Stephen King Fans discussion

I am thinking more and more of Andie's death as a lesson in reality. People do not always get what they deserve, no matter how badly we want to believe they do, and the good guy doesn't always come out on top. Harsh, but true.

Kandice wrote: "I am thinking more and more of Andie's death as a lesson in reality. People do not always get what they deserve, no matter how badly we want to believe they do, and the good guy doesn't always come..."

I was surprised at Andie's death. One thing I like about SK is that you can't count on any particular person. He might go ahead and just kill off everybody.

I almost felt like her death was punishment for keeping the envelope and trying to call Rennie out at the town meeting (stupid) instead of giving it to Julia, who it was intended for (as she should have done).

**SPOILERS**

The envelope was a red herring. In the end, it made no difference whether its contents were revealed.

I was disappointed that Andy died but not terribly surprised. You could say he died on day one, after the plane hit the dome.

Bondama wrote: "Andie's death really reminded me of the "lesson learned" by the boy in "Desperation" -- God is cruel.

btw, Angie - that is a FANTASTIC pic of himself that you used on our group page!"

Thanks! I am skimming the thread so I just saw your comment. I received a a gift card to B&N for Christmas and will be buying the book with that!

Angie - I am so happy for you -- it's NEVER been fair that our mod couldn't take part in December's discussion!!

Usually I read every book with the group! Thought I was getting the book for Christmas and was let down... dang SANTA

BOOOOO!

My son got me the book for Christmas. I told him not to, he's seven and the hardcover is just too expensive. He said he didn't care how much it cost because he knew I wanted it. He is so cute.

Awwww!

great kid!

That is one cool kid, Erick -- not only did he get you the book, but he himself will treasure reading more and more as he grows, because you do!

Not only is the hardcover too expensive, but most likely he's too small to carry it out of the store.....

Seriously though. Cute story.....

Maybe he put it on his razor scooter and rode it home. If he balanced it just right, it would add enough weight to make flying around tight curves really fun! LOL

As long as he didn't have to ride downhill....

Oh right. In that case he'd need to attach a parachute to the back to assist in braking. :)

I think they lent him a dolly to help him carry it.

LOL!

Stephen King discusses Under the Dome: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gi_twm.... I posted this in The Book Addicts group and wasn't sure if you all had seen it.

He talks a little bit about his view on religious groups and mentions that so many readers were disappointed about not knowing the source of the crisis in Cell that he felt he should write some kind of explanation in Under the Dome. But he didn't want it to be completely clear-cut either.

There are *spoilers* in this interview.

Becky wrote: "I just finished this book at around 5:30 this morning, and I have to say I loved it. I couldn't put it down.

There were a lot, a LOT, of parallels and references and "shades" of King's earlier ..."

I agree with your statement about that not being sufficient cause to warrant her reaction. That is weak evidence at best for the nonexistence of a creator. It is almost a non sequitur.

Under the Dome was an amazing book, I ALSO loved every minute of it, It is odd though that he began this work as a younger man because its nothing like his earlier works. I also think his writing style changed drastically after his accident. Does any else one agree with me on that?

I think his writing style changed over time. But I don't think it's because of his accident. If you look at books like Hearts in Atlantis & Bag of Bones, his style was already becoming more layered and structured. That has been realized best in Lisey's Story & Duma Key, but started in those 90's books.

Go back a little further and you can see a progression, like with The Dark Half & Dolores Claiborne.

His accident had a lot to do with the content of some of his work, and with the rate at which he wrote it, but I don't think it had a huge impact on the style itself. Somewhat, yes. Any major life experience will have some impact on it, I think.

Chris wrote: "I think his writing style changed over time. But I don't think it's because of his accident. If you look at books like Hearts in Atlantis & Bag of Bones, his style was already becoming more layered..."

I agree, Chris. And I'll just add that I think major life changes like that SHOULD affect a person's writing. If it didn't, I would begin to think that they are very closed off, and out of touch with life. And I would begin to think that the things they portray come from a fake place rather than life.

And if there is one thing that King is not, it's out of touch with life. :)

Yes, indeed. And I think that's why he's been at the top for so long.

And if anything has had a drastic effect on his style, I would say that it was when he quit his drinking and drug use. I believe that is why we see the more layered novels he's written, as he has been more in touch with his life. Yes, the accident added to that as well.

Absolutely.

