Stephen King's "Under The Dome"

[JDFP]

Forgive me or merge me if this has already been posted, but...

From Wikipedia:

On an entirely normal, beautiful fall day in Chester’s Mill, Maine, the town is inexplicably and suddenly sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field. Planes crash into it and fall from the sky in flaming wreckage, a gardener’s hand is severed as “the dome” comes down on it, people running errands in the neighboring town are divided from their families, and cars explode on impact. No one can fathom what this barrier is, where it came from, and when—or if—it will go away. Dale Barbara, Iraq vet and now a short-order cook, finds himself teamed with a few intrepid citizens—town newspaper owner Julia Shumway, a physician’s assistant at the hospital, a select-woman, and three brave kids. Against them stands Big Jim Rennie, a politician who will stop at nothing—even murder—to hold the reins of power, and his son, who is keeping a horrible secret in a dark pantry. But their main adversary is the Dome itself. Because time isn’t just short. It’s running out.

I am actually really looking forward to this. The novel is a whopping 1088 pages in length, and it will take me a good couple of weeks to read it, but I am hoping that it will be a return to form for King (if possible). To say the least, I've been highly disappointed with the vast majority (with a few exceptions) of the work he's done over about the last 15 years or so. I think some of his earlier stuff like "Night Shift", "Pet Semetary", "The Stand", and his writing's under Bachman rank up there as some of the finest horror work ever done though. So, I'm hesitantly looking forward to this release...

Any thoughts?

If the ending is anything like the ending of "The Dark Tower" series though, I may have to set a bonfire and piss the fire out after it has devoured the book. :evil: And that's even more impressive considering I live in an apartment.

j.p.

[Tricky]

Im looking forward to this as well, Im a big King fan & am always waiting for him to release something new!I enjoyed Cell, Duma key & to a certain degree Liseys story of his recent stuff, but i'll totally agree that they arent a patch on his older stuff! Have you read his book of short stories "just after sunset"? some pretty cool ones in there, especially the one called "N" which is nothing short of brilliant & genuinely creepy!
Anyway back to the thread, story sounds interesting & im looking forward to giving it a read

[MikePizzoff]

This sounds most excellent. I'll be picking this up, for sure!

[bassman]

Sounds cool....but does King even write his own books anymore? I remember hearing that he has people that write for him and then he takes the credits.

Romero and King need to hook up again. What happened to From a Buick Eight? Another one of Romero's failed projects?

[JDFP]

Sounds cool....but does King even write his own books anymore? I remember hearing that he has people that write for him and then he takes the credits.

Woah, really? I've never heard this before. Where did you hear this rumor? Anyone else read about this?

j.p.

[krakenslayer]

Sounds great! Looking forward to this! :D

However... am I the only one who think the plot sounds a little too much like The Midwich Cuckoos?

[bassman]

Woah, really? I've never heard this before. Where did you hear this rumor? Anyone else read about this?


It was a while back, but I had some people tell me that he has "Ghost Writers" and they do uncredited work for him. I don't know if there's any truth to all this...it's just what I heard.:confused:

[EvilNed]

Stephen King still writes his own books, but his vision is deteriorating really fast so I think he's been dictating for awhile now. That's what I heard anyway. What a mysterious man, huh? :p

[Danny]

Sounds great! Looking forward to this! :D

However... am I the only one who think the plot sounds a little too much like The Midwich Cuckoos?

ive read a at least 5 comic books with a similar premise over the last 5 years, much as i loved the ending to the dark tower, anyhting thats come after has been a bit meh for me, there was on i read a while back "rose madder" that was good, aside from that it whent "meh" with cell to all out average schitk, hope this is a reutrn to form, but he can only have so many novels left before he has no more average joes in maine being caught in a wierd occurence stories to sell.

[bassman]

Stephen King still writes his own books, but his vision is deteriorating really fast so I think he's been dictating for awhile now. That's what I heard anyway. What a mysterious man, huh? :p

:lol:

Dick.

[rightwing401]

Hhhhmmm. A Stephen King novel based in a small Maine town. Wow, like he hasn't tried that one before.

I've never been a big fan of King. Granted, when he gets to a scary or tense moment in his novels, his level of description of the events is positively amazing. However, the biggest turn off for me about his work is that he puts that level of description in everything, which gets very annoying after a time.

When he decides to write a novel about a goverenment investigation into all these odd occurances that seem to be practically wiping out rural Maine, I'll have to pass.

[Eyebiter]

Wonder how much it was "inspired" by Village of the Damned?

[krakenslayer]

Wonder how much it was "inspired" by Village of the Damned?

My thoughts exactly. Just recently got done reading The Midwich Cuckoos (the book upon which Village of the Damned is based) and I couldn't help but notice the huge similarity. Still, I think it sounds interesting though.

[kortick]

I mentioned before in another thread the book
"Heart Shaped Box" by Joe Hill.

It is a great read, and for a first novel very impressive.

And yes there is a link to this thread
Joe Hill is Stephen Kings' son writing under a
pen name, and his work is really impressive but
not a carbon copy of his fathers.

He also has a book of short stories as well
'20th Century Ghosts" also a great book.

And yes I am hoping this new King book
will be a return to his classic form.

[Danny]

I mentioned before in another thread the book
"Heart Shaped Box" by Joe Hill.

It is a great read, and for a first novel very impressive.

And yes there is a link to this thread
Joe Hill is Stephen Kings' son writing under a
pen name, and his work is really impressive but
not a carbon copy of his fathers.

He also has a book of short stories as well
'20th Century Ghosts" also a great book.

And yes I am hoping this new King book
will be a return to his classic form.

when my mom used to deliver books for amazon she quit and had a small crate left with 20th century ghosts stuck in the boxes cushioning that she missed so ive had that for like 4 years or something like that and never really read it, it was okay, but felt like a very early dean koontz novel, or a made for tv movie if you get my meaning.

[kortick]

Was it the book about the Marilyn Manson type
rock star who buys a ghost on Ebay and
gets more than he expected?

That one is Heart Shaped Box.

20th Century Ghosts are short stories.

[Danny]

Was it the book about the Marilyn Manson type
rock star who buys a ghost on Ebay and
gets more than he expected?

That one is Heart Shaped Box.

20th Century Ghosts are short stories.

starts with some people at an airport thats snowed in or something and they start telling stories, like i said its been maybe 4 years since i read that first 20 pages, i remember it was red with white text on the front.

[kortick]

not sure what book that is.

Heart Shaped Box by Kings son Joe Hill
is about a rock star who collects bizzare items.
He has paintings done by Gacy, a chessboard that
was owned by Crowley and other things like that.
He has two dogs named Angus and Bon.

Then one day he comes across an internet auction
about a lady selling the ghost of her step father and he
buys it.

Things go wrong very quickly after that.

Cool first novel, worth reading. IMO.

[paulannett]

It's hardly the most original plot in the world.

When I was 15 I wrote a script telling of the same kind of incident. A town sealed off by an invisible barrier (which cars crash into, people walk into etc etc) does it's best to survive. But there's something in that woods that's stalking the townsfolk. Finally, as supplies run low, rivalries worsen and panic spreads etc, the town turns on eachother.

Not only did I write that 7+ years ago (heavily inspired by Lord of the Flies which I read for my GCSEs), but I have since watched several shows (including The Outer Limits) which details the exact same kind of incident.

I'll pass.

[Tricky]

So is anyone reading this at the moment then? I picked it up last week & am approaching a third of the way into it now (and its a thick book!). Im enjoying it a lot too, everything is fleshed out in the usual King way & the plot is definitely intriguing even if it has been done before as described above. In Kings own words he tried to write this book back in the 70's when he was a lot younger but said the project was far too ambitious for him then,but he decided to give it another go now he's a older & more experienced.
Its got me hooked at the moment so heres hoping he hasnt cocked the ending up!

[Arcades057]

Without ever having heard anything about this book:

The military are the bad guys. There will be a Bush-like evil guy in it somewhere; bonus points if Cheney is also in it. There will be a retarded person/genius kid. The ending will suck.

[Danny]

tried getting into it, made it about 10 chapters and so far its absolute rubbish. it doesnt even read like a stephen king novel, either he's just reprinting another old story he never got out before the stand or he really does have ghost writers, because this is not the same storyteller who wrote the mist or christine.

[Tricky]

Without ever having heard anything about this book:

The military are the bad guys. There will be a Bush-like evil guy in it somewhere; bonus points if Cheney is also in it. There will be a retarded person/genius kid. The ending will suck.

Actually Obama is in it, so far king hasnt referred to him by name, but a fat racist town selectman refers to him in his thoughts when the president is mentioned as "the one with the terrorist middle name". The military arent bad guys as such, although they have cut the roads off into the town. Im enjoying it anyway,even if others arent

[sammylou]

So I guess it's not really scary or even horror, it is Stephen King, so I thought I'd post here. Has anybody else read King's newest book? Just finished and was wondering what other people's thought were and wanted to chat about it.

