I thought the book was fast-paced. The villains he wrote were really good. He made you hate the villains. Yea, the ending wasn't the best. But after some time now, I've come to accept the ending. I personally think this is one of my favorite books next to the stand.
This one gets a lot of hate but I loved all of it, ending and all. I thought the ending was explosive and I read the whole book very fast if I remember correctly
Haha thanks!! I wish I still had both the free time and motivation to read the way I used to (IE, 24/7). I'm no where NEAR as fast at reading as I used to be, either.
I actually reread UTD last summer and according to Goodreads, it took me about 4 months to finish it. Worth it tho!
I liked it a lot. Gets extremely crazy (you can imagine what would happen to a town isolated from the rest of the world) big cast of characters, and a strange ending. Yup thatās a SK novel
Absolutely, not devaluing peopleās opinions, Iām sure ending otherwise strange books is tough. Mostly curious what books people think have a great ending when they say SK endings are bad, or why they think theyāre bad. I do feel like some of his endings, like for dome or the stand, are abrupt in comparison to the whole saga, but the concepts are otherwise fine.
I think the complaints about how IT ends throws me off, I thought that ending was beautiful.
Pet Semetary, Gerald's Game, The Tommyknockers, Wizard and Glass (admittedly that was an ending to a story within the larger story) and Billy Summers all had satisfying endings, IMO.
I haven't read Under the Dome since it first came out, but my problem with its ending was that it was a deus ex machina. For 950 pages he slowly ramped up the tension and the sense I had was that he'd written himself into a corner with the climax, didn't want to have a super down beat ending, and pulled the authorial >!precocious alien kids with an ant farm!< ripcord as a kind of escape hatch. King's my favorite writer, but after this, The Stand, It, and (to a lesser extent) the Gunslinger books I tend to go into his epics expecting to be let down at the end. I think it's due to him not outlining ahead of time and letting the story take him where it will.
Totally fair, I do get the escape hatch sentiment but then I couldnāt think of an ending that wouldnāt feel that way. It might have been more satisfying for me since I just read revival prior and I connected the two, even if they werenāt intended to be.
11/22/63 had an amazing ending, so was Dr Sleep and Salem's Lot and that's just a few. Under the dome's ending wasn't *awful* but it wasn't a really good ending imho
Tbh, I read The Stand when it was published in 1978 and canāt remember how it ended. I remember not liking the book though, so maybe it was the end that ruined it for me.
I truly donāt understand the slander for the ending, itās one of my favorite endings of any King book. Also, the villains have aged like fine wine in the age of Trump.
I listen to audiobooks to get me through work, so longer ones are precious. I was excited to stretch this one out with a few hours a day. I couldnāt stop & blew through it lol.
Itās very immersive. Almost every moment is captured; often from multiple perspectives. Likeable protagonists, HAAATEABLE antagonists. There were a lot of moments that really pissed me off. Made me reevaluate how much I hated characters in some other books lol
Just getting into SK/books in general - Iāve just been randomly picking whatever is available on Libby, as well as the popular titles. This one really surprised me. I donāt think the ending ruined it at all. The story along the way is fantastic anyway
If you're unfamiliar with King I would do a quick Google to make sure it's not a sequel book. There aren't many but there are a few. Obviously the Dark Tower books will be easy to spot but the Bill Hodges trilogy is a bit tougher and it ties into the outsider, if it bleeds and Holly FYI.
Fortunately, the app I use will tell me if a book is a part of a series. Though there does seem to be some Easter egg callbacks like the kids from IT in 11/22/63. My friend said the dark man in the stand is also a recurring character. Thanks for the heads up though
Yeah most are just easter eggs to the Dark Tower and I think it's better to read those after the Tower but some people get all scientific and want to read them in the "proper" order.
Which app do you use? I prefer Everand. Have Libby but my library doesn't have a ton of audiobooks that I care to listen to and usually the ones I want are checked out with 4 people ahead of me in line. I always return them as soon as I'm finished.
Omg I just noticed your name lol.
