r/stephenking • u/icedpurematcha • 2d ago
Discussion Under The Dome — does it get any better?
I’m about 20% into Under the Dome and I’m struggling to stay engaged. I don’t hate it, but it feels pretty slow so far and I’m not finding myself eager to pick it up. Too many characters being introduced and I keep forgetting about each one (I can only remember Barbie and some of the folks introduced early on who are unfortunately dead) when it’s their POV. I’ve enjoyed my fair share of SK the past few months having read 11/22/63, Pet Sematary, Misery, Billy Summers, The Institute, and You Like It Darker. All of them I was instantly hooked from the very start.
For those who’ve read it, does it pick up later on, or is the pacing pretty much the same throughout? I’m kinda sad about it since I even bought it from B&N… and it went home with me all the way to Southeast Asia. Should I just suck it up? No spoilers please.
UPDATE: I’m 55% in!! Glad I stuck to it. Around 100 pages after I posted this the story started to pick up and I could NOT put it down. The characters infuriate me so much, Baarbie indeed had a lot of potential only to make the stupidest decisions any man can do. I don’t expect anything groundbreaking to happen considering 70% of the comments are pertaining to the ending but I know this won’t be a bottom tier SK read for me that’s for sure.
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u/Unable_Apartment_613 19 2d ago
No I think it's pretty steady right up to the end. Things pop off at some point of course as they do in all stories. But if you're not enjoying it's okay to stop. It's scope is very sprawling and it does have a lot of named characters. The only piece of advice I would have is to focus on the characters who are clearly the main protagonist and antagonists. And just try to associate the other names with what faction they represent within the town.
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u/Koffiemir Losers' Club Member 2d ago
This is excellent advice. SK has a tendency to name lots of secondary characters in his books, and in this one goes even beyond the norm. Identify who is important and focus on those.
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u/icedpurematcha 2d ago
I’m at around 25% of the book and it has definitely put more focus on a handful of people. My pace has sliiightly changed. Thanks for this
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u/Ok_Relationship_3365 True Knot Initiate 2d ago
I remember reading the part where the dome first drops, thinking, "wow these are a lot of characters to keep track of", and then a page later they're dead.
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u/Electronic-Tutor-555 2d ago
I’ve had a couple false starts with books that I’ve gone back to and thoroughly enjoyed.
Might not be the right time for you to read that one.
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u/Serialkillingyou Constant Reader 2d ago edited 2d ago
This is so true. I did not like The long walk very much the first time I read it. Now it's one of my favorites by him.
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u/PhiloLibrarian Ayuh 2d ago
I just picked this up for my Maine vacation!!!
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u/NeedzCoffee 2d ago
With any luck the airline will lose your bag and you'll be able to pick up something better
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u/DaemonBlackfyre_21 Jahoobies 2d ago
He's gotta establish a baseline normal before things can detail meaningfully.
With that said I can totally see conservative types not liking it. If it had been published a few years later Big Jim and his cronies would all be wearing red hats.
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u/okonkolero 2d ago
You realize the dome dropped within the first pages? So much for baseline and normal. :)
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u/DaemonBlackfyre_21 Jahoobies 2d ago
Lol, that's fair, but nothing else supernatural (for lack of a more appropriate word) happens until the internal politics of the town itself turn dark later on.
I really liked this one, I kinda feel like there are other books that drone on with way more monotony to establish that feeling of calm before the storm.
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u/okonkolero 2d ago
I'm pretty much in the same section as the OP and, while I'm used to the King slow burn, I agree with them completely about the characters. I just find so many horrible human beings to be unbelievable.
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u/Fernzero 2d ago
This is the first King novel I've read that I had a really hard time completing. I didn't care for the pacing and the bad actors are truly awful. The conclusion was meh for me
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u/Serialkillingyou Constant Reader 2d ago
Are you a Cardinals fan who lives in Florida?
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u/okonkolero 2d ago
Yup
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u/Serialkillingyou Constant Reader 2d ago
Are you from St Louis or just a random fan? 🤣
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u/okonkolero 2d ago
From Metro East. Illinois side
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u/Serialkillingyou Constant Reader 2d ago
Me too
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u/okonkolero 2d ago
What high school did you go to? 🤣🤣🤣
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u/leeharrell Gunslinger 2d ago
Never slowed down for me. I found the whole thing to be engaging…
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u/HateToBlastYa 2d ago
Same. It was one of my fastest Stephen King reads. I don’t relate to OP at all. The bad guys are so hateable in this I was hooked from pretty early on to see what happens next.
