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A review by andrewbarzal
Under the Dome by Stephen King
challenging
dark
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
4.0
Potential Spoilers:
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!
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!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury