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andrewbarzal's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Worth reading if you can stomach some rather intense content. The climax of this book genuinely astonished me, but unfortunately I found the ending a bit weak and drawn out. The “man behind the curtain” if you will, was a tad on the predictable side of things which made the reveal less impactful than it could have been.
The strong point of this book for me was its characters, specifically its villains. The main bad guy in this book is FUN to read, and he has stuck with me, which is much more than I can say about the main Hero who is sort of your standard chill/cool badass with a dark past who is competent and likable. He serves his purpose in the book well enough, but I found myself wishing I was reading about more colorful characters whenever the book spent much time with him.
I thought more could have been done with the town. The decay took place over the course of just a few days if my memory serves me, and I just would have liked a bit more sociological content. I think King took a pretty straightforward approach with how the town would react to the dome which is fine, I just wanted a bit more spice I guess.
Overall, I really enjoyed the book. Parts were genuinely hard to read, and the bits about Big Jim’s heart condition made me squirm and still make me squirm today!
Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury
seeker42's review against another edition
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Mental illness, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Body shaming, Chronic illness, Cursing, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical trauma, Car accident, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail
becky_97's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I went into my read of Under the Dome well aware that Stephen King is a phenomenal writer, and that thought was upheld as I dove into over 1,000 pages of well-built tension and horror in a story where, after a mysterious dome locks the townsfolk of Chester's Mill away from the rest of the world, everything starts to descend slowly into carnage and chaos.
Under the Dome is a monster of a book, but each of the well-written chapters fleshes out the cast into a believable collection of townsfolk, each of whom gets to tell their story throughout the novel. Having such a massive cast for a book seems daunting, but their stories and the stretch of their lives before the start of the fateful October Dome Day makes them feel real.
It's a brilliant book that made me sad, thoughtful, angry, and downright disgusted at times. Stephen King has such a talent for writing antagonists, and
I wish there were more to the ending. The book is well-written and drawn out, but the last few pages fly by. Overall, though, Under the Dome is another of Stephen King's masterpieces, and I imagine it'll stay with me for a long time.
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Police brutality, and Car accident
c_dmckinney's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body shaming, Cursing, Fatphobia, and Abandonment
Minor: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Vomit, and Antisemitism
necrophilia, cancer, brain tumor,bittie_bee's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Terminal illness, Blood, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Cancer, Child death, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury
omnilegentoberski's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Blood
braveprincess11's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Stephen King could’ve made a point here, but he threw it all away for some
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Drug use, Racial slurs, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Cancer and Vomit
seidrulf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
bologknees's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Animal death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
shannonfrizzell98's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual assault and Violence
Moderate: Sexism