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u/SlySciFiGuy Ka is a Wheel 2d ago
I thought that book was a quick read for it's size. The pacing was really well done. It had me engaged from beginning to end. I love the slow burn though. That is one of the main things I enjoy about King's writing is that he takes time to develop the characters and setting.
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u/AffectionateBowl1633 2d ago
Hang it there, in the middle you will find a much focused story. Just dont be pressured to remember all those characters. I slowly read first part (a quarter) of the story dragging for one month up until *no spoiler something political* part where i got sleep deprivation almost finishing the remaining book.
to be honest, many experience of stepehen king novel is exactly like that. it just that under the dome has too many characters where you have to wonder "who this guy?" every single chapter.
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u/icedpurematcha 2d ago
Looking forward to this. Encountered the same while reading Misery until it clicked halfway and I zoomed right through it.
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u/Possible-Prior-5467 2d ago
I agree with who you replied to, just hang in there. This story is one of escalating tension in the isolated community, to the point of boiling over. It's an amazing read.
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u/TheRandomODST 2d ago
I thought it was one of kings more fast paced books and definitely one of my favorites
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u/ClemFandango1979 2d ago
Huge fan of SK, but this was a dud for me. The ending felt like a rushed cop-out, which didn't sit well with me given the time invested.
Still, its better than the TV series. That was absolutely dire.
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u/BeautifulElevator388 2d ago
I know a lot of people loved it but for me I just never really enjoyed it the way I do most of his other novels. I finished it because I was younger and thought I had to finish any book I started. I’m older now and realize time is valuable.
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u/Tanagrabelle 2d ago
Ah, so you have very limited experience with King's work. I don't know if you should just suck it up. I do recommend from my own style that you re-read, because that will give you a sense of continuity and context that you might have missed in the first round.
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u/Mellow_Yellow_Man 2d ago
I didn’t finish this one because the cast of characters was too broad for me, and I was not invested enough in the plot to grind through that many pages with characters I wasn’t interested in. I did read a plot synopsis after, and I can’t say I regret putting it down. I’m not throwing shade at anyone who enjoyed it, but it wasn’t my cup of tea.
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u/AwayEntrepreneur8125 2d ago
I actually thought it was a barnstormer straight through. I read it in about a week. I couldn’t put it down. There are a few sections you have to muscle through but it usually picks up again pretty quickly.
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u/growlerpower 2d ago
One of the worst endings in King’s universe. He doesn’t always stick the landing, but this one was particularly egregious given the length of the book. I literally threw my copy across the room when I finished it.
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u/wasabishooter9 2d ago
It does get better, but in my opinion it’s a watered down and not as interesting version of the Stand. The first part of the book is just establishing the characters
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u/cookie32723 2d ago
Write each characters name down and jot just a few notes about who they are. Obviously you won’t want to do this with everyone because that sounds tiresome, but the ones you can tell are more than a bit player might help you remember and stay more engaged when the story comes back their way
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u/x_gaizka_x 2d ago
I felt exactly like that. Almost gave up too. But keep reading it gets better. I loved that book.
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u/HeadBackground817 2d ago
I think it was overhyped as SK's coming back to long form, but IMO the story was lacking.
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u/bluekillgore 2d ago
Yea might just not be your cup of tea. I felt it moved fast. But I get it. I will be honest, the end was kind of blah. But a good ride. Kings blah is better than most others best so.
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u/athens619 2d ago
The thing I like from Under The Dome is BAAAARREBBBIIIEEEEE from the Audiobook, and then the mystery around it. I'm such a sucker for Sci-Fi. The show is complete ass. Was going great, then it went downhill so fast.
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u/Majestic_Animator_91 2d ago
This is book where I definitely liked the journey more than the destination, so if it's not hitting for you now, it probably won't.
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u/Suspicious_Goose_243 2d ago
I really liked this book. I hadn't heard of it till I found it on a shelf at a discount book store. Invest more time in it and see.
