Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

Under the Dome: Part Two by Stephen King

41 reviews

itskatashley's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

This book started off with a map and a list of important character names which I loved! It definitely helped me to keep things straight as I was reading considering this book has a large cast of characters. 

The first 200 pages were great for me and felt like they went by really fast. They were filled with a lot of action and super descriptive scenes which I really enjoyed, but after this, the pace seemed to slow down for me which caused me to struggle through most of the middle of the book. I ended up feeling like there was just too many characters and too much going on. I felt like there was a lot of rambling when I just wanted SK to get to the point! I think this book could’ve been SOOOO much shorter!!

Another qualm I had with this book was that I didn’t find a single character relatable or even likable… 😩 Unless you count the dogs… 😅

There was a lot of gore and just very graphic scenes. Graphic animal death(s) and A LOT of r*pe incidents/talk.

I struggled with the religious/political side of this book (which was a lot of it and is probably why I wanted to DNF so many times…) I did feel at times that Christianity was mocked or diminished in a way that made this book not super enjoyable as a Christian. 

Anywayyyyy…. Excited to move on from this book and start my next read. 🤩

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Violence, Religious bigotry, Car accident, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicide, and Police brutality

Minor: Drug abuse and Sexual harassment

pippling's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-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

4.5

I loved how this kicked off immediately with the dome coming down, and how the nearly 900 pages covered just over a week of under-the-dome time yet it felt really fast paced. After a few chapters I felt fully immersed in Chester’s Mill and along for the ride. 

The dome brought out the worst of the people trapped under it, and exposed the evil that was already in the works… probably one of my favourite SK novels so far! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Terminal illness, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, War, and Classism

nburkk's review against another edition

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

hellokatya's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• 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

3.75

where to begin with this behemoth? 

this book was a monster to get through. it had sat on my bookshelf for months - maybe even a year - before i committed to the idea of finally getting through it.

i have admired king and his writing for quite some time now, years at this point, and had (failed) to appreciate his world building and storytelling through my read through of IT, and decided this one would get my all, which (for the most part) i succeeded in. 

this book was very good — let me start there. it is a fantastic fly on the wall look into the way a “close knit” community falls apart when left to their own devices, and manipulated so heavily by a truly evil power figure. i will say that i was almost shocked by how many truly despicable characters and personalities there were in this novel. a few morally ambiguous - or more gray? - types, and a LOT of “protagonists”. it almost felt a little too skewed to the dark side, but then again, it is a king novel. it latched it’s arms around you and squeezed — it felt almost as suffocating as being trapped in the dome with them. 

i do wish that there hadn’t been so many characters, or at least so much focus on some of them, and that it had been a more intimate ensemble cast. it was hard trying to remember who each person was - even with the aid of character lists -, their relations to eachother, and their role in the bigger picture. it also felt like it took away from the immersion into the evil political goals of big jim. 

also a complaint is that the book should have been divided up by the passing days — not the way they were (that i honestly can’t comprehend). it only took place over about a week, which is made clear in the story, but i feel would’ve made the story much more cohesive and digestible, especially considering the length of the novel. 

there is quite a lot of violence in this novel, a lot more than i had expected — especially when my first introduction and taste of this concept was the tv show. now, i did not expect it to be a carbon copy, but i was expecting more similarities than i got, and the show was much more polished and censored. 

angie’s death really stuck with me for a couple days after i read it and not in a good way.

maybe i’ve just become squeamish and don’t have the stomach for it anymore, but i felt a lot of the violence could’ve been toned down, or at least spread out amongst more men — it was heavily aimed at the women and left a bad taste in my mouth. 

there’s a lot of sexual violence, a lot of it implied, thank god; but doesn’t make it quite a lot easier to get through. 

also the group bullying then gang r*pe of a (personally beloved) character was really jarring and left me with sorrow and a heavy heart.

 

in addition, i think the book could have been quite a bit shorter. as i also felt at the end of IT, the bulk of the story felt very dragged out and the ending much too quick. it all happened very quickly and felt like a quick wrap up to an otherwise very intricate and colorful world. 

the use of children aliens and a box — the whole explanation as a whole — felt very underwhelming and like it didn’t make a whole lot of sense. it felt like something that could’ve been explored much further and not been a side story — especially considering that the entirety of the novel is about the dome itself.

i wanted that explored in greater detail and would still love to see that talked about in the future. 

and finally, big jim. that man is the stuff of nightmares. he is so to the core horrible. i hate that man with every fiber of my being, and he deserved so much worse than he got.

his death felt very quick and painless, almost making you question if he truly died, when (per a paragraph earlier) the women had it so decidedly worse and drawn out. there is no doubt that he’s capable, so what’s the hold up?

as a whole, i loved this novel and feel so accomplished to have finished it. i think the timing was perfect, and i was able to give it the love and attention i desired. i highly recommend it, but come prepared with an iron stomach and tissues. 

PLEASE read TW as every single one you can possibly imagine is included. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Medical content, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Racial slurs and Racism

kiwichill's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

mother_of_tad_coopers's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual violence

brookebatesratesbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

anne_marie_samp's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Rape, Suicide, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

jrocbutterfly's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A beast of a novel even for King's standard of writing long books, this one comes in at over 1000 pages. But even with its length   the momentum of the book is high paced and doesn't seem to have the mid slow that other long books can have. Though there is a supernatural or otherworldly element to the story.  The real horror of Under the Dome lies in what happens when humans are put, quite literally, with their backs against the wall.  When the outside world is unreachable people's true since of morality comes into play. The scariest part is seeing who rises up as heroes and who rises up as monsters when their is no one to hold anyone accountable.  And how humans truly can be the masters of their own downfall.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

It's a horror novel. Be prepared for scary things and scary people.

chloerom's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Drug abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Police brutality