I thought it pretty good. My biggest gripe with the book was the ending...I really didn't buy the whole "the alien kids feel sorry for the pathetic earthling" thing.

[capncnut]

Threads merged. The search function is not there for show.

[Tricky]

I enjoyed it, the ending could have been a little bit better but other than that it was pretty good! the whole story surrounding Junior was the most gripping part of it. I expected Barbie was going to do a bit more arse-kicking than he did too, but he was still a decent character. I started to worry where the ending was going when I was about 20 pages from the end & it didnt appear to be getting towards any kind of conclusion, so it felt a bit rushed, but I guess it still finished the story off acceptably

[DubiousComforts]

Without ever having heard anything about this book: The military are the bad guys.
Actually, the protagonist in Under the Dome is a decorated, former military man.

This is one of King's best novels and a very compelling page-turner. For an apocalyptic thriller, I found it far more suspenseful than The Stand or Cell. The premise is simple and the sci-fi aspect is kept to the barest minimum, really just a set-up for an elaborate study of characters in which King skewers every current political and social issue imaginable: greed, corruption, police brutality, abuse of power and authority, class struggle, terrorism, domestic violence, religious extremism, gun control, climate change and the environment, substance abuse, addiction, etc., etc.

There has been some criticism in regards to the ending, but I believe this is due to readers failing to realize that the actual climax occurs with about 100 pages left to go. Under the Dome has far more in common with Lord of the Flies than any of the other "influences" being mentioned. There are a few brief nods to Obama, both positive and negative, but this story isn't about celebrity; the mirror is firmly pointed inward and the monsters are us.


Have you read his book of short stories "just after sunset"? some pretty cool ones in there, especially the one called "N" which is nothing short of brilliant & genuinely creepy!
This story is available as a 30-minute comic/video, though I'm not sure if that's such a great idea...

N (http://www.stephenking.com/n/)

[sammylou]

hope this is a reutrn to form, but he can only have so many novels left before he has no more average joes in maine being caught in a wierd occurence stories to sell.

Haha good point. Even though I'm a big King fan, I have to say many of the stories do follow that template.

---------- Post added at 02:39 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:38 AM ----------

My bad on the second post, btw. I forgot to search.

[DubiousComforts]

Haha good point. Even though I'm a big King fan, I have to say many of the stories do follow that template.
King simply sets his stories in places that he's familiar with, just as most Lovecraft tales take place in New England, Romero's living dead films are set in Pittsburgh and Godzilla only invades Japan.

[EvilNed]

... and Godzilla only invades Japan. And thank heavens for that!

[LouCipherr]

I read Under The Dome and finished a few weeks ago - i have to admit, while not his best work, this is some of the best stuff I've read from King in a while.

This book is a lot like "The Stand" (although not as good, it's similar in structure, the amount of characters, the intertwined sub-plots, etc) - and it has some fantastic moments, however, there are a few things I could've done without.

The crazy sheriff? Didn't he already cover that ground in several previous novels (most notably, Desperation)? Also, what causes the dome and the resolution are a bit... well... odd for lack of a better word and without giving everything away to those who might still read it. Endings to his stories are never King's strong point (IT anyone? Tommyknockers? Cell? horrible endings!) but this one was at least a few steps up from some of his previous efforts.

I have to say, after Lisey's Story, Duma Key and Cell, this is a nice refreshing kick in the pants by King.

Speaking of which, Just After Sunset (came out just before Under the Dome & was a collection of short stories) has some great stories in it, especially "A Very Tight Place"

[DubiousComforts]

The crazy sheriff? Didn't he already cover that ground in several previous novels (most notably, Desperation)?
There is no "crazy sheriff" in Under the Dome and no character is possessed or influenced by alien/supernatural intelligence as in IT, Desperation, The Regulators or Dreamcatcher, to name a few.

Another refreshing change with Under the Dome: no character is a writer!

[LouCipherr]

There is no "crazy sheriff" in Under the Dome and no character is possessed or influenced by alien/supernatural intelligence as in IT, Desperation, The Regulators or Dreamcatcher, to name a few.

Another refreshing change with Under the Dome: no character is a writer!

You don't consider Big Jim as a crazy Sheriff? Ok, he's a "Selectman" - symantics.... :D

[DubiousComforts]

You don't consider Big Jim as a crazy Sheriff? Ok, he's a "Selectman" - symantics.... :D
Big Jim Rennie is a politician/businessman and his behavior isn't unpredictable or "crazy." That's what is so great about it. There is a sheriff/police chief in the novel and he's not crazy in any way, shape or form.

You could have better argued that The Chef is your typical crazy King wild card character/plot device, just like Trash Can Man in The Stand. That would be my only complaint regarding the characters.