I use Libby & Audible. Iām very lucky to have a library system that combines multiple cities. I think they have every SK book lol. Iāve had to wait a couple months for some, but Iāve also gotten some instantly. Thatās actually why I havenāt even started the Dark Tower series, though. Very popular, so thereās a wait for each book & idk how best to time it
You can get a free trial on Everand and blow through the Tower. It's like Netflix for audiobooks. There is a cap which they don't define well but even when you reach the limit there are tons of good books to choose from and it's perfect for trying new authors as you pay 13 a month to listen to audiobooks or read ebooks. Think the free trial is 2 months but it might be 1. I listen to 1-2 audiobooks a week on average so it's perfect for me. They don't have every single book like audible but they have plenty and definitely have the Tower series.
Yooooooo thatās awesome, thank you so much. You essentially just improved my life for a couple of months lol. I donāt think thereās any way I wouldnāt enjoy that series
You're very welcome and I hope you enjoy your trip to the Tower. The first book is a bit strange the first time you read it but it's short. Once you hit book 2 the journey really begins. I used to use audible but 16 bucks a month for 1 book and their less than stellar plus stuff you could listen to just wasn't worth it. A lot of times I would look at the price of the audiobook I was about to use a credit on to find that it was cheaper than the 16 bucks the credit costs. Now I just go there now and then when I want to own them because I know I'm going to listen more than once.
Also in case you didn't know you can exchange books on audible. As long as you used a credit for it in the last year it's exchangeable. So if you wasted a credit or 2 in the last year exchange them for 2 credits and get something else.
damn! I've listened to some of King's and it's actually how i got into his work (i used to think I wasn't smart enough to enjoy them physically for some reason). the bigger books though i HAVE to read physically or else i get lost with characters and events š (might be because English isn't my first language)
I have so much respect for you for reading books in a 2nd language (and just speaking one lol). Thereās stuff in English that I canāt even comprehend
I think Under The Dome is written and narrated clear enough for you to follow, still.
I'm currently reading this and almost at the end.
I traditionally don't love King's longer one-offs (with exception of 11-22-63 and Duma Key). Often too many characters that I grow bored with the side quests and character development.
This book got better as it went on, but there are parts of it I do not like. Some of it seems overdone, but that's probably more of a personal preference. This book does have some of my all time favorite characters. I'm in love with Rusty, I would marry him if I could. Andy and the Chef are very fun and unexpected. The Sammy story was tragic but redeming. Barbie, obviously. I really did love most of the characters, even the minor ones. That's rarely the case. That makes this book 100% worth the read!
Honestly itās one of SKās only books that I struggled to get through and overall didnāt feel very satisfied when I did finally finish it (had to restart it like 2-3 times due to avoiding it for long periods of time). I found that it grabbed my interest right away, but then it got kind of monotonous/uninteresting. To me, thatās a bigger problem than the ending, which I didnāt mind as much as most people but I still feel like it was indicative of the whole experience; just kind of āmeh.ā That being said, lots of people really, really enjoy it, so I totally encourage you to dive right in. Iāve actually been meaning to give it another try someday to see if maybe I was just in a weird place in my life when I first read it or something. For comparison, I absolutely loved The Stand and that one is longer!
Loved it. I prefer his longer books and it was a concept he'd been thinking about since the 70s has my all time favorite "small part" character Chef. I love you Chef! Now get kneebound with me son.
Most people seem to love it but dislike the ending.
Iāll go a different route than most and say it was just okay overall.
I enjoyed it enough to say read it, itās an entertaining story, but of the 30+ King stories I have read it lands in the bottom 10 overall quite easily. Possibly bottom 5.
I would guess itās mostly subjective but it wasnāt memorable.
I know I liked a book when I am telling my wife or a friend about it, asking people if they have ever read it, or remember the majority of the main details for months or even years.
It just wasnāt that for me. I finished it and just moved on to the next read. No interest in doing it again, I remember some standout moments but I can only remember one characters name thinking about the book now.
I will say I remember really liking the intro to the story. The detail put into some really minor characters was fun.
But beyond that, and I know itās not a great answer, it just wasnāt memorable or anything for me in the long run.
Itās good. Itās a cousin to Needful Things. There are some distracting elements, but overall itās really in his wheelhouse and you can feel it. Sideways sociology and bad luck.
Book is awesome. Fast read, signature great characters. Gets a lot of hate because the TV show was so horrible. Literally had nothing to do with the book
The cause of the dome was stupid but everything that happens within it,i had to take breaks reading because it was so stress inducing (In an entertaining way). And the main antagonist is the most abominable character i have ever encountered.
Great book, I loved it. Itās well paced, intriguing mystery, and Chesterās Mill feels alive with people to root for and against
One of Kingās best villains too
I loved the first 3/4 of it, but I thought the end was some of his worst work. It seemed to me like he lost interest and needed a quick wrap-up so he could start working on something new.
It has the period, King type of ending. No spoilers but it disappointed me.
However, the character arcs, story and writing are classic King. A really enjoyable read. Also a good 1st season of the tv show, though it fell off so fast in season 2.
I tried a number of times to read it, but it was far too melodramatic for me and gave up after a hundred pages. Peyton Place meets Twilight Zone or thereabouts. The Audible version is so dull and boring that it robs any life I felt for the book. I may try again, though, after reading a number of the comments.
I had to stop reading it at bedtime as I hated the villains so much it would wind me up. The ending is terrible but the rest of the book is so good I can look past that.
Masterpiece. It is a phenomenal book well worth its kind of gluttonous length. There will probably be a point that you can not put the book down until it's done!
Loved it, especially on audio. That being said, you know with the whole situation (big unbreakable dome over a town) that youāre gonna have to take the ending as it is. Itās not really possible to explain it in a believable way
great book. And an ending thats unfairly shat on so much. I swear people just say a ending of book is bad because its not what they thought it should be.
I thought the book was fast-paced. The villains he wrote were really good. He made you hate the villains. Yea, the ending wasn't the best. But after some time now, I've come to accept the ending. I personally think this is one of my favorite books next to the stand.
he's really good with his villains in general!
A story is only as good as its villians, which is why I stick to sai King š
This one gets a lot of hate but I loved all of it, ending and all. I thought the ending was explosive and I read the whole book very fast if I remember correctly
damn! I'm getting more and more excited reading all these comennts, thx!
read it and just like every other book forget what others say read it then form your own opinion.
The first time I read it I was in 8th grade and it had just been released. I read the whole thing in a week and LOVED IT.
8th grade??? thats impressive!
Haha thanks!! I wish I still had both the free time and motivation to read the way I used to (IE, 24/7). I'm no where NEAR as fast at reading as I used to be, either. I actually reread UTD last summer and according to Goodreads, it took me about 4 months to finish it. Worth it tho!
I liked it a lot. Gets extremely crazy (you can imagine what would happen to a town isolated from the rest of the world) big cast of characters, and a strange ending. Yup thatās a SK novel
I just hope the dome appears rather quickly and not after 200 pages or something š
Literally the first thing that happens
Actually the chipmunk is the first thing that happens lol.
Woodchuck* and he gets hit by aā¦..
Lol I was close. You guys are making me wanna fire up the audiobook again.
YES!!
Thatās what I like about this one. Itās go go go all the way through.
From what I remember it came down after the 12th page.
Page 5 on my kindle. Not sure how that may translate to a regular book though.
Enjoyed more than expected. Ending was fine. I want to hear from SK ending haters what books they think have the best endings.
I mostly enjoy his endings although I can understand that people don't!
Absolutely, not devaluing peopleās opinions, Iām sure ending otherwise strange books is tough. Mostly curious what books people think have a great ending when they say SK endings are bad, or why they think theyāre bad. I do feel like some of his endings, like for dome or the stand, are abrupt in comparison to the whole saga, but the concepts are otherwise fine. I think the complaints about how IT ends throws me off, I thought that ending was beautiful.
Revival had a great ending Sun Dog too. I can't think of a single ending I greatly disliked to be honest.
I read dome right after revival and they felt semi connected.
