Under the Dome

[justcheckin]

Who else is reading this? What do you think so far? I am a good 100 pages in and I have an idea where it might be going. Anybody care to comment on what you have read so far? Please use the spoiler button when discussing plot information.

[Pacino86845]

I've only seen the cover, but I think it is wicked-awesome.

[Cpt Kirks 2pay]

WHO'S IT ABOUT?! WHO'S IT ABOUT?!?!?!

I hope it's Alain and Cuthbert and co.!!! I found them so much more interesting characters than Roland's new Ka-tet!!! They're the ones that need exploring more, not what unnecesssary events happened between Glass and Calla. They walked. Nuff said.

EDIT. Oh, it's NOT The Dark Tower novel King was talking about. It's the book that he did press for that made him talk about the 8th book. I love Maine myself!

[justcheckin]

Yeah, it's pretty fast paced at the moment... lots of wicked things happen right off the bat. Poor little groundhog...

[justcheckin]

I got a little farther... it's all very Jericho (tv show) at the moment. I really can't believe I am the only geek reading this... come on who else. I wanna chat about it.

[Fievel]

I got a little farther... it's all very Jericho (tv show) at the moment. I really can't believe I am the only geek reading this... come on who else. I wanna chat about it.

I have the audiobook but won't likely start it for a bit. It may be after the new year before I do.
Sorry.

I probably should stay out of this thread until I do, too.

[justcheckin]

i'm about 400 pages into under the dome right now, and i feel like, having gotten this far, i have to finish. but i'm not sure i want to.
this has to be one of the clearest examples of king's inability to write decent, believable characters who aren't cliche'd and don't speak in terrible dialogue that is nearly george-lucasian at times. every single caricature, i mean, character in this book, i've seen or read somewhere else... often even in one of king's own books. and considering the book is a huge ensemble character piece, without a lot of plot going on just yet, it's not very encouraging for the rest of the book. i'm just hoping things will get going, i'll start finding out what the hell the dome is and who's behind and so on, and maybe then things will get more interesting. though i'm afraid it may end up being more about the townspeople turning on each other, forming sides, etc... which would be fine, if any of the characters were interesting or i had any emotional investment in these people, which i don't.

you know what this book reminds me of right now? it reminds me of that tv show, jericho. that's not really a good thing.

I think I said the same thing... it's Jericho meets the Mist. I made a topic thread for Under The Dome if you want to blab there. I am about the same place as you in the book. I had to stop for a week or two for the same reasons that you are struggling to keep going.

[TheBaxter]

i guess the jericho similarity is pretty obvious. i can see what you mean by the mist too.

and speaking as someone who probably has very similar views to king on politics and religion... i wish he'd keep that shit out of the books. the political references are really off-putting. do you really need to be that obvious as to make the villains of the story into obama-haters? and no, having a prius-driving, token "republican" reporter as one of the "good guys", who the lead character even says doesn't seem much like a republican, doesn't balance it out. maybe if SHE was always referring to obama as a commie, but was still a good guy, that would make it more interesting. but king is just too ham-handed with his characters to think of something like that.

[justcheckin]

Yeah, the political references are off-putting. The story would be fine without them.

[TheBaxter]

also, if one more person in this book gives another character a "fist-bump" i'm gonna scream. wtf? did king watch obama and his wife do the fist-bump when he won the nomination and suddenly think "hey, i'm gonna put that on EVERY SINGLE PAGE of my new book!"???

[Fievel]

also, if one more person in this book gives another character a "fist-bump" i'm gonna scream. wtf? did king watch obama and his wife do the fist-bump when he won the nomination and suddenly think "hey, i'm gonna put that on EVERY SINGLE PAGE of my new book!"???

The fist bump is over-played in real life, so I'm not surprised to see it overused in a King novel.
When people reach out to me for a fist bump, I often extend my pinkie finger. It almost always freaks people out.

