Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

Under the Dome by Stephen King

43 reviews

cowahbull's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

I think this might be my favorite Stephen King yet. I hated character so much I wanted to kill them myself. I loved them so much I cried.
My poor hair almost all got pulled out from the intensity of it all.

Biggest criticism: the ending happened too quickly. A habit of Mr King. 

Also this has every single major trigger warning you can think of. If you are someone who needs content warnings for your own mental safety and security, this is NOT the book for you! If you like fucked up shit and to experience triggering things then give it a go

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Car accident, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Blood, Vomit, Car accident, and Alcohol

nburkk's review against another edition

3.0

---

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. 

---

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

---

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

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

---

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

martianfromhell's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Rape and Suicide

hampshark's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

4.75

This is one of King’s best. Engaging from page 1 to the end. Even with the few weak spots, I come back to this year after year for the study of humanity and the consequences of no consequences. 

Even 15 years later, it feels fresh and pertinent and subversive and possible. 

Of note, due to its scope, there are many (every?) triggers so take care. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child death, Violence, Stalking, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

roisin_marie's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• 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? No

3.5

Only let down by what I consider unnecessary 

Defecation/ specifically female degradation - repeatedly

beloved dogs dying

necrophelia

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Rape, Sexual violence, Police brutality, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Alcoholism, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury

hocuscrocus's review against another edition

dark 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

1.5

I finished this book out of spite, I'm not going to lie. Even when this was published, Stephen King had been in the game far too long to lean on his tired shock value routine. The acts of fictional characters do not reflect on the author, but the author's choices on how those acts are told certainly does in this case. It's lazy storytelling at best.
For a man who has made money offering advice to writers, you'd think he'd a) understand how human beings speak, b) put some respect into writing women, c) learn how to tell a shocking story without slurs, random gross out "humor," and graphically described sexual assault.
This book is a remarkably weak story hiding behind cheap, edgy humor and good worldbuilding.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Car accident, Murder, and Sexual harassment

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

---

Content Warnings

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