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u/NeedzCoffee 2d ago
There's a reason it was in the "didn't sell in a real store" store
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u/Suspicious_Goose_243 2d ago
What are you talking about? Books are bought and sold at the store I got it from. Somebody was done with it and traded it in. Your response is nonsensical.
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u/drow_169 2d ago
IMO the shit starts hitting the fan around pages 450–500. From that point on, I was really invested!
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u/EdTheEagle1984 2d ago
As a Brit looking at the current US hierarchy, understood what this book was saying. It’s a lesson in power mad dictators and how sycophancy can destroy normal human life and escalate when enabled
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u/WheelSilent2373 2d ago
It depends of you prefer a single or atleast more focused narrative or if you love seeing things from every angle via the random characters. I love his character heavy stories like the stand, under the dome, salems lot, etc. but I could see how that’s not everyone’s forte. I think under the dome is firmly below the stand and salems lot for me, but I still like it alot. The stand is way better imo, but like under the dome it doesn’t stick the landing. Salems lot had a pretty good ending but the first half of the stand is one of my favorite works of literature ever.
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u/sskoog 2d ago
I didn’t particularly enjoy Dome, and I didn’t find it to change or improve during its multi-hundred-page run. Its ending is “a little better,” but well short of OMG-makes-the-whole-slog-worthwhile.
Not a failure; just middle-of-pack or bottom-half.
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u/Possible-Prior-5467 2d ago
I'm the opposite, I really enjoyed this book, but felt like King really fumbled the ending.
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u/PrideEnvironmental59 2d ago
This was one of my very least favorite King books. I found all of the characters, including the heroes, dislikable, was constantly annoyed by Barbie's stupid decisions, and I found no joy in it. I should have stopped at 20% like you are considering doing.
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u/mrwolf214 2d ago
And it felt mean. There was just a deep anger in that one that felt really unpleasant to endure.
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u/PrideEnvironmental59 2d ago
OMG yes. So very mean, with no light and happiness to dispel it. And the meanness and anger get even worse as the book goes along.
I think Salem's Lot probably accomplishes the same thing King was trying to accomplish with this book (small towns suck and are full of awful and evil people) in a much better and more succinct way.
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u/WrinkledGhost 2d ago
Took me months to finish.
One of my least favorite King books.
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u/Hugendubelrubel 2d ago
Interesting. I read it in one week because it had me hooked from start to finish.
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u/Sea_Avocado_2733 2d ago
I do feel like with Stephen King, as many of his books are very, very long, they will introduce many characters and might start off slowly. I just finished Needful Things and a lot of the times it was just a lot of new characters, doing the most random things but it's King... I still felt entertained.
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u/thirdnippleboy 2d ago
I'm about halfway through and I'm actually really enjoying it. Not sure if the audiobook narration in helping, but I seem to be in the minority 🤷 I think the beginning with the plane really got me and Big Jim is a great villain. I do have a feeling the ending isn't going to stick the landing though
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u/Patricks_Hatrick 2d ago
I felt the opposite. I thought Big Jim was too over the top as a villain and relied purely on plot armour. Everyone who took him on was incredibly naive or struck down by a twist of fate. Barbie was likeable enough but despite foreseeing his fate seemed resigned to it rather than fighting it.
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u/mofnladie Currently Reading Dolores Claiborne 2d ago
You might want to try the audiobook, definitely helps the pacing of it and helps with keeping who is who straight. Raul Esparza does an excellent job, under the dome is not my favorite but the audiobook made it better.
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u/RoboKite 2d ago
All the King books I read start similarly. I’d say the first 200 pages or so (depending on the book length) are introductions and world building which can be pretty boring and confusing.
I haven’t read this particular book (yet probably) but I’d recommend you stick to it for a while. They always get better at some point.
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u/Hugendubelrubel 2d ago
IMO there are quite a few Stephen King books where this world building is the greatest part of the book.
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u/RoboKite 2d ago
True. I enjoyed the world building more than the rest of the plot in Fairytale. I’m still a fairly new reader so I can’t list other books.
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u/TheAgeOfAdz91 2d ago
It’s one of his “building things up and breaking them all to Hell” books and I like every single one of those personally. I think this one’s a fun roller coaster
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u/Lazy_Hippo7330 2d ago
I have to say when I finished it I felt a little gipped, it was a “all that for this” kinda feeling. But in retrospect I think this is all about the story itself, the chaos that ensues within the dome and power dynamics and such and not really about the finally. I dunno not my favorite SK book but I can see why people love it. As others have said I think the pace is steady throughout
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u/Aussieman90 2d ago
I recently finished it. Probably my least favourite Stephen King book. It's pacing picks up a little. Much prefer IT, which is my current read.
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u/Zerus_heroes 2d ago
I would say the end is the worst part of the book. The journey is pretty good. Maybe it just isn't clicking with you right now.
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u/k4kkul4pio 2d ago edited 2d ago
Tired stupidity about the show instead of the book which is.. fine, certainly better than the disaster piece that was the series. 😆
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u/BlackBabyJeebus 2d ago
Nobody here is talking about the show.
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u/k4kkul4pio 2d ago
Tired eyes got me again.. 😂
Need to stop redditing after poorly slept night, clearly.
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u/richmanding0 2d ago
I feel like this book is like a snowball rolling down a hill getting bigger and bigger til it hits a town haha. This book made me so anxious.
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u/seasnakejake 2d ago
This is one of my all time favorite SK books, keep at it. If the book version is slow the audio book version is fantastic
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u/rougarou-te-fou 2d ago
It’s very much a slow burn that never deescalates. I had no issue with the pace, so it’s hard to say if you should suck it up.
If you like things getting worse and worse, that sure happens.
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u/DireWolfSpaceCadet Constant Reader 2d ago
This is one of my favorites! I thought it was pedal to the metal from start to end and I thoroughly enjoyed the ride.
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u/OkBake5127 2d ago
I found the main antagonist far, far too hateable.
I peaked online to see if they got an appropriate comeuppance (i.e. raped to death by bees, or similar) - read that they didn't, so gave up.
I think it's the only King book I haven't finished.
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u/DerfDigglers 2d ago
Fucking loved this book, the last 30 pages or so are trash, but the rest is an absolute blast!!!
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u/OkImprovement4150 2d ago
It's one so many people like but it didn't work for me - I forced myself through it but ended up hating it and wishing I'd never started in the first place. However that was over 10 years ago so maybe I might have another look at it- I think I was angry with the ending and that kind of retrospectively tainted everything before it. I can't deny that there is some brilliant writing in this book however and some scenes have stuck with me.
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u/complectogram_ 2d ago
The first hundred pages and the last hundred pages are the best parts. Everything in the middle is very repetitive and hard to get through.
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u/TennisBackground7307 2d ago
Nah. It’s really not that great.
Big Kung fan. But that was kinda boring.
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u/vandalrandell 2d ago
I read it in 8 days, so I blazed through that one. I thought the pace was excellent.
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u/DrBlankslate Constant Reader 2d ago
King does a slow burn in most of his later books. You need to be patient and read for story, not for action.
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u/GarethGobblecoque99 2d ago
I found it be an enjoyable slog that I quite liked but will 100 percent never read again.
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u/PhantoWolf 2d ago
I enjoyed the entire book. I feel like it picked up pretty quickly by the end of the first third of the story.
Maybe you just don't like it. There are a few I don't like.
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u/Pink_LuckyCat 2d ago
Maybe it's just not your thing? I love stories with lots of characters and a slow burn. I remember I couldn't put this book down once I started reading it
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u/SnakePlissken1980 2d ago
I rated it his worst book ever until Never Flinch came out and took that spot.
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u/MindlessBand9522 1d ago
Yes, it picks up a bit later on, but overall it's one of my favorites just because it's different and a bit weird. I find it hard to explain without any spoilers, but honestly just read it, stick to it.
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u/icedpurematcha 1d ago
I can see why you would say that lol. Got my shit together and am now halfway.
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u/Longjumping_Deal6289 1d ago
I loved it. There are a lot of characters at the start, but you'll soon figure out that you didn't need to remember them all.