[LouCipherr]

Big Jim Rennie is a politician/businessman and his behavior isn't unpredictable or "crazy."

I don't see intentionally starting riots as "predictable" for any businessman or politician. I don't see half the stuff Rennie did as being anywhere near the realm of normal either. Burning down newspaper offices (well, having his own men do it)? That's "normal" behaviour?

The guy was a control freak and pulled out all the stops to keep himself in control. There was no line he wouldn't cross (including killing some of his own men) so I don't see where that's particularly normal (or should I say, non-crazy). That sound like a full-on, unpredictable, crazy nutbag if you ask me. :lol:

I certainly don't see the Chef as anywhere near crazy. He was one of the few that seemed to have his head on straight throughout the entire story.

[Hopegiver]

Does anyone remember a Twilight Zone (or it could have been Outer Limits, Night Gallery or some other show like that) episode about a dome covering a small town? I think there were maybe two different episodes.

Other than that I know there are a few books that have domes in them. My favorite was a sci fi book titled "Manhattan Transfer"

http://www.amazon.com/Manhattan-Transfer-John-E-Stith/dp/0812519523

[Tricky]

What minds eye picture did you guys have of Big Jim then? I kind of thought of him as a cross between Boss Hog from the dukes of hazard & Porky from the film Porkys!

[JDFP]

Personally, I think Big Jim Rennie would be the perfect role for Meat Loaf. Do you know how you get certain actors/actresses stuck in your head when you're reading a character in a novel? For me, Big Jim became Meat Loaf when reading it. I think he'd do an amazing job with the role.

http://www.famous-people-search.com/meat_loaf/meat_loaf_picture/meat_loaf_002.jpg

As far as "Under the Dome" goes, I personally really enjoyed "Duma Key" and "Just After Sunset". I thought "Lisey's Story", "Cell", and most of his more recent stuff is utter tripe crap though. So, for me, this was a wonderful turn of form for King and for enjoying his work.

I prefer his short stories to his novels though, so I'd all for more short-story collections coming out in the future. I think he is best when it comes to the shorter form/novella's than trudging along with a longer work. The two exceptions, for me at least, are "Christine" and "The Stand".

j.p.

[DubiousComforts]

I don't see intentionally starting riots as "predictable" for any businessman or politician. I don't see half the stuff Rennie did as being anywhere near the realm of normal either. Burning down newspaper offices (well, having his own men do it)? That's "normal" behaviour?
You're serious? Authority figures manipulating and/or instigating riots, social unrest and terrorism for their own gain is a completely alien concept in the history of human existence? Gotcha.

Rennie is a corrupt, cunning and conniving sociopath that would use any means necessary, even murder, to exert his control over others, but that doesn't automatically make him "crazy." He knows exactly what he's doing, even in the way that he manipulates people with religion.


I certainly don't see the Chef as anywhere near crazy. He was one of the few that seemed to have his head on straight throughout the entire story.
You're talking about the character who is continuously stoned on crystal meth with his finger on the trigger of a detonator throughout the entire story, right? Even Rennie couldn't predict the loose cannon that is The Chef.

We obviously must have read completely different novels, so it makes little sense to discuss these finer points until I'm able to track down a copy of this bizarro world version of Under the Dome that you're talking about. The author wouldn't happen to be Richard Bachman? :p


Does anyone remember a Twilight Zone (or it could have been Outer Limits, Night Gallery or some other show like that) episode about a dome covering a small town? I think there were maybe two different episodes.
The Outer Limits episode "A Feasibility Study" concerns a town being transported to another planet for an alien experiment. Also, the early 60s sci-fi movie The Slime People had a race of underground creatures enslaving Los Angeles within a wall of solidified fog.

Though The Outer Limits episode had the main characters sacrificing themselves for the good of mankind, neither story is as detailed a study of human nature like Under the Dome.


What minds eye picture did you guys have of Big Jim then?
A slightly shorter, heavier and stockier version of John Goodman. (Meatloaf would be a good choice, too, JDFP.)

[Mr.G]

This book is a lot like "The Stand" (although not as good, it's similar in structure, the amount of characters, the intertwined sub-plots, etc) - and it has some fantastic moments, however, there are a few things I could've done without.

Off topic, but I wanted to share with everyone I found the OOP DVD of The Stand at FYE for 10 bucks tonight! :D

[Danny]

i finally finished this a minute ago and i am totally of two minds about this book.

positives:
Jim rennie was a great bad guy, a bit "top hat, moustache, tie the girl to the railroad tracks" cliche but a character in the truest sense of the word. i had a proper dislike for the guy, whereas other king antagonists like randall flag just seemed to be there to move the plot along. rennie was a deeply flawed human being that really kept me reading.
manages a huge cast well. not since the stand have i read a king novel with so many characters that each had a valid part in the story. granted some like piper libby and ole' sam where filler-ish but there were so many greats in the book.
avoids the "american army = dickheads in black helicopters" cliche. nuff said there i think.
takes the simple idea of an impenetrable bubble and goes in some interesting directions with it.



negatives:
the story on the whole is basically just points from other king novels mixed together in a slightly disjointed way. its got the isolated split community of the mist with the premise king doesnt know or choose how to explain like in cell. its just there.
the protagonist was easily the worst part, he bordered on 'larry stu' territory. he could do no wrong, and when things went wrong for him that was just time for him to take a breather on the bench to give 'screen time' as it where to other characters. on the whole his whole path through the story was very weakly constructed and served only to push the story along, when rusty and julia seemed to be doing that just fine on there own.
another genius kid/ kids predict the final act in the first again. i get it. ya' liked akira, not every story needs the psychic kids!:lol:, i know it wasnt just kids by the end, but when you have a little girl have a psychic fit and foretell the final tragedy of the story you know its been spoiled by you because the kids always see the future in kings stories.
this book took me a long ass time to read, at 876 pages thats an afternoon read for me of maybe 5 to 7 hours, i read a lot of books and read very fast, but i could not get into this for the life of me, not since dolores clairborne have i been so unable to engage with a king story. luckily it gets constantly better as it goes on, but the first 200 pages are a complete chore to grind through to get to the good stuff.
the story turns out to be just an alien girl who thinks she is playing the sims. huh.
i dont think rennie should have had the typical "bad guy comeuppance" scene its something king keeps using from 90s action movies. honestly i wouldve made rennie get found by col. cox in the bunker and made to face charges for all the things he did. the heart attack was an obvious cop out.
overall i think king took some ideas that worked around a premise that conjured up a coo mental image. but ddi not know how to end it sufficiently and in the end its like a disjointed episode of the ray bradbury theatre.

i cant be arsed to type much since its 4am and reading the last 476 pages in a sitting this late buggered my eyes up something fierce but its a solid king story, albiet minus the pop culture referential charm his other great works like christine had. its not his best, but still his best in a few years.

-and meatloaf was totally the jim remmie in my head.

maybe with a little full metal drill sarge thrown in.:lol:

[DubiousComforts]

-and meatloaf was totally the jim remmie in my head.
I'm beginning to think that perhaps Rennie is actually this guy:

http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/bastard/joejjjsss.jpg

[JDFP]

this book took me a long ass time to read, at 876 pages thats an afternoon read for me of maybe 5 to 7 hours, i read a lot of books and read very fast, but i could not get into this for the life of me, not since dolores clairborne have i been so unable to engage with a king story.

Wait, you said this took you a long ass time to read but then you say you read 876 pages in SEVEN HOURS? Am I reading that right?

How is that even physically possible? I guess I consider myself a moderate reader when it comes to reading, but this book took me about two weeks to read and that was reading a good two - three hours every night. I just don't see how it's possible to read something that quickly...:stunned:

j.p.

[krakenslayer]

Wait, you said this took you a long ass time to read but then you say you read 876 pages in SEVEN HOURS? Am I reading that right?

How is that even physically possible? I guess I consider myself a moderate reader when it comes to reading, but this book took me about two weeks to read and that was reading a good two - three hours every night. I just don't see how it's possible to read something that quickly...:stunned:

j.p.

I dunno, I started reading it last night and I got through about a fifth of the book in about two hours, so I imagine reading the whole thing is doable provided there are no interruptions and he's really into the book.

A lot of it depends on the book itself too: mostly print size (the hardback Under the Dome I have is printed with fairly large text so its less to read than a book of the same length with a smaller typeface) and sentence structure (Stephen King's prose is very easy to read, the eye just slides right over it, you rarely have to read a sentence twice; Mary Shelly on the other hand... well, it took me a month to get through Frankenstein and that's a tiny book).

[Danny]

Wait, you said this took you a long ass time to read but then you say you read 876 pages in SEVEN HOURS? Am I reading that right?


j.p.

thats my point, normally i could read this in a few hours. but i just kept getting about 20 chapters in in about 15 minutes, then just ended up putting it down and leaving it for a while, i know i read a little faster than the norm, but im not saying that to brag, just to say that the biggest negative is how hard this was for me to get into, and for king that aint his usual style with me.