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kimberlyjgav's review against another edition
4.0
Solid Stephen King. He does in-depth character development like no one else. Most of this book is riveting. The human-driven drama that goes on under the Dome propels most of the story and it makes for a gripping, quick page-turner. Ironically, the story slips a bit when it comes to dealing with the Dome. The ending drags and gets a little long in the tooth. This is still a very good read, one most any King fan will appreciate.
glava's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
canuck35's review against another edition
3.0
Definitely a guilty pleasure. It's not great literature by any means (not even good, to be honest) but King knows how to write a good yarn.
yvetteadams's review against another edition
5.0
I used to read lots of Stephen King when I was a teenager but haven’t read any for about 20 years!
A certain 12yo has been keen to read this book after watching the TV show. I read it first to see if it was OK for her to read. It’s not – sex (incl rape), drugs, plenty of bad language… so she’s going to have to wait a few years before I let her read it! But I LOVED it. It was very different to the TV show. I really don’t understand why they made SO many changes for TV. And some of my favourite characters aren’t in the TV show at all – Rusty, Brenda, Piper… Actually only a few characters in the TV show are similar to the book – Big Jim, Junior, Barbie and Julia. Most of the other TV characters are new characters using names from the book. Weird.
This is a LONG book – the hardcover edition is over 1000 pages long. Normally I read books less than half that size. I read it on holidays and set myself a goal to read 100 pages a day. I was thrilled to finish it in 10 days.
A certain 12yo has been keen to read this book after watching the TV show. I read it first to see if it was OK for her to read. It’s not – sex (incl rape), drugs, plenty of bad language… so she’s going to have to wait a few years before I let her read it! But I LOVED it. It was very different to the TV show. I really don’t understand why they made SO many changes for TV. And some of my favourite characters aren’t in the TV show at all – Rusty, Brenda, Piper… Actually only a few characters in the TV show are similar to the book – Big Jim, Junior, Barbie and Julia. Most of the other TV characters are new characters using names from the book. Weird.
This is a LONG book – the hardcover edition is over 1000 pages long. Normally I read books less than half that size. I read it on holidays and set myself a goal to read 100 pages a day. I was thrilled to finish it in 10 days.
stevecardin's review against another edition
4.0
Stephen King books seem to be hit or miss these days, but for me this one was a hit. This is a story of a dome that came down over a small town in Maine cutting off the townspeople from the rest of the world. There are innocent people trapped inside the dome as well as some very interesting charecters. There is Jim Rennie, the town selectman that is hellbent on pushing his religious views as well as gaining control of the town. Junior Rennie is Jim's son and he has a brain tumor and has developed murderous tendencies. Barbie is a short order cook and a war vet who just wanted to get out of town but soon becomes a scapegoat. Chef is a meth manufacturer and drug addict who after many months holed up making drugs has become completely off of his rocker. At almost 1100 pages this book was a monster, but it was a pretty fast paced read. I would recommend it for any fans of Kings older works, such as the Stand.
johnsonm26's review against another edition
3.0
This book is essentially a gruesome telling of what happens to a small town when they become completely cut off from the rest of society with a "leader" who will do anything for power - all hell breaks loose, and then some.
This is the first Stephen King book I have ever "read" (I listened to the audiobook this time). Years ago, I had seen a few movies adapted from Stephen King novels - back when I still used to watch horror movies, mainly because if my friends wanted to see them, I didn't want to be the one who was too scared (As an adult I have moved past that thinking = no scary movies for me). Anyways, I never gave much thought to reading any of his novels, thinking they were all going to be horror and much too frightening for me. So I am glad that I finally decided to give a Stephen King book a try.
Obviously he is a talented writer, but after listening to this book, I don't think his books are my taste. I am so glad I chose to listen to this book instead of reading the 1,000+ page book. If I would have read the book I think I would have rated it lower because if a novel is going to be that long, I want a more satisfying ending. At times the book dragged on and just barely kept my attention, just enough for me to continue on. If I would have been reading, I probably would've put it down and maybe not picked it up again. The narrator of the audiobook did a good job giving personality to each of the characters (except for the children's voices - he gave weird voices to them). The premise of the book is intriguing, but I think I wanted more out of the book in terms of the actual purpose and reason behind the dome. The ending fell a bit flat for me and left me wondering why someone didn't think to do that sooner, when things were already pretty terrible.
I did like that the book was written from multiple perspectives of characters (including a dog briefly) - it kept the overly long book a bit more interesting.
This is the first Stephen King book I have ever "read" (I listened to the audiobook this time). Years ago, I had seen a few movies adapted from Stephen King novels - back when I still used to watch horror movies, mainly because if my friends wanted to see them, I didn't want to be the one who was too scared (As an adult I have moved past that thinking = no scary movies for me). Anyways, I never gave much thought to reading any of his novels, thinking they were all going to be horror and much too frightening for me. So I am glad that I finally decided to give a Stephen King book a try.
Obviously he is a talented writer, but after listening to this book, I don't think his books are my taste. I am so glad I chose to listen to this book instead of reading the 1,000+ page book. If I would have read the book I think I would have rated it lower because if a novel is going to be that long, I want a more satisfying ending. At times the book dragged on and just barely kept my attention, just enough for me to continue on. If I would have been reading, I probably would've put it down and maybe not picked it up again. The narrator of the audiobook did a good job giving personality to each of the characters (except for the children's voices - he gave weird voices to them). The premise of the book is intriguing, but I think I wanted more out of the book in terms of the actual purpose and reason behind the dome. The ending fell a bit flat for me and left me wondering why someone didn't think to do that sooner, when things were already pretty terrible.
I did like that the book was written from multiple perspectives of characters (including a dog briefly) - it kept the overly long book a bit more interesting.
geniusscientist's review against another edition
3.0
Woof, this book took forever.
Okay, first a note on the narration: dude did a good job. There's an enormous cast of characters, and in an effort to keep the voices distinct, the narrator had to give everyone an accent. Since twenty-two Maine accents wouldn't be helpful, some people had a vaguely Southern, or vaguely English, or not-vaguely-at-all English accent. And the French Canadian dude sounded Jamaican.
Er . . . I'll finish this later.
Okay, first a note on the narration: dude did a good job. There's an enormous cast of characters, and in an effort to keep the voices distinct, the narrator had to give everyone an accent. Since twenty-two Maine accents wouldn't be helpful, some people had a vaguely Southern, or vaguely English, or not-vaguely-at-all English accent. And the French Canadian dude sounded Jamaican.
Er . . . I'll finish this later.
22amb22's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Murder
Moderate: Rape and Sexual violence
Minor: Sexism
azay's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A 10/10 book for me despite the ending. As soon as you turn the page it is non-stop excitement. Like “Needful Things” I am in awe of Stephen King’s ability to have a huge cast of characters and yet not have it feel overwhelming or disjointed. Instead, the story and characters were well-paced and believable. I think Stephen King accomplished that better in this book than “Needful Things”. The stories of these characters trying to survive under the dome impacted me; I still think about them.
My gripe with the ending:aliens made sense. I feel like there was no other explanation as to why a dome was placed over the city. I can even suspend my disbelief that the aliens did it because they were bored. What REALLY bothered me was the fact they had JULIA be the one to save them. It should have been Barbie! I feel like it would have made more sense for Barbie’s character to save them given the fact that his issue was standing by and allowing his subordinates to kill that man instead of speaking up. This could have been his moment. Julia’s bully backstory was shoehorned in at the last second, in my opinion.
My gripe with the ending: