Beth's Reviews > Under the Dome

Under the Dome by Stephen King
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Jan 19, 10

Read in January, 2010

One random afternoon, an invisible, impenetrable dome seals off the town of Chester's Mill ME from the rest of the world. The car salesman selectman who runs the town is determined that the meth lab he's masterminded won't be discovered, and will go to any lengths to do so in this novel of small town politics gone awry that seems to be a microcosm for life in post 9-11 US.

King says in his author's note that he got the idea for Under the Dome 35 years ago, but it certainly resonates well in our current martial/political climate. He made the MANY characters vivid enough and unique enough that I didn't have any trouble keeping them straight, which was admirable, and he followed them all through to their ends, making it a satisfying, if horrific, read.

I think Under the Dome would be pretty appealing for the content, and the length won't deter fans. What I WAS bothered by the authorial intrusion and tense changes to present tense - maybe I didn't notice them earlier, but I picked up on it about 75% of the way through the book. it was inconsistent and thus jarring for me, and he or his editor should have known it. The ant metaphor was clever, but kind of heavy handed, and I felt like he spoon fed me a lot that I would rather have figured out on my own; he's just not subtle or deft, to me.

EDIT: In discussion, someone pointed out WHY he chose to change POV, and I'm adding another star.
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message 1: by Terry (new)

Terry So it's not worth slogging through?

message 2: by Beth (last edited Jan 08, 2010 07:36AM) (new) - rated it 3 stars

Beth OMG, Slogging is exactly the word I used when composing my review! I'm not done, so the number of stars in my rating may go up.

I am slogging through Under the Dome and according to my Kindle, am 25% through.

I LOVED Stephen King as a teen, but not all Stephen King - I remember several friends reading The Stand senior year, and I just couldn't get through it, but IT was one of my favorite books.

I still consider King a master of the short story, but I'm not feeling much love - or WOW - for this title. While I'm admiring the deeper level of the allegory and the story's politics and the themes of how power corrupts, it just feels a little heavy handed.

And, I can't help thinking of The Simpsons Movie while I'm reading Under the Dome!

message 3: by Terry (new)

Terry Yeah, when I heard the plot summary my first thought was "Simpsons did it!"

Early Stephen King was dangerous -- it was cool to be seen with a Stephen King book. But his newer stuff is like geratric horror. My friends and I joke that his tagline should be "Stephen King, scaring more old people than Glenn Beck." :)

message 4: by Terry (new)

Terry Thanks for the review. I think I'll skip this one.

Beth do. Read Breathers: A Zombies Lament instead!

message 6: by Terry (new)

Terry Just added it to my lamentably long to-read list!

Gary Hagood slogging? Anything but! This is a fast paced don`t want to put down read. Absolutely love it but only half way through it. A must read for Stephen King Fans!

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