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Under The Dome: A Novel Audiobook
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(3.00) - 73,269 listener ratings
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Plot Summary
On October 21st in an unknown year, a small town in Maine suddenly finds itself trapped Under the Dome.
Chester's Mill is a relatively small town, where it's typical that not much ever happens. Or at least that's how the town's officials would like it to appear. Under its peaceful surface, Chester's Mill is actually awash with corruption. Government officials double as drug dealers, and fight one another for control of both the town and the local meth operation.
In the midst of this hotbed of corruption lives former Army Captain Dale "Barbie" Barbara, who wants nothing more than to leave Chester's Mill behind him for good. As a local dispute grows into a larger problem, Barbie makes his plans to exit the town. Unfortunately for him, he has waited too long to do so. A barrier of unknown origin and substance suddenly forms around the small town, separating it from the outside world and killing many in the process, including the local police chief. Barbie is trapped in the one place he doesn't want to be.
Separated from the rest of civilization, Chester's Mill soon finds itself in chaos. Local care salesman, selectman, and meth dealer Big Jim sets himself up as the boss of the town, and expands the local police force into his personal militia. Meanwhile, the President reinstates Barbie to the Army and attempts to place him in charge of Chester's Mill until such time as The Dome (as it has come to be called) can be removed.
As competing authorities and interests clash, the fate of Chester's Mill hangs in the balance. Will the source of The Dome be discovered? Can Barbie win control of the town? Or will the corrupt dictatorship of Big Jim carry the day? Listen to Under the Dome and find out!
Stephen King is a bestselling American horror novelist. A resident of Maine (the setting for many of his books), King has penned such classics as Cujo, The Green Mile, and Salem's Lot. King has won nearly every award that an author can win. His books have sold more than 350 Million copies, and several have been adapted into award-winning films and television serials.
"OH My! This is a whooper of a story. The book is over 1000 pages, the narrative is over 30 hours! Talk about getting your money's worth. Narrator Raul Esparza was just right for the voice of "Under the Dome," and that's important when you'll be listening to the story for weeks.The important thing to consider with this book/audiobook, is that King introduces many, many characters, and you'll have to refresh your memory from time to time about who is who, so remember to associate each character with their family and job, that helps. If you're a King fan, you'll love this. If your just getting started with Stephen King, remember to give it time, it takes a while to develop such a long story!"
— Rolland Kling (4 out of 5 stars)
Publisher Summary
Don’t miss the “harrowing” (The Washington Post) #1 New York Times bestselling thriller from master storyteller Stephen King that inspired the hit television series, following the apocalyptic scenario of a town cut off from the rest of the world.
On an entirely normal, beautiful fall day in Chester’s Mill, Maine, the town is inexplicably and suddenly sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field. Planes crash into it and fall from the sky in flaming wreckage, a gardener’s hand is severed as “the dome” comes down on it, people running errands in the neighboring town are divided from their families, and cars explode on impact. No one can fathom what this barrier is, where it came from, and when—or if—it will go away.
Dale Barbara, Iraq vet and now a short-order cook, finds himself teamed with a few intrepid citizens—town newspaper owner Julia Shumway, a physician’s assistant at the hospital, a select-woman, and three brave kids. Against them stands Big Jim Rennie, a politician who will stop at nothing—even murder—to hold the reins of power, and his son, who is keeping a horrible secret in a dark pantry. But their main adversary is the Dome itself. Because time isn’t just short. It’s running out.
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Quotes
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“Stephen King’s Under the Dome was one of my favourite books of the year so far.”
— Neil Gaiman -
“Tight and energetic from start to finish…Hard as this thing is to hoist, it's even harder to put down.”
— New York Times -
“Propulsively intriguing…Staggeringly addictive.”
— USA Today -
“The work of a master storyteller having a whole lot of fun.”
— Los Angeles Times -
“A wildly entertaining trip.”