[TheBaxter]

i must live a sheltered life or something, because i've almost never had anyone fist-bump me. jocks and frat guys, i can see them overusing it, but in this book, nearly every character at one point or another gives someone a fist bump. i'm waiting for the scene where some kid on a skateboard rides past a little old lady and she gives him a fist bump.

[Fievel]

i must live a sheltered life or something, because i've almost never had anyone fist-bump me. jocks and frat guys, i can see them overusing it, but in this book, nearly every character at one point or another gives someone a fist bump. i'm waiting for the scene where some kid on a skateboard rides past a little old lady and she gives him a fist bump.

My daughter got baptized recently (not my idea... not my idea at all).... and after the pastor concluded the ritual he gave my wife, myself, and the two godparents a fist bump in front of the whole congregation. If the thought of my child being indoctrinated against her will didn't sicken me, the fist bumping sure as hell did.
I'm in a dart league... and everyone fist bumps there as well. If I'm particularly drunk I'll say "Oooooh! Touch hands! Touch hands!"

I loathe social hand touching (high-fives fall in this category).

[TheBaxter]

geeze. i didn't realize fist-bumping had spread like such a vile infection.
when it goes out of style in a few years or so, this book will look VERY dated.

i have to say though, that it's better than shaking hands, which must have been a custom invented by pharmaceutical companies as a conspiracy to spread disease so more people would be forced to buy their drugs. i think the japanese have the right idea: bowing.

[BuckyO'harre]

*Note to self: No touching at meetups. Try universal greeting. Bring lots of cookies.*

[justcheckin]

i must live a sheltered life or something, because i've almost never had anyone fist-bump me. jocks and frat guys, i can see them overusing it, but in this book, nearly every character at one point or another gives someone a fist bump. i'm waiting for the scene where some kid on a skateboard rides past a little old lady and she gives him a fist bump.

My daughter got baptized recently (not my idea... not my idea at all).... and after the pastor concluded the ritual he gave my wife, myself, and the two godparents a fist bump in front of the whole congregation. If the thought of my child being indoctrinated against her will didn't sicken me, the fist bumping sure as hell did.
I'm in a dart league... and everyone fist bumps there as well. If I'm particularly drunk I'll say "Oooooh! Touch hands! Touch hands!"

I loathe social hand touching (high-fives fall in this category).

Fievel... the preacher fist-bump almost made me spit coke through my nose. Thanks... that is hilarious.

On the topic though... yeah, lots of cliche type stuff happening in the book that will date it but King likes to do that. I've seen it in many books. I generally like the story so far. I am on page ~600 btw for the following spoiler.

The cruise missile things seems like something the military would do but the acid thing didn't seem scientifically sound, especially after the missile didn't work. It just sortof took up space for me.

I don't really like how quickly the story killed off Brenda Perkins. That was too easy of a way to get rid of a character that I rather liked and wanted to have a bigger role in getting the last word in over Big Jim. There wasn't even a good struggle.

There are too many clueless people in high positions in this town. I don't think there would be that many idiots running a small town. I could see them in collaboration about something or being a part of the 'good ol boy' system but not just plain stupid.

The 3 kids that found the whatever with the purple light found it too easy but I like the idea of them being the ones to look for it with the geiger counter.

The things I do like are the characters Rusty and Dale. I like that the book is setting them up to be the heros of the story. I was a little disappointed in the murder set up but at this point it didn't need to be a super duper crime scene. I have a feeling that Dale will be exonerated soon. I don't see him staying in the cell long or Big Jim keeping everything in balance much longer. There was a part that made a point to say that a specific person was the FIRST to commit suicide so I have a feeling that there are going to be a lot of those and that maybe one of the bigger characters is gonna do themselves in.

How far are you guys?

