# Should I buy Under the Dome?"



## Guest (Jan 30, 2011)

Well, should I?

I've been a Stephen King fan for a long time now, but frankly, he ain't the King in my mind anymore. But today, I wanted to read some King, so, like an addict, I saw his _Under the Dome_, book and I thought okay, maybe I'll pick it up (preferably used paperback).

The trouble is this. I've been pretty much disappointed by his work now for the last few years. He totally botched the ending of the last couple of Dark Tower books (inserting himself into the story? Come _on_! And _Lisey's Story_? _Duma Key_? What were _those_?)

I realize that millions of folks have read the above and probably enjoyed the fudge outta them. That's fine. But I've decided that I much prefer King's earlier stuff, namely almost everything before _TommyKnockers_. So, if anyone thinks that _Under the Dome_ is similar in style and tone to his earlier work, and that it's worth my time and money, let me know.

Same goes for his new short story collection too.


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

I haven't actually finished Under the Dome, I have been listening to the audiobook slowly over the last couple of months.... The audiobook version is just terrific. I don't think I would be enjoying it nearly as much were I reading it myself. I've got about an hour left to go, I really hope the ending isn't lame.


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## MAGreen (Jan 5, 2009)

I have been listeneing to the audiobook too and I am loving it so far.


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## John Hartness (Aug 3, 2009)

I thought it was okay, but not worth the time I invested in it. It was good, but I would have enjoyed it more in half the words.


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## Cardinal (Feb 24, 2010)

Bleekness, you and I feel the same way about Stephen King.  I almost bought Under the Dome awhile ago, but I haven't like his more recent novels.  I decided to hold off, but every now and then think about getting it on Kindle (so I can pick the book up, lol).


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## PG4003 (Patricia) (Jan 30, 2010)

I am a die-hard Stephen King fan, and I say go for it.  When I first got my K2i in January of 2010, I knew my first book I read on it had to be a King book.  I already had Under the Dome in DTB and it was SO large.  So I bought it and downloaded onto my Kindle and loved it.  So much easier to read than that big thick books.


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## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

ACTUALLY MY POST COULD BE CONSIDERED A MILD SPOILER SO SKIP IT IF YOU WISH

VERY MILD SPOILER ALERT 


It had several very good tense sequences at times but overall I think the one time read is all I'm going to give it

I feel he could have spent a few dozen additional pages on the ending itself (fear not- no spoilers!).

Like what did several characters think of the secret of the Dome after that secret was revealed?
The ending seemed rushed (to me)

But alas...what is printed is printed.

I much prefer his latest anthology in Full Dark No Stars

His newest novel for this year should be announced in a month or two

I'm still a big fan of his but UTD was a miss in my opinion Sorry


END VERY MILD SPOILER


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## Harry Shannon (Jul 30, 2010)

I thought it was enjoyable, if a bit bloated. Full Dark, No Stars is a better read overall, probably because of the demands of the form (novella) King really, really excels at short fiction. His early novels remain brilliant too, perhaps because they are so sleek and tightly edited. I do think he is returning to form in a way, after years of cranking out too many novels.


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## Tris (Oct 30, 2008)

I bought it, but of course I bought it when the Agency Model was just beginning.  So even though it was new and jumped in price, I got it for the original price I had placed my pre-order for.

That said, I have been getting very mixed reviews.  I don't pay too much to reviews, but I think the price and the heft of the book pushed me over to keep.  I read a +900 hardcover DTB recently and geez was my wrists tired!  Not to mention the looks and comments I kept getting...all a bit distracting.  Atleast with my Kindle it's not too bad and not very long.

Tris


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

brickwallwriter said:


> ACTUALLY MY POST COULD BE CONSIDERED A MILD SPOILER SO SKIP IT IF YOU WISH
> 
> VERY MILD SPOILER ALERT
> 
> ...


There is a button that hides texts under a black line that the reader has to scroll over to reveal. The button says "SP" and it's right next up there with the


Spoiler



font changes


 and smiley faces.


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## NeroAZ (Aug 27, 2010)

if you have not purchased already, I'd say don't..

I'm about 4% in and am seriously looking for something else to read.


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## leedobbins (Feb 5, 2011)

I read it, I liked it..... but it's not like his earlier stuff (IMHO) so you might be disappointed.  I thought the ending was kind of weak actually but overall it was good to read.

Lee


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## Harry Shannon (Jul 30, 2010)

Actually, I should have mentioned the ending earlier. I didn't care for how it wrapped up, and agree it felt a tad rushed, but when a book is that long all concerned are probably looking forward to getting it finished


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## L.J. Sellers novelist (Feb 28, 2010)

Maybe you should borrow it from Kindle's new lending program. That way if you don't like it, you haven't wasted your money.
Here's a link to the Kindle Lending Club. 
http://www.kindlelendingclub.com
L.J.


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## EllenR (Mar 31, 2009)

I love King but this was one of the very few books in my life that I did not finish. I didn't care for the characters or the pace of the book. It frustrated and bored me, so I eventually gave up reading it. It's pretty bad if my curiosity about the ending wasn't enough to carry me forward. I've read everything else he's ever written but just couldn't make myself finish Under The Dome.