— People -
“Under the Dome moves so fast and grips the reader so tightly that it's practically incapacitating.”
— Newsday -
“Dome is classic King, sure to please any fan.”
— Baltimore Sun -
“King returns to his glory days.”
— New York Daily News
Awards
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A New York Times bestseller
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A 2010 British Fantasy Award Nominee
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A #1 USA Today bestseller
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Selected for the December 2009 Indie Next List
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A 2009 Washington Post Best Audiobook
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A Publishers Weekly bestseller
Under The Dome Listener Reviews
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Jeffrey Buzyniski, 7/30/2017
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" This one of the best books with a surprisingly strange ending "
— janet lee, 7/19/2017 -
" Absolutely excellent in every way there is.To be sure. "
— Tate Persony, 4/30/2017 -
" Read this monster in two days. I am a fast reader by nature but this book had me hooked. I usually can do 200 to 300 pages a day. I was going more like 400 to 600 for this book. Anyway good book all the way though. "
— Damien, 2/18/2014 -
" Great book with a not so great ending. "
— James, 2/11/2014 -
" Flawed but took me book to my teenage years reading other King books this size. Made me happy that Stephen King is still around. One of the reasons a Kindle was invented. "
— Jay, 2/9/2014 -
" Loved it, however, it was very long. May have been best published as two books. "
— Kristi, 2/4/2014 -
" Great book. Quite a long read, but it goes by pretty quick. VERY interesting story, and I love the parallels to the Bush administration. Off the top of my head, there are few characters frmo other books that I despise more than Big Jim Renney. Without ruining the story, I just wish some of those evil *ssholes had gotten more of what they deserved. The ending was a bit odd and abrupt, but still, a great book. "
— Erik, 2/1/2014 -
" Dry and boring. Definitely could have been a much shorter book, and I probably would have liked it more. "
— Sarah, 1/24/2014 -
" This book is never ending. That being said it remained mostly interesting throughout. The characters were intriguing and the book was well researched to be as lose to real as possible. But the book is loooooooong. Halved and concentrated would have been wonderful. "
— Roberta, 1/16/2014 -
" I love long books with communities of characters. I also loved that I couldn't predict the end. I truly enjoyed the novel and I'll be thinking about it for some time. "
— Melissa, 1/13/2014 -
" I felt this was very much like The Stand in that it is a social study of human behaviours in extreme conditions, in this case a large dome placed over a whole society. Very engrossing and highly recommended. "
— Sharon, 1/5/2014 -
" A long read. A huge number of characters. Good story over-all. "
— Kyle, 1/5/2014 -
" I've read critiques of this from people who clearly thought that it was meant to be an anthropological study. Well in a way it is. A rattling good yarn with all your most loathed stereotypes plotting and scheming. "
— Jon, 1/1/2014 -
" Gripping. Ending was a little anticlimactic. "
— Mick, 11/24/2013 -
" This was my second Stephen King book (after 11/22/63) and wow! Loved it! "
— Brie, 11/1/2013 -
" The majority of the story was fantastic. You quickly realize how fast things can go to the dark side. It was the ending that was so disappointing. It lost 2 stars for that. "
— Hope, 10/29/2013 -
" Not necessarily the kind of Stephen King book I love - but Under the Dome wasn't terrible. I enjoyed the character development and idea of the dome...but I think it fell short. I feel like he gave up at the end. "
— Jami, 9/22/2013 -
" Not a horror book but more of a scientific fiction novel with a lot of about human behavior. "
— Carey, 5/17/2013 -
" Actually something between 4.5 and 5 stars. The end was quite abortive for me but the rest was excellent... "
— Cyberstorm, 1/30/2013 -
" one of my top three king books "
— Jaren, 12/11/2012 -
" Possibly my favorite Stephen King book to date. An enlightening look at the psychology & human condition when a small town is isolated & left completely to their own demise. "
— Jess, 11/22/2012 -