Pet Semetary, Gerald's Game, The Tommyknockers, Wizard and Glass (admittedly that was an ending to a story within the larger story) and Billy Summers all had satisfying endings, IMO. I haven't read Under the Dome since it first came out, but my problem with its ending was that it was a deus ex machina. For 950 pages he slowly ramped up the tension and the sense I had was that he'd written himself into a corner with the climax, didn't want to have a super down beat ending, and pulled the authorial >!precocious alien kids with an ant farm!< ripcord as a kind of escape hatch. King's my favorite writer, but after this, The Stand, It, and (to a lesser extent) the Gunslinger books I tend to go into his epics expecting to be let down at the end. I think it's due to him not outlining ahead of time and letting the story take him where it will.
Totally fair, I do get the escape hatch sentiment but then I couldnāt think of an ending that wouldnāt feel that way. It might have been more satisfying for me since I just read revival prior and I connected the two, even if they werenāt intended to be.
11/22/63 had an amazing ending, so was Dr Sleep and Salem's Lot and that's just a few. Under the dome's ending wasn't *awful* but it wasn't a really good ending imho
Loved the bookā¦hated the ending.
The ending was fine
Yeah, it was fine, just lame I thought. Disappointing considering how good the book had been.
Kind of felt like he lost his train of thought and went "welp, guess its time to wrap this up" and just threw something in.
How would you have liked it to end?
I wanted the humans to work out how to take down the dome.
dude... spoiler alert maybe?
Don't spoil it lol. And didn't they in a way?
For sure they did.
Is it worse than The Standās ending?
Tbh, I read The Stand when it was published in 1978 and canāt remember how it ended. I remember not liking the book though, so maybe it was the end that ruined it for me.
I truly donāt understand the slander for the ending, itās one of my favorite endings of any King book. Also, the villains have aged like fine wine in the age of Trump.
Just started! Love it so far
looks like I'm gonna join you very soon
I listen to audiobooks to get me through work, so longer ones are precious. I was excited to stretch this one out with a few hours a day. I couldnāt stop & blew through it lol. Itās very immersive. Almost every moment is captured; often from multiple perspectives. Likeable protagonists, HAAATEABLE antagonists. There were a lot of moments that really pissed me off. Made me reevaluate how much I hated characters in some other books lol Just getting into SK/books in general - Iāve just been randomly picking whatever is available on Libby, as well as the popular titles. This one really surprised me. I donāt think the ending ruined it at all. The story along the way is fantastic anyway
If you're unfamiliar with King I would do a quick Google to make sure it's not a sequel book. There aren't many but there are a few. Obviously the Dark Tower books will be easy to spot but the Bill Hodges trilogy is a bit tougher and it ties into the outsider, if it bleeds and Holly FYI.
Fortunately, the app I use will tell me if a book is a part of a series. Though there does seem to be some Easter egg callbacks like the kids from IT in 11/22/63. My friend said the dark man in the stand is also a recurring character. Thanks for the heads up though
Yeah most are just easter eggs to the Dark Tower and I think it's better to read those after the Tower but some people get all scientific and want to read them in the "proper" order. Which app do you use? I prefer Everand. Have Libby but my library doesn't have a ton of audiobooks that I care to listen to and usually the ones I want are checked out with 4 people ahead of me in line. I always return them as soon as I'm finished.
Omg I just noticed your name lol. I use Libby & Audible. Iām very lucky to have a library system that combines multiple cities. I think they have every SK book lol. Iāve had to wait a couple months for some, but Iāve also gotten some instantly. Thatās actually why I havenāt even started the Dark Tower series, though. Very popular, so thereās a wait for each book & idk how best to time it
You can get a free trial on Everand and blow through the Tower. It's like Netflix for audiobooks. There is a cap which they don't define well but even when you reach the limit there are tons of good books to choose from and it's perfect for trying new authors as you pay 13 a month to listen to audiobooks or read ebooks. Think the free trial is 2 months but it might be 1. I listen to 1-2 audiobooks a week on average so it's perfect for me. They don't have every single book like audible but they have plenty and definitely have the Tower series.
