I was hoping for a different explanation regarding the sudden appearance and source of the Dome; however, the book isn't so much about the Dome itself but about the possibility or propensity for good or evil inside each of the characters.

      I was hooked from the groundhog on and couldn't put it down. For being so lengthy the book was an easy read - very quick. Once you are into the story it is hard to put down. Stephen King does an excellent job of proving, once again, why he is the master....
    • 4/5
      Bought this book on a whim because the story premise sounded interesting to me. I've never seen the spin-off television show so I went into reading the novel with no bias. I was very happy with the book as a whole, good story, fun characters and of course King shows his skill at creating a "bad-guy" you love to hate. The book is quite long but the short chapters I believe make you keep up the reading pace. Would definitely recommend.
    • 5/5
      I truly felt as if Under the Dome was a return to old Stephen King. The book portrays a fascinating microcosm and I would say it is one of his best, most recent books to date. Avid Stephen King readers will not be put off by the amount of pages :) Many have compared this novel to The Stand with good reason; never since The Stand have I felt the apocalyptic chills and the same sense of wonder as I did with this novel.Happy reading!
    • 2/5
      TV Show is better.... Not Steven King's best work.
    • 5/5
      Well, that was an insane ride from the King of horror himself. A fantastic read/listen that'll keep you on the edge of your seat until the end.
    • 2/5
      I haven't read any Stephen King for quite a few years, but decided to give this one a try when it was offered to me. I found the story well-written but lengthy and found myself wishing it would just get to the point. In the end, I was less than impressed with this book. It is not something I would recommend to any but a Stephen King fan.
    • 2/5
      I’ll give it the benefit of 2 stars since I can’t make it through and after skimming multiple reviews and knowing so many either endured or skipped through to the end only to be disappointed - I just can’t. Made it to chapter 7 and I really can’t stand any of the characters… and I swear the term cotton picking has been used no less than 100xs so far. Combine that with the overwhelming religious references and the absurdity of a dome just randomly settling over a town and I can’t see putting in another 28hrs.
    • 5/5
      What can I say. Steve did it again. Bravo! Bravo!
    • 5/5
      Loved the reader. Such a great listen. I highly recommend.
    • 5/5
      The story follows a small town in Maine that has been trapped under a mysterious dome and begins to unravel under a corrupt leader. As a huge Stephen King fan, I gave this book 5 stars partly out of loyalty and partly because 99% of the book deserved it. Like most King novels, the story grabs you from the beginning and manages to keep you interested for 1000+ pages. There is never a boring or slow moment in the whole novel. The characters are interesting and in the way of most King characters, either really likable or absolutely detestable. Big Jim is scary in his normalcy and even more frightening, is the reaction of the majority towns people, who blindly follow such evil. However, I found the ending to be a little disappointing - it was sudden and parts were a little bit confusing. I also felt like some of the deaths at the end were unnecessary, but that is just a personal thing. Aside from that minor criticism, the book was really entertaining.
    • 5/5
      It was a really good read. I enjoyed it. It keeps you guessing and the characters are so well written. It draws you in.
    • 4/5
      Good story, crappy ending.....could have used a little more editing. The premise of the story is very interesting and wondering how the dome came to be and if the town will survive is well told. However, I found the stereotyped characters way too predictable and it took some of the enjoyment away from the story for me. A very long story, yet sometimes felt contrived.