[TheBaxter]

i'm on about page 700, and i'm trying to get it finished this week since it's due back to the library next week. not much to add, except i do agree that dale is the best character in the book. (he reminds me a lot of that guy from jericho who was also an ex-iraq war veteran though)

he is the least annoying character, that's for sure. though i hate the fact that everyone calls him barbie. in general, the "good guys" seem to be written a whole lot better than the bad guys, especially big jim who is a total caricature. the goon cops, the idiot selectman, the over-the-top preacher, are all written very lazily. i'm holding out hope that big jim's son may become more interesting though, he started off a cliche like the others but there are hints at something going on with him that could develop into something worthwhile. i'm probably getting my hopes up for nothing though, king will probably drop the ball like he often does with that particular archetype, the "wild card" character who's unpredictable actions throw a wrench in the works.

[justcheckin]

I finished....

I want to think about it a bit before I write anything major about it but I liked it. One of the chapters was written like the first chapter of Black House. I think it is funny when he has the third person perspective actually talk to the reader in terms of "we."

Earlier I wrote that it was like Jericho meets The Mist... now I think it is still those two but they all meet the Simpsons episode where Lisa creates a civilization in a petri dish (or the South Park episode where Cartman has an aquarium of Sea People) and the three of them go on a date with Lord of the Flies (we all know how King loves that book).

[Brit Pop]

I got this book for Christmas.... couldnt stop reading it and finished it yesterday!!

I'm a huge King fan so loved it! No DT refernces as far as I noticed, King always said there were refs in all his other novels - did I miss it?

This will make an awesome movie, hopefully not a TV movie like The Langoliers....

Big Jim Rennie - Gary Busey

Junior Rennie - Jake Busey

how good would that be!!!!!!

[justcheckin]

I got this book for Christmas.... couldnt stop reading it and finished it yesterday!!

I'm a huge King fan so loved it! No DT refernces as far as I noticed, King always said there were refs in all his other novels - did I miss it?

This will make an awesome movie, hopefully not a TV movie like The Langoliers....

Big Jim Rennie - Gary Busey

Junior Rennie - Jake Busey

how good would that be!!!!!!

In this link, which is also in the Stephen King thread somewhere, is King at the book signing for Under the Dome. Anyways, he talks about Under the Dome being a possible TV show with a specific number of episodes.
Video of King at a Walmart book signing

As far as the DT reference, I was thinking... In Dark Tower, there are many times where the characters talk about many worlds and worlds within worlds. I can't remember which part but I remember there being something about how the action of one person could unintentionally destroy millions like stepping on a blade of grass that contained a universe within it. Anyway... the whole idea of ants under a magnifying glass is kinda like that... a god-like being(s) or alien(s) looking down on humans who look down on ants and so on... worlds within worlds. Other than that... I kept thinking... "Can you say God Bomb," everytime the story went to Chef and Andy Sanders. LOL

[TheBaxter]

i finished the book last night. to me, this book is a prime example of what makes king such a frustrating writer. he can tell a good story, and can write some very eloquent passages, and then, in the same book, undermine it all with cliche's, poorly written characters, and bloat. the first half of this book was a real chore to get through, and when the book is 1000 pages, that makes it about a 500-page chore. the 2nd half really picks up, things finally start moving, and the ending is very good. i don't want to say too much in the non-spoilery section, but i did like how dark it gets at the end, and i was satisfied with the explanation for the dome. the thing is, all the set up and establishing of characters and relationships in the first half, as much of a slog as it is, is kind of necessary to make the ending work. like pretty much everything king writes, it could have been condensed, but that goes with the territory for king. does the end make it all worthwhile? maybe. i'm not sure yet. i think one of my big issues, especially during the 1st half, is that every few pages or so, there's something that just completely takes me out of the story... usually some small thing, like a fist-bump, or an obama reference, or a lame line of trying-to-be-hip teenage lingo. every word out of benny drake's mouth, for instance, pretty much made me cringe. i think king needs to realize he's a 60-something old fogey, and stop attempting to be diablo cody when he writes dialogue for kids and teens. 60 year old guys shouldn't be trying to channel their inner skateboarder. those are all small things, but they build up, and for me, when i ended up rolling my eyes at something every few pages or so, it just really takes me out of the story and is a distraction. it's a shame, because underneath the cliches and crap lines of dialogue is a pretty good story, with something to say, and if king could just restrain himself a bit, he could have expressed his theme and message more powerfully. but it does get much better towards the end, so at least there's that.