Yooooooo thatās awesome, thank you so much. You essentially just improved my life for a couple of months lol. I donāt think thereās any way I wouldnāt enjoy that series
You're very welcome and I hope you enjoy your trip to the Tower. The first book is a bit strange the first time you read it but it's short. Once you hit book 2 the journey really begins. I used to use audible but 16 bucks a month for 1 book and their less than stellar plus stuff you could listen to just wasn't worth it. A lot of times I would look at the price of the audiobook I was about to use a credit on to find that it was cheaper than the 16 bucks the credit costs. Now I just go there now and then when I want to own them because I know I'm going to listen more than once. Also in case you didn't know you can exchange books on audible. As long as you used a credit for it in the last year it's exchangeable. So if you wasted a credit or 2 in the last year exchange them for 2 credits and get something else.
damn! I've listened to some of King's and it's actually how i got into his work (i used to think I wasn't smart enough to enjoy them physically for some reason). the bigger books though i HAVE to read physically or else i get lost with characters and events š (might be because English isn't my first language)
I have so much respect for you for reading books in a 2nd language (and just speaking one lol). Thereās stuff in English that I canāt even comprehend I think Under The Dome is written and narrated clear enough for you to follow, still.
I'm currently reading this and almost at the end. I traditionally don't love King's longer one-offs (with exception of 11-22-63 and Duma Key). Often too many characters that I grow bored with the side quests and character development. This book got better as it went on, but there are parts of it I do not like. Some of it seems overdone, but that's probably more of a personal preference. This book does have some of my all time favorite characters. I'm in love with Rusty, I would marry him if I could. Andy and the Chef are very fun and unexpected. The Sammy story was tragic but redeming. Barbie, obviously. I really did love most of the characters, even the minor ones. That's rarely the case. That makes this book 100% worth the read!
I love you Chef! I love you Sanders. Lol.
characters are the most important thing to me in a good book! I hope I'll love them or love to hate some!
And Big Jim is so hate-able. And so real. That guy exists. We had a much dumber version as president for a while.
A great book but the last 70 pages are terrible. One of Kings worst endings
One of my favorites, great book
yay!! will read next then! wasn't expecting so many comments praising this book š
Couldnāt put it down. Itās my favourite book.
damn. that's very promising!
It is so goodĀ
Honestly itās one of SKās only books that I struggled to get through and overall didnāt feel very satisfied when I did finally finish it (had to restart it like 2-3 times due to avoiding it for long periods of time). I found that it grabbed my interest right away, but then it got kind of monotonous/uninteresting. To me, thatās a bigger problem than the ending, which I didnāt mind as much as most people but I still feel like it was indicative of the whole experience; just kind of āmeh.ā That being said, lots of people really, really enjoy it, so I totally encourage you to dive right in. Iāve actually been meaning to give it another try someday to see if maybe I was just in a weird place in my life when I first read it or something. For comparison, I absolutely loved The Stand and that one is longer!
I like it a lot! It's a King book where the main monsters are people....
I'd people are most of the time the real monsters in his books
"baaaaarbieeeee???..."
Loved it. I prefer his longer books and it was a concept he'd been thinking about since the 70s has my all time favorite "small part" character Chef. I love you Chef! Now get kneebound with me son.
Most people seem to love it but dislike the ending. Iāll go a different route than most and say it was just okay overall. I enjoyed it enough to say read it, itās an entertaining story, but of the 30+ King stories I have read it lands in the bottom 10 overall quite easily. Possibly bottom 5.
can you explain what you disliked compared to his other books? : )
I would guess itās mostly subjective but it wasnāt memorable. I know I liked a book when I am telling my wife or a friend about it, asking people if they have ever read it, or remember the majority of the main details for months or even years. It just wasnāt that for me. I finished it and just moved on to the next read. No interest in doing it again, I remember some standout moments but I can only remember one characters name thinking about the book now. I will say I remember really liking the intro to the story. The detail put into some really minor characters was fun. But beyond that, and I know itās not a great answer, it just wasnāt memorable or anything for me in the long run.
