Doesn't work for me ... 2010-01-05

Reviewer: J. Beaulieu

I've been reading Steve King since he first published "Salem's Lot". I've reviewed him; I've interviewed him; I like him.

But I don't like this book.

I know it isn't fair to review a book until one has read the entire tale, but this book hasn't caught me during its first 200 pages, and thus the thought of wading through the remaining 1400 pages is just too bleak.

Bleakness is probably the issue with the entire book -- a very dark, depressing bleakness.

I keep looking for someone I LIKE -- but whenever that begins to happen, that someone is immediately killed off in one fashion or another.

And it happens over and over and over again.

I can't imagine what King was thinking. He usually has a relatively upbeat view of the world and humanity.

But "Dome" has nothing upbeat in it -- at least in the first 200 pages. [99% of writers I'll give 50 pages to make me like their book. King deserves more than 50 pages -- but I think 200 is enough.]

There's no explanation of the dome, no curiosity about how the dome came to be there, and very little attempt to try to get rid of it -- or choose to keep it, depending on the dome's reason for existence.

There's no hope in Dome City, either. Just wait a few minutes [or read a page or two] and someone else [human or otherwise] will die. That's a given.

There's no likeable character in Dome City, which makes things even worse. No explanations, no hope, no one to like, nothing POSITIVE is contained in the first 200 pages.

I no longer want to read more, because there's no one inside the dome I care about. No one I like.

And I have to wonder WHY. This is so un-Kingish. He's a very nice man, a very kind man, a man who cares about others. I like him a lot.

Which makes that nagging WHY even more puzzling.

All I can think of at this point is "Needful Things."

In "Needful Things," King decided he wasn't going to write about Castle Rock anymore, and to ensure everyone that he never would, he blew Castle Rock right off the map. Kaboom!

I get the same feeling about "Under the Dome". Has King decided to blow HIMSELF up? Is he weary of writing, weary of a life complicated by fame? Has he decided not to write any more books?

I hope not. He's a better writer than most people give him credit for.

But the Wonderful World of Books out there has kept King solidly inside the camp of "horror fiction." Whether he wants to be there or not.

One would think King could write his own ticket now, and not worry about raising hackles. But he's still expected to produce what he's almost always produced before. Horror.

Well, I'm very jaded when it comes to horror fiction, and although I usually like King's work, he's only managed to give me the creeps once. Just one time.

When I first read "Misery," I saw inside that book the cry of an author who wants to be taken seriously as an author of more than genre fiction. He's certainly got the credentials and skills to write "literary" novels if he chooses. But since "Misery," he's only produced one book I can recall that did not end up on the horror shelves -- his book "On Writing."

The book did well. It was the perfect point for King to pivot in other directions if he wanted to. But he hasn't done it -- yet.

As I indicated earlier, maybe "Under the Dome" IS King's way of pivoting out of horror fiction entirely. "Dome" is not a happy book, nor is it a hopeful book.

I find it to be like a lot of RPGs -- slash and hack, and get bigger and better at the slashing and hacking.

And I'm about to shelve the book, with the bulk of its contents remaining unread.

Because I don't like "Dome."

And I keep wondering: WHY?

Meh. Mediocre King but, as always, a fun and fast read. 2010-01-05

Reviewer: J. A. Edwards

I stand by what I've stated in my other reviews of King's works that this author could write a description of what he had for breakfast and make it a fun and interesting tale.

That said I found "Under the Dome" to be one of King's lesser works. As always he provides an interesting set of conditions and characters and spins a fun tale of their social interactions under duress but in this case it all seems pretty familiar and scripted and contrived. I found an onerous number of logic holes and plot unbelievabilities and predictable story turns -- granted it is a work of fiction but it is the task of the author, particularly one as capable as King, to peddle the unbelievable and paste over irrationalities so as to make them palatable. It's a bad sign when the reader finds themselves too often saying, "Why doesn't just do this?" or "Why don't the authorities outside the dome just try that?" If something is obvious to the casual reader it should be obvious to the story's characters as well.

I will say that I'm a great Stephen King fan and read pretty much anything he writes. I DID enjoy this book but not as much as I'd hoped nor as much as I should have given the opportunities inherent in the story's premise IMHO.

If you're a King fan, sure, add this to your collection. If you're new to King, he has other, MANY other, books which are MUCH better -- he is, after all, the master (dare I say "king") of horror and suspense and the unusual.

Stephen King did it again! 2010-01-05

Reviewer: Carol M. Tomao

Bought as a gift and waited to hear how the recipient enjoyed the book. She is getting chills and isn't half way through the book yet. I'm sure she is sleeping with her light on again as she does with all of Stephen King's books.

King makes you HATE certain people.....(Rennie for one!) 2010-01-05

Reviewer: Helen T. Diehl

Under The Dome was an enjoyable read. I thought it was fast paced & it definitely kept you wondering WHAT would happen next. MANY of the reviews give you the synopsis (& more) of what UTD is about so I won't do that too. Let's just say I REALLY LIKED the first 1000 pages but the last 74 were somewhat slow & disappointing. I really wish it could have had a better ending. I often make guesses as to how a book will end but this one kept me wondering pretty much til the last few pages......If the ender was better I would have given 5 stars.

Fast paced epic thriller 2010-01-05

Reviewer: drebbles

It is an ordinary fall day in Chester's Mill, Maine - ordinary that is until a dome suddenly appears, surrounding the entire town and cutting it off from the rest of the world. Some residents don't survive the initial impact and as events go on some might say they were the lucky ones. Technically, Iraq Vet Dale "Barbie" Barbara should be in charge, but used-car salesman (and second selectmen) Jim Rennie has other ideas. Soon the entire town is in a battle to survive and not all will succeed.

Stephen King's "Under the Dome" is a huge (over 1,000 pages) epic novel in the tradition of his early novel "The Stand" and while it is not quite as good as "The Stand" it is one of his best books in a long time. Like "The Stand" , "Under the Dome" has a cast of thousands, but unlike the former, there is no wondering who the good guys are and who the bad guys are in this book - the characters are either good or bad, with very little shading. Also, while "The Stand" covered virtually the entire United States, all of the action in this book takes place in Chester's Mill. This allows King to do one of the things he does best - capture small-town life in the various characters that live there. King has created several memorable characters including Barbie, Rennie, Julia Shumway, Andy Sanders, Rose Twitchell, Linda and Rusty Everett, Junior Rennie, "Scarecrow" Joe McClatchy, and more (King kindly supplies not only a list of characters, but a map of Chester's Mill at the beginning of the book). Because this is a King book, there are many deaths - both the good guys and the bad guys.

Although "Under the Dome" is over 1000 pages long it is a quick read as King gets the action going right from the very beginning. He says in his author's notes at the back of the book that he first tried to write the book over 30 years ago and then set it aside overwhelmed at the sheer magnitude of the book, which actually makes the novel stronger as it really fits into a post 9/11 world. While there are some supernatural aspects to the book, the strongest part of the book is the all too human characters in their struggle for power and survival. King has never been a subtle writer and telegraphs several deaths before they happen - which can be annoying when some authors do it but King is a master at it and has you squirming while waiting for the doomed character to go. Several of the deaths are quite gruesome and you can almost picture King rubbing his hands with glee while writing certain pages. He also is a master of creating characters you care about no matter how minor a character they are, and then killing them off -consider yourself warned! As for the explanation of the dome, it is the weakest part of the book, a fact which fortunately does not ruin the book.

"Under the Dome" is an excellent novel by Stephen King and I had a hard time letting the characters go, long after I finished reading it.