now for the spoilery part...

i think the story really picks up once dale gets arrested and the townspeople start going a bit crazier. that's when the action picks up. i liked that king had the balls to basically kill off the entire town, and some of the kids (i was especially glad to see that little aidan kid go, and benny drake). he doesn't quite have the balls to off any of the MAIN main characters though, like dale or rusty or julia. big jim was given a fitting end. also, i was worried that the explanation for the dome would be either a) aliens testing us to see how we would react, or b) aliens trying to teach us a lesson. either one of those would have been just another sci-fi done-to-death cliche. that it was just aliens being cruel for their own amusement was therefore more satisfying.

i think the main theme of the story is cruelty - our capacity for committing cruelty, enduring cruelty, and also, how that cruelty affects others. i'm not entirely sure what king is trying to say ABOUT cruelty, but i think the message is, to be more aware of how your actions affect others. that something you do without a second thought could completely change another person's life. that you may be casually engaging in something, without knowing or realizing it, that is causing a lot of hurt. i'm sure there's more there, i really did feel king was trying to make a statement, not necessarily a political one (though i think there's a strong aspect to that, and all the political references and iraq references are certainly no accident) but maybe a little larger in scale than that.

i do think his theme would have been handled more strongly if he had not been so blatant with the political references, especially the obama and bush and cheney stuff. also, if he had made the villains more well-rounded characters. the cruelest (human) character in the book is big jim, and he's such a cliche, i never bought into him as a real person. i think king wanted to explore different aspects of cruelty in different characters (the shame of dale over the cruelty he allowed to happen, the shame of julia when she suffered the cruelty of the other kids, the lack of shame and remorse in the more villainous characters) but the bad guys are either too stereotypical or too underdeveloped to ever become believable, so he doesn't hit the right note. a better central villain would have improved that point. for example, it's pretty clear right from the beginning who the "bad guys" are. i think it would have been more effective if we saw some of these characters develop into evil men as the story progressed, rather than starting out evil to begin with.

i do think king draws from his standard stockpile of characters for this book. i guess after you've written a couple hundred books or however many it is, you begin to run out of new character ideas. i've seen big jim rennie in plenty of king books. same for dale and rusty. the teenage characters, like joe mcclatchey (borrowed from that kid in salems lot) or benny drake (the typical "smart-mouthed kid" archetype that king used as the basis for eddie dean, richie tozier from IT, or corey feldman's character in The Body/Stand By Me -- being autobiographical and all, i'm sure whoever the real kid king grew up with and based that character on is the same one he keeps writing into other stories). i always imagine king, when he writes a book, starts off by choosing a few characters from this bank, adding one or two new touches to make them different enough, and then puts them in his story. in the case of a book like this, with this many characters, i think he used them all.

[justcheckin]

ok... let's see

Baxter, you have a lot of good remarks that I agree with. The first 500 pages or so slowed me down. I bought the book the week it came out and had only gotten to around 450 last week. I kept putting it down. Once I got back into it, the rest I did in about 3 or 4 days tops. I also think that it takes those 500 pages of character development to understand the people and know them well enough to predict how they would react. I wasn't really surprised by anything that happened in the book. I didn't consider anything a major plot twist or a surprise, everything was expected. I liked the ending as well and I think King's books are ending better all the time.

The teenager speak didn't bother me too much. I teach high school and although the characters weren't typical of teens, I think there are some that might be close. King is much better at writing younger children or coming of age pre-teen kids. I think Jake Chambers in DT and Jack Sawyer in The Talisman are excellent examples of his understanding even though they are really the same character. I don't think anyone truly gets teenage lingo correct even if you are totally immersed. It changes all the time.