" This is definitely a horrific tale. Well written in true King fashion. It's not for the faint of heart. King is undeniably a fantastic writer and draws the reader well into the little town of Chester's Mill. "
— Jaynan, 10/5/2012 -
" Love it!!! Can't wait for the TV Show this summer:) "
— Sharon, 5/21/2012 -
" This was a very good listen! "
— Grace, 4/6/2012 -
" Since I can't seem to finish the audiobook, I think I am just going to have to pick up the book and dig in. "
— Vonnie, 3/15/2012 -
" I don't know why, I could'n pass page 30!!! But I'll try again... "
— Manu82, 3/6/2012 -
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shayna westmoreland, 12/12/2011
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" I really enjoyed this book and if it wasn't for the ending, which i felt was a let down, i would have given it 5 stars. "
— Sophie, 10/10/2011 -
" awesome of course Stephen King is the master in his genre "
— Melinda, 7/14/2011 -
" The story is not too original - it combines the 'city under dome' idea from Tommyknockers with character interaction similar to Needful Things. It's well written though, but I still feel like being cheater to consume some leftovers rather than the fresh meal I ordered (and paid for). "
— Eeepi, 5/25/2011 -
" So far I am loving this book, hate to put it down, but the eyes get too heavy... and I have to. "
— Pammy, 5/23/2011 -
" Epic. That's the best word to describe stephen king's greatest work since the shawshank redemption. I must warn you it takes a long time to really get going (like 400 pages). If you have the patience though the pace picks up and never stops. "
— Jon, 5/22/2011 -
" It is a decent read til the end, which almost killed the whole book. One of the lamest endings I have ever read. Other than that is was okay. "
— Randy, 5/22/2011 -
" I hate that I'm reading a book like this....but it works for long plane flights. Because the story is about an entire town that is trapped under a dome, there are alot of characters to keep track of. The story is getting a little bizzarre now, so I might not finish. "
— Jane, 5/21/2011 -
" I really, really wanted to finish this, but I made it to page 800 or so. The best bit was the beginning, and then it sputtered out. I'm afraid that the ending would have been lackluster and disappointing, so I decided to give it my own ending. "
— Amy, 5/20/2011 -
" It's so bloated, unwieldy, and poorly planned out you can expect "all the bad guys to get magically killed off" two chapters in. Also includes an unecessary rape scene. "
— Andrew, 5/19/2011 -
" SK very rarely disappoints, and this book was no exception (SK has always been about very deep characters and characterisations in unusual situations), and he stands as one of the few authors that inspired me to be a writer. "
— Ivor, 5/19/2011 -
" So far so good. I really wonder where this story will go. "
— MsKayle, 5/18/2011 -
" It kept me entertained up to the last few chapters and then it got weird. "
— Teresa, 5/17/2011 -
" A return to classic King... dependable stock characters, small town secrets, high body count. "
— Wesley, 5/17/2011 -
" I really enjoyed the world that the author created with all of the dynamic characters. The book left me with questions like what would people do if they were trapped beneath an invisible dome. I can really see it playing out as he described. I definitely recommend this novel. "
— K.A., 5/17/2011 -
" excellent. really long (1074 pages!), but worth the read. "
— Patrick, 5/16/2011
About Stephen King
Stephen King has written more than sixty books, many hitting the #1 spot on the New York Times bestsellers list. He has won the World Fantasy Award, several Bram Stoker Awards, and the O. Henry Award for his story “The Man in the Black Suit.” He is the 2003 recipient of the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, and in 2007 he received the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America. His epic works The Dark Tower and It are the basis for major motion pictures.
About Raúl Esparza
Raúl Esparza is a Cuban-American actor best known for his performances on Broadway. He has received Tony nominations for his roles in Taboo, Company, The Homecoming, and Speed the Plow, and his performance in the Center Theatre Group’s production of Leap of Faith earned him an Ovation Award in 2011. He also has a recurring role on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Rafael Barba.