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## R. M. Reed (Nov 11, 2009)

I liked Under the Dome quite a bit. He wrote a lot of it years ago, so it had more of the flavor of his classic books than some other recent ones.


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

I finally finished the audiobook last week, and I loved it. The narration was perfect.


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## TheRiddler (Nov 11, 2010)

Well like most on here I am a big time SK fan, and felt this was a return to old.

Was it a classic like the Stand? No
Was it as good as something like Needful Things? Absolutely.

Only issue I had with it was the ending, but since when has SK ever managed a decent ending? It's hard to say what I didn't like about the ending without spoiling it, so I wont say anything here, although I would say it didn't ruin the whole experience for me - it just felt a tiny bit deflating after the book.

Also, although the book is huge, like most SK stuff, you find yourself rattling through it at a rate of knots, so it doesn't feel long (unless like me you have the DTB version - your wrists wont thank you....) 

Edit:
Oops, forgot to add.......my recommendation would be to buy it


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## Zell (Dec 27, 2010)

I read it last Fall and really liked it.

There are some hit and miss spots in the book but for the most part I thought it was a good read and got me going on Stephen King books.


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## Zell (Dec 27, 2010)

Harry Shannon said:


> I thought it was enjoyable, if a bit bloated.


Yes, in a minor way. The Stand was really bloated.


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## Ray Rhamey author (Jan 6, 2011)

It was good for me, overall. I really enjoyed the good-guy characters, though the bad guys sometimes went over the top, but that's King for you. I enjoyed the scope of the story.


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## Holly B (Nov 15, 2010)

If you haven't enjoyed his more recent works, I don't think you'll like "Under the Dome." My husband was a die-hard King fan, always bought all his books, and he too has been disappointed with King's books last few years. He made it to about page 150 of "Under the Dome" before putting it down.


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## jimbronyaur (Feb 9, 2011)

Okay... here's the deal with King...

The book is insanely LONG.  However I will say that it moves so fast, you don't realize how quick you're reading it.  Also bear in mind that this book had been burning in his mind since the 70's.  I believe he said he wrote the first chapter and realized it was going to be a long book and decided to wait.  

This books is not so much on the horror side of say Pet Semetary (buried dead, they come back) or Tommyknockers (spaceship causing things) or IT (monster coming back)... what it does is take a town and seals it off from the world and explores all the emotions and happenings.  Sure, there are scary parts in the sense of violence and masterminding plans, etc... but those are more or less scary because they can pertain to the real world.  I know the book was compared with Bush and Cheney, etc... and I could see it a little bit in there.

IF you are looking to read something scary and supernatural - old King - this isn't going to do it.  If you want to see an insane complex cast of characters that is written damn near perfect, then read the book.  

I will also say that if you are a King fan from then and now, read it.  Especially if you can get it used, etc.


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## WilliamM (Feb 10, 2009)

Bleekness said:


> Well, should I?
> 
> I've been a Stephen King fan for a long time now, but frankly, he ain't the King in my mind anymore. But today, I wanted to read some King, so, like an addict, I saw his _Under the Dome_, book and I thought okay, maybe I'll pick it up (preferably used paperback).
> 
> ...


well as a long time King fan myself I gotta this one was a huge disappointment..and the ending was the most ridiculous ending ive ever read from King.. its too bad it was so long ...I enjoyed Full Dark No Stars quite a bit more..


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## Mary Pat Hyland (Feb 14, 2011)

Got it for two bucks at a library sale. A steal!
It takes quite a while to read, but I loved it. He creates an entire village of characters, each fully fleshed and believable. The book is classic King, so if you don't like gore, move along. As for the characters, King has the insight of Shakespeare into modern man. Some of the writing is so beautiful it made me terribly envious.
I bet the audio version is quite an experience.


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## NeroAZ (Aug 27, 2010)

I must revise my opinion.  I never did finish the ebook, however I'm about 75% through the audiobook now and am really enjoying it.


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## R. M. Reed (Nov 11, 2009)

I understand the version he partly wrote years ago was called "The Cannibals." In the final book, the town falls apart and horrible things happen within a few days, when they still have food in the town. So the focus is on how people react to the dome and the paranoia it brings out. I enjoyed it a lot. I have heard people say they didn't like the ending, but really the explanation of why the dome exists doesn't really matter, it's what people do about it.


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## wholesalestunna (Aug 5, 2011)

I've found Steven King's books to be hit or miss for me.  Some I have been able to finish, some I have quit reading half way through such as the Stand.  I find that sometimes he just writes too much unnecessary stuff and while there's nothing wrong with that as he's a great author, my mind will start to drift and I have a hard time following the story.  

Under the Dome as been on my TBR list for a while, and when it went on sale for 3 or 4 dollars not too long ago, I picked it up.  I'm on page 850 or so now and I'm loving it.  I would definitely recommend this one to others. Its a very original story and I honestly have no clue where it's going next.


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