I still think that the political agenda stuff was not as important as King made them. The Democrats good and Republicans bad theme comes through too loud. I don't really care about that stuff... I just want to know what the towns people are doing. LOL They were cut off and I don't think it matters who was president, Big Jim wouldn't have listened. It was funny that towards the end Barbie tells Julia that she is less and less republican all that time.

I haven't figured out yet if I like Junior's character. I like the whole brain tumor thing... and the paranoid plot against him. I kinda wanted him to reek a little more havoc in town than he did on his last run to kill Barbie.

It didn't bother me that most characters were either good or evil from the beginning. I wish more would have awoken to good or succumbed to evil during the story. Like Henry Morrison who was the cop at the end who took charge at the dome reunion or Sloppy Sam who at the end tries to make up for his own evil during the food riot. I think that more of those would have been fun. Speaking of Sloppy Sam, I think that is where you figure out the moral. It is that we all have the capacity to display extreme amounts of cruelty especially if we have something to gain. In the case of the book; Jim is cruel because he wants to be all high emperor, Barbie in Iraq because they wanted revenge for a comrades death, Sam at the Food riot because he wanted his booze. What defines the person is if they enjoy the cruelty that they display to attain their goal. Sam enjoyed hitting Georgia with the rock and Jim enjoyed inciting riot and chaos. So I am thinking that... People have the capacity for cruelty and are cruel at some point in life. It is when we enjoy being cruel and have no remorse at the time or regret later that we are no longer worthy of life, good karma or God's graces (whichever you think). That's my take on it.

The jail break and town meeting was fun... and the intensity of Linda and the kids trying to get out of town. It was enjoyable... I knew the first time that we saw Chef and the explosives what would happen under the dome but I didn't think it would be so large scale. King killed off the entire town. hahahaha

Anyways... it was cool that Ollie lived. I would just like to say that I live in South Carolina and I do not say South Car'h'lina. LOL... Thanks Mr. King for making the dumb emotional army guy from my state. He might be dating Miss Teen South Carolina, I'll have to check. Sometimes, I hate living here. LOL At least PFC Ames was sweet and caring to cowkid. GEESH!

[Brit Pop]

I agree with other constant readers awareness that Mr King should have got a 'teen speak' consultant when he was trying to create dialogue between early teenagers...

It seemed like he watched Bill n Teds a few times to get in touch with the youth of 2012 or whenever its set!

Radical Dude... lets bump fists.

[justcheckin]

[TheBaxter]

that should've been the cover for the book.

[justcheckin]

This one would be better...

[Fievel]

Recently started the audiobook. It has a decent reader that I haven't encountered before. Just got to the part where the Sheriff's pacemaker exploded and then the horrible skateboarder dialogue scene. I agree that King needs a consultant on Modern TeenSpeak. That has been a constant problem in his books that I wish an editor would call him out on.
But hell.... hasn't stopped me from enjoying his stories.

So far my casting for Big Jim would be M.C. Gainey.

[TheBaxter]

when i read the book, i pictured him as a studly powers boothe. for barbie i pictured paul walker. and for the republican newspaper lady, i pictured sarah palin in her feature film debut.

[justcheckin]

when i read the book, i pictured him as a studly powers boothe. for barbie i pictured paul walker. and for the republican newspaper lady, i pictured sarah palin in her feature film debut.

no Sarah is the drug addict mother...

[Fievel]

I stopped listening to this a while ago and recently picked it back up (I lost my place in the audiobook on my iPod and ended up listening to about an hour over again). Holy crap it just gets worse and worse and worse.......

Reference point - I just listened to the part where the female pastor confronted the "police."

...and worse and worse and worse.....

[Nachokoolaid]

Honestly y'all, I think the fist bump is here to stay for a bit for one main reason. Sure it may "look cool" or whatever, but I think people are so scared of catching disease/bacteria sometimes that it seems like fist bumping and barely making contact with the outside of someone's hand is more hygienic than grasping their entire palm in a handshake or something.

[TheBaxter]

Honestly y'all, I think the fist bump is here to stay for a bit for one main reason. Sure it may "look cool" or whatever, but I think people are so scared of catching disease/bacteria sometimes that it seems like fist bumping and barely making contact with the outside of someone's hand is more hygienic than grasping their entire palm in a handshake or something.

the japanese have the right idea. they just bow to each other. no physical contact at all.

[Fievel]

Finished this audiobook tonight.
Thoughts tomorrow.
But quick thoughts - loved the book and was really surprised how much I liked the ending. I kept waiting for it to be The Stand Part 2 and (The Stand spoiler) having God's hand reach down and pull the dome up.

[Fievel]

So some thoughts on this.....

I honestly can't tell how much I liked or didn't like this book now that I've had time to sit on what I experienced. So much of the book is devoted to showing the reader just how bad it is... to the point that every time I thought something might turn in Barbie's favor, another ridiculous shit storm would coming stomping down, usually in the form of death. I had to keep telling myself that even though it was a Stephen King book, it had to get better at some point. And it did.... ever so slightly here and there.

Yes, Jim Rennie and company were stereotypes to the infinite degree... but it played out well enough for the story. If Spielberg's rumored mini-series gets the greenlight, I hope they tune some of them down to an extent. Although, I'll bet their characterizations work better on screen.

I'm still bugged by the kids' skater talk in the early part of the book. At the end of the book, King thanks a friend of his for doing all sorts of research on radiation. weather patterns, meth labs, etc. The result of this research comes across in the book. Would it have been so hard to just talk to a real kid? Maybe check out some X-Games clips on YouTube?

MAJOR SPOILERS
-I really did appreciate King's willingness to kill off as many people as he did - especially the kids. Not that kids dying is cool or anything, but it added to the scope of just how shitty things became. Another aspect I wonder if Spielberg will keep in.

-The rape scene was bothersome. Thankfully King ended the running commentary when it did - gave me just enough to absolutely hate the participants without forcing me (as the reader) to take in every single moment. And the best (only good?) part was when she got her revenge. Her husband getting some revenge at the end was great, too.

The ending really didn't bother me at all. In fact, I think it's one of King's best endings (a usual weakness of his). The reason/purpose of The Dome didn't bother me at all, but having read so many of his books, I was prepared to. Little things helped my liking of the ending - the Dinsmore boy, Sloppy Sam, Horrace - all added to the effectiveness of the ending for me.

-I ended up picturing M.C. Gainey as Big Jim when I listened to the book.
-This guy was my Dale Barbara. Yes, I have watched more episodes of Cougar Town than I care to admit (it comes on after Modern Family, so don't judge me!).
-The lady that played John Goodman's wife on Treme was my Julia Shumway.... which made her and Barbie's relationship just seem even weirder.

I don't think I really visualized any of the other characters to the degree that I did with those three.

I think that's about all I have to say on Under the Dome.

[VegasRon]

This book and Cell just remind me what the loss of Stephen King means to the world of horror.

RIP.

[Fievel]

This book and Cell just remind me what the loss of Stephen King means to the world of horror.

RIP.

Huh?
It will be a loss when he dies.... but that hasn't happened yet. Has it?

[TheBaxter]

This book and Cell just remind me what the loss of Stephen King means to the world of horror.

RIP.

Huh?
It will be a loss when he dies.... but that hasn't happened yet. Has it?

i think he was referring to the writing skills that are on display in these books, not to the man himself.

[so sorry]

This book and Cell just remind me what the loss of Stephen King means to the world of horror.

RIP.

Huh?
It will be a loss when he dies.... but that hasn't happened yet. Has it?

You know, I was going to say the same thing, but I feared I wasn't getting the VegasRon humor, so I kept my mouth shut.

Perhaps he's saying that King has lost his touch (thus "dead")???

[justcheckin]

I really liked Under the Dome and Duma Key which came out fairly close together. Cell was ok, I think he might have been just trying out a zombie story. I like most of what he writes and at this point, the man can pretty much put out what he wants and it doesn't matter. I am looking forward to the new book 11/22/63 and of course the new Darktower book. Personally, I want to see him write another book that follows the Black House story line.

[Bloo]

Personally, I want to see him write another book that follows the Black House story line.

there is supposed to be a third book in that series

[Fievel]

Personally, I want to see him write another book that follows the Black House story line.

there is supposed to be a third book in that series

Considering it was 17 years between Talisman and Black House, I'm not expecting anything soon, though both authors repeatedly say it will happen at some point,

Cell had King's best beginning since The Stand. I absolutely loved how it began. But... then... it just.... dragged... itself... down.
Under the Dome was good. I look back at it as being a fantastic story that really stuck with me in the year since I finished it.

And props to Duma Key - so much better than I would have guessed. I still haven't read Blaze or Lisey's Strory.

[justcheckin]

Personally, I want to see him write another book that follows the Black House story line.

there is supposed to be a third book in that series

Considering it was 17 years between Talisman and Black House, I'm not expecting anything soon, though both authors repeatedly say it will happen at some point,

Cell had King's best beginning since The Stand. I absolutely loved how it began. But... then... it just.... dragged... itself... down.
Under the Dome was good. I look back at it as being a fantastic story that really stuck with me in the year since I finished it.

And props to Duma Key - so much better than I would have guessed. I still haven't read Blaze or Lisey's Strory.

Well seeing how long of a break happened while he was writing book 3 and 4 of Darktower, I'm not surprised that he would not get back around to that other story faster. I've read some of Peter Straub's short stories and he writes some freaky-scary stuff.

[VegasRon]

This book and Cell just remind me what the loss of Stephen King means to the world of horror.

RIP.

Huh?
It will be a loss when he dies.... but that hasn't happened yet. Has it?

You know, I was going to say the same thing, but I feared I wasn't getting the VegasRon humor, so I kept my mouth shut.

Perhaps he's saying that King has lost his touch (thus "dead")???

Bingo.

the first half of Cell was good, the second half was okay, though the explanation behind everything was absolutely ridiculous. I did like the ending. I wish he'd just written a straight-up zombie apocalypse novel. It especially came off bad cuz I read World War Z immediately after.

My hate for Under the Dome can't be measured by human means, but I'm glad some of you got some enjoyment out of it.

[TheBaxter]

Under the Dome was terrible. it was like a bad twilight zone episode expanded to a 1500-page novel (i don't remember if it was actually 1500 pages, but it sure felt like it), only with cliche'd characters and horrible dialogue. i liked duma key though, and i thought cell was good, but could've been better.

[caruso_stalker217]

I started reading Under The Dome yesterday and I'm 300+ pages in. I'm liking it so far, although Big Jim is a pretty typical cartoonish King villain. My one big gripe with the book right now is the teenager dialogue, which is atrocious.

[Ribbons]

I hope the book is better than the TV show

[caruso_stalker217]

I wanted to check out the series after I finish the book, but it's not streaming on Netflix anymore, so fuck that shit.

[Fievel]

There is a dedicated thread for the book. I liked it. Typical King sprawling epic - overblown stereotype characters (whose effect lose steam throughout the novel and just become characters), wretched youth dialogue, an entertaining journey, and and ending........ well, it was debated, for sure. But aren't most King endings?

I hated the TV series. I had to stop watching after a few episodes, and I'm an absolute King junkie. I don't know if it's because it strayed so far from the book, or if it was because I was watching people doing stupid shit, and then have other people watch them do it and let them get away with it. It's one thing to read about "stupid shit"....... it's another thing to witness it with your own eyes.

[Fried Gold]

I hope the book is better than the TV show

It is. But that's not saying much.

[caruso_stalker217]

I hated the TV series. I had to stop watching after a few episodes, and I'm an absolute King junkie. I don't know if it's because it strayed so far from the book, or if it was because I was watching people doing stupid shit, and then have other people watch them do it and let them get away with it. It's one thing to read about "stupid shit"....... it's another thing to witness it with your own eyes.

This is why I didn't bother with "The Walking Dead" after the first season.