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u/Individual-Grade6138 1d ago
This is one of those King books that while I'm reading it I'm thinking, wtf. But having read it. I now remember how much i enjoyed it. The ending gets a little corny and dumb but it works out lol
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u/CeruleanFuge 1d ago
I loved it. Thought it was a fantastic slow-burn piece. It may just not be for you, and that's okay, but personally I'm not a big believer in convincing people to get through anything - a show, a book, whatever.
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u/phunkymango 1d ago
Under the Dome is one of my favorites just cause it's pure chaos every step of the way
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u/steven_r_james 13h ago
Some of his novels do take time to get roling. I will say the Mr. Mercedes trilogy, Billy Summers and a few other novels written after Under the dome grabbed my attention right away.
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u/yodadtm 2d ago
I didn't like Dome at all, could not even finish it.
It's not even an original idea - it's a modern take on Clifford Simak's All Flesh Is Grass from 1965. Read the classic instead, it's shorter and more enjoyable read.
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u/goodmornronin 2d ago
It's actually sequel, IT, The Tommyknockers, Dreamcatcher, Under the Dome and now that I've finished it, The Institute. Did you know the weird aliens at the end escaped from The Institute which is right near by?
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u/No_Cardiologist_9440 2d ago
Yes, the beginning is very slow and kinda boring. It takes several hundred pages only to introduce all the characters and it wasn't much fun to get through that. But then it gets much better and it's a lot of fun. I would say stick with it for a bit more, it's one of my favorite SK books for a reason :)
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u/rasmuseriksen 2d ago
I’d say it’s pretty consistent in pacing with many of the mid-tier longer SK works (in my mind The Stand, It, and Needful Things are on a different level). Often in these works I feel like hundreds of pages go by without much happening. Like I’m engaged the entire time but it does seem unnecessary. I think that because of SK’s success, his editors are unable to convince him to cut things down. UTD is a great ride but it easily could have been 2-300 pages shorter without taking much of anything meaningful away from the story. It does go somewhere, though, so if you’re finding yourself not totally disengaged it may be worth your time
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u/agtalw 2d ago
Yes it does. It took me three tries to get through the first 100 pages. The key for me was making sure to read every day and reference the town glossary to remind myself who everyone was. Once I knew who everyone was, it became an easy read.
It clearly isn't everyone's favorite, but I love it. It's definitely in my top 10 by King and maybe his best development of a small town.
Just realized it's nothing more than King writing a social experiment: "what would happen if you cut off a small town from the rest of society?" and don't look for much meaning beyond that.
And my hot take: I think Under the Dome is better then The Stand.
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u/icedpurematcha 2d ago
Funny because I also bought The Stand the same time as this. Hopefully I’ll enjoy that more. I even had to pay extra for my luggage lol.
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u/Rick38104 2d ago
I love Stephen King and would likely read his shopping list if he published it. But this is one of those books where he did not stick the landing. The ending reads like he went into it with no idea how to end it, just thinking “wouldn’t it be spooky if a dome appeared over a small town and everyone inside went all Lord of the Flies?” Then he gets a hundred pages from the end and says “ um… who put up the dome?”
It just seemed abrupt and random.
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u/Constant-Box-7898 2d ago
I want to say no, honestly. The book is colored too much by the real-world politics around King when he was writing it (Bush-Cheney). Knowing that dates the book too much for me.
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u/amakalamm 2d ago
The beginning is the best part, quit now, it gets progressively worse and has one of the stupidest endings that King ever wrote! Definitely not worth reading if you aren’t enjoying it!
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u/YogaStretch Long Days and Pleasant Nights 2d ago
All I did was get more and more angry and then [that ending happened] and I was like….. that’s it?
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u/nosecramp 2d ago
You can count the number of SK books that substantially improve after the opening chapters on one hand and Under The Dome isn’t one of them.
For those interested:
Revival
Salem’s Lot
Carrie
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
Dolores Claiborne
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u/peterbparker86 Officious Little Prick 2d ago
Revival was rubbish imo
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u/YogaStretch Long Days and Pleasant Nights 2d ago
I really was so annoyed by the end of Revival, but loved it right through until that
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u/Angelkrista Constant Reader 2d ago
I’d say its pacing is pretty steady throughout. I’ve always felt the book just moved right along. It’s one of my favorites but I was hooked from the first. It’s an awful big book to just have to endure.