Under the Dome: A Novel
Dec 2009 · Simon and Schuster
4.6star
1.8K reviewsreport
Ebook
1120
Pages
family_home
Eligible
info
reportRatings and reviews aren’t verified Learn More
About this ebook
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).
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).
Ratings and reviews
4.6
1.8K reviews
Werner “V” Hoefner
- Flag inappropriate
- Show review history
April 30, 2024
it was ok. It's definitely not worth the price. I have a problem with the story, which is packed with cliches, no one unexpected dies, love is stronger than anything, etc. the vocabulary seemed unnecessarily convoluted, especially for a horror fiction. it transmits arrogance from the author rather than a connection to the every day reader. and the plot development just gets more and more ridiculous. there's always a predictable magical gadget that appears from nowhere, brought in by the "least expected" character, and it magically solves everything with no explanation. if you like vanilla horror this is definitely the book for you.
River L
- Flag inappropriate
December 26, 2024
I will have to say I like the TV 📺 series better than the book 📖 , however both are wonderful. Stephen King is a King 🤴 himself and an absolute genius. He's my favorite author and director
A Google user
- Flag inappropriate
December 7, 2010
Just finished reading this huge novel last night and while I basically enjoyed it, I am disappointed. The scope of this story only includes one small town but the characters are legion. Almost to the point that it was hard to keep up with who was who and doing what. I liked the premise and as usual King's ability to create characters and dialog that ring true was pretty spot on. But, overall this fell flat. The entire story takes place within the span of a week or so and yet the mayhem that ensues is pretty extreme. The "evil" selectman who tries to take advantage of the situation and the townsfolk (sheep), really act much faster and more violently than would be realistic. This tiny slice of society falls apart in a matter of days which just never seemed believable to me. especially when you consider that they still had the use of cell phones and the internet. Given months for this story to unfold I would have been able to go along with it but days was too short a time for all of the drama that ensues. That and the ending was very unsatisfying. The story behind the dome, why it happened, and how was just kind of thrown in there and then at the finale was summed up in a few pages. The dome is always present and there but there is very little interaction with it and the mystery behind it. This is mostly a story about people dealing with each other in a weird situation, but it was so over the top and illogical that I couldn't get completely into it. This was typical Stephen King as far as the style and characterizations and dialog which is always good but too many other things brought this down for me. This is far from being his best work.
About the author
Stephen King is the author of more than sixty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His recent work includes Never Flinch, the short story collection You Like It Darker (a New York Times Book Review top ten horror book of 2024), Holly (a New York Times Notable Book of 2023), 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.
Rate this ebook
Tell us what you think.
Reading information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.