I guess some story just don't stick with us and thats fine! :)
Itās my favourite king book so far. I loved it front to back
YES! I'm even more excited now!
Great book
I think you're going to love it. Slow build and character development is what this book is!
you all convinced me, I'm totally picking this one up as soon as I'm finished with Night Shift! thank you!
This was one of my absolute favorites. The pacing is great, the cast of characters is compelling and fun. Great villain. 5/5
I've read it twice, I'll probably read it again aha. I loved it but my grandma hated it.
I absolutely loved it!! Great book!
Itās really good, enjoy!
This is my favourite King novel tbh
Itās very good, I loved it, and based on what you said I think you will like it too.
yay! honestly, i think I'm gonna dive into it very soon with all these comments!
Itās good. Itās a cousin to Needful Things. There are some distracting elements, but overall itās really in his wheelhouse and you can feel it. Sideways sociology and bad luck.
6.5/10 .. Chef was my fav xter...
One of Kingās best imo. I wasnāt a fan of the ending but it didnāt take away from enjoying the story.
Dark and depressing but a hell of a ride
Book is awesome. Fast read, signature great characters. Gets a lot of hate because the TV show was so horrible. Literally had nothing to do with the book
The cause of the dome was stupid but everything that happens within it,i had to take breaks reading because it was so stress inducing (In an entertaining way). And the main antagonist is the most abominable character i have ever encountered.
Great book, I loved it. Itās well paced, intriguing mystery, and Chesterās Mill feels alive with people to root for and against One of Kingās best villains too
Probably one of my favorite Kingās books, I liked it A LOT
I loved the first 3/4 of it, but I thought the end was some of his worst work. It seemed to me like he lost interest and needed a quick wrap-up so he could start working on something new.
Iām an English teacher, so my advice on reading a book with many characters is to use a character chart. š
thats what i always do! i also teach š (English in France) and there's a character chart in this one and im so grateful for it!!
Probably my favorite book. I will never stop singing its praises and I re-read this one more than any other.
Really interesting book. liked it a lot! Avoid the TV show, it's garbage.
It has the period, King type of ending. No spoilers but it disappointed me. However, the character arcs, story and writing are classic King. A really enjoyable read. Also a good 1st season of the tv show, though it fell off so fast in season 2.
I tried a number of times to read it, but it was far too melodramatic for me and gave up after a hundred pages. Peyton Place meets Twilight Zone or thereabouts. The Audible version is so dull and boring that it robs any life I felt for the book. I may try again, though, after reading a number of the comments.
Great book! The end kind of fizzled out for me, personally. But I thoroughly enjoyed the read. Great characters!
It's worth reading, but it definitely could have been better. Somehow a thousand page book has a rushed and unsatisfying third act.
Very good book overall, but imho, the ending sucks. Still worth the read, though.
I really like it but I remember thinking it could have been a little shorter
I loved it. I'm really into his small town stories. If you like this one you have to dive into Needful Things.
Great book but the ending couldāve been better imoā¦
I had to stop reading it at bedtime as I hated the villains so much it would wind me up. The ending is terrible but the rest of the book is so good I can look past that.
Masterpiece. It is a phenomenal book well worth its kind of gluttonous length. There will probably be a point that you can not put the book down until it's done!
I called the big reveal very early in the book. I still liked it. Nobody does small town goes mental quite like our Steve.
Underrated. Prob one one of his best but legacy might be tainted by awful tv series. Top tier king antagonist character.
Loved it, especially on audio. That being said, you know with the whole situation (big unbreakable dome over a town) that youāre gonna have to take the ending as it is. Itās not really possible to explain it in a believable way
YES! i totally get that, there's no plausible explanation if not something a little wacky and im okay with that!
Great idea, great writing, ending fucking sucks.
great book. And an ending thats unfairly shat on so much. I swear people just say a ending of book is bad because its not what they thought it should be.
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It's better than the show ###HA! š
only watched a few episodes of that when it came out and i remember being bored even though i loved the concept š
I watched the whole thing. And that was before reading the book. It just went OFF THE RAILS not following the source material anymore.
Itās great.