Under the Dome

A Novel

By: Stephen King

Narrated by: Raul Esparza

Length: 34 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©2009 Stephen King (P)2009 Simon & Schuster

Slowwww

This was my first and last book I read from Stephen King. The first 8 hours was extremely slow paste and very little to do with the Dome phenomenon, luckily I fast forward my iPod, before pulling the plug on this story. There is so much deviation from the main theme of the story, specially when introducing a new character.
But on 2-nd 8 hours the story picked up in slow paste. At the end there were a few loose ends, but I think Stephen King did that on purpose and left it to the readers imagination, which makes the story less entertaining to my opinion.

This story is for people that have very little to do and will not get bored with slow paste stories.

I was hoping for more adventure or suspense, but the plot lacked it. However the narrator was excellent.

Worst narrator ever!

I so tried to get into the story, but Raul's character voices, specifically women and children were too distracting. Everyone of them sounded mentally ill. Big Jim was hard to listen to as well. I'm hanging in to get to the end, but good lord don't use this man again to narrate.

Disappointing

I have not read a Stephen King book since The Stand which was fabulous. Under the Dome had all the elements of an equally good read but the ending went completely off the rails. The characters were expertly developed and real and Raul Esparza made them come completely alive. Unfortunately, Mr. King zigged when he should have zagged.

Listen to it

I enjoyed this so much and especially the narrator.
his performance is amazing compared to most narrators I've listened to.

Awesome

Mr. King has done it again. I guess that would be just as good as dark tower, just couldn't stop listening. Speaking of which, was a very good narration, thank you Raul Esparza.

The Little Engine That Could

When I saw the length of the book initially I wondered how interesting it could be. Surely there were going to be gaping moments of stagnation and slowness to the plot. I could not belive that King was able to write something on every page that left me wanting to hear more. There were so many characters how the narrator was able to keep all thier voices straight is mind boggeling. This is by far the best book I have ever listend to. It is a fantastic story that left me wondering not only about our place in the cosmos but about the ugly side of our human condition and what it is that makes some people give there best under pressure while some ultimatley do thier worst.

You have to be a fan of long unabridged, great.

If you like unabridged, long audiobooks, then this book is for you. Skipped over this one for months on the unfavorable reviews, good listen. I just like a story that keeps me entertained and interested, I could care less if it could "actually" happen.

Enjoyable, however...

wish King had not found it necessary to swear quite so much. This story, like so many others of King's, shows just how disturbing humans might become when faced with just the right(wrong) situations.

Stephen King in his comfort zone

The style reminded me of The Stand: lots of characters, an overarching dilemma, and an enjoyable ride to the inevitable conclusion. You do sort of know how it will end, but it really doesn't matter because most of the fun is in admiring how King weaves the lives and conflicts together. There are memorable phrases, clever twists, and that typical realistic dialog that King brings to his characters.

I would not have chosen a Southern accent used for the primary villain in this audio version. I haven't checked with the book to see if that was intended. It was out of place. The other New England accents were done well. The dome's explanation was too abstract given all the concrete descriptions for it. It doesn't harm the story overall, but it made the ending too abrupt. Overall, it's a very good story and recording.

Amazing! King fan or not; Rejoice!

I have read every Stephen King book in publication and listened to many on audiobook. Under The Dome is wholly heartbreaking, often frustrating, totally engaging and one of King's best. The many characters make the small-town living realistic and the vivid descriptions make you feel the isolation surrounding you. Raul E., the narrator, is a master at breaking your heart with the stark desperation of the situation and lightening the load with his spot-on delivery of King's sharp wit. I thought Duma Key had exemplified King's growing sense of humanity in the face of the horror he used to deliver, where the reader could easily deliniate fact from written fiction. Under The Dome shows that with age, King has mastered an ability to shake you to the core as you begin to realize, "There but for the grace of God, go I."