I think post drugs/alcohol was a much more drastic change in his style than post accident. Like Chris said, it wasn't the style so much that changed, but the content. He seemed more careflu (a little) with his characters lives.

Bad ending, great story.

I finished up Under The Dome Saturday afternoon. Like The Stand, the book's characters are complex, compelling, and colorful.
I am constantly astonished at his ability to create almost living people and place them down in a place in the mind. It was almost depressing to find myself at the end of the book. Thrilled that I had managed to get to the ending, but sad that it the ride was over.
In my wildest dreams, I am a writer that can create people the way he does.

A Review of UNDER THE DOME by Stephen King

It has been some time since I read anything by Stephen King but I always enjoyed his writing style and his ability to come up with compelling stories. So, when I ran across UNDER THE DOME, the storyline sounded intriguing and I was in the mood to settle in for a long read -- at 1,074 pages, UNDER THE DOME is a long read. I surfed over to Amazon, found a soft cover edition for $9.99, put in my order and waited. The book arrived in a week and I jumped into it. It was like returning to familiar territory. Stephen King is easy to read, surely one of the prime ingredients of his commercial success. His prose is straightforward, with stories told in an easy-going manner that pulls the reader in. We can identify his characters as regular people from all walks of Americana, including the good, the bad, and the ugly. As I read, I was happy with the thought that this was the same old King, a writer I can always rely on to entertain me with both dark and light elements. And he did just that.

UNDER THE DOME is about a small town in Maine, Chester's Mill, that wakes up one morning in October to find itself surrounded by an invisible barrier and subsequently is cut off from the rest of society. Faced with such a startlingly impossible occurrence, the inhabitants of Chester's Mill react in differing ways but it is only a short time before their mounting fear manifests itself in murder, suicide, and a blind dependence on the one character who steps to the fore of leadership. That would be Big Jim Rennie who happens to be a corrupt local politician and car salesman. Big Jim is driven by a lust for power, a control freak who cloaks himself in pithy religious quotes often explaining to others that what he does, he does for the good of the community. Although Big Jim's character is pitted against Dale "Barbie" Barbara -- who represents the good, reasonable side of humanity -- Big Jim steals the show. Big Jim is hypocritical to the core and it is fascinating to watch how King plays with his main character's self-absorbed self-righteousness.

If any of this sounds familiar, it should. Stephen King wants us to think about how people are easily hoodwinked by politicians and the lure of easy money as well as the creeping corruption we witness at all levels of our lives. By creating the segregated community of Chester's Mill, King has offered us a microcosm of American society complete with people from the various social stratums. Some are honest, hard-working citizens, some are shiftless but harmless denizens of the lower class and some are just downright hypocritical figures who don't give a thought to the welfare of others.

Of course, King displays his own biases while unfolding his story. If he didn't, it would not be much of a story and, realistically, what writer cannot remove bias from a fictional account that by its very nature is charged by emotional responses elicited from the actions and attitudes of his characters? While I do not wholly agree with King's apparent political/social/religious positions, I do not wholly disagree either. There is corruption around us, along with all the accompanying motivating factors of greed, runaway desire, and an underlying sense of entitlement. While some of the attitudes expressed in UNDER THE DOME may offend some readers, others will surely clap their hands in approval. Such is the nature of opinion.

My chief complaint against Stephen King's stories (and this does not include all by any means) is the sometimes inability to give me a satisfying, believable ending. The resolution of UNDER THE DOME works for me, even though there are elements of the fantastic. But hey, what do you expect? It's Stephen King! King ties up all the loose ends, a significant act of writing in itself considering the cast of sixty-three characters he has put together.

I thoroughly enjoyed UNDER THE DOME. The author worked hard on this one and it shows. As I said from the outset, reading King again was like a reunion with an old friend. Thanks for another entertaining read, Mr. King.

Thomas C. Stone

Wow, Thomas. . . great review

I finished reading this around 2 days ago and i have to say it was fantastic!
I literally could not put it down, every time i would go straight back to it 5 minutes later.
A lot of people say it dragged on and i'll be the first to admit that, in my opinion, it did a bit. But not to the point were it was annoying.
I felt like shouting at the book when things got good or didn't go the way i thought they would and every time something went wrong i got really angry because i just wanted things to work out and i really felt for the characters. I did, however, hated Big Jim Rennie and some of his police squad. So i'd get really angry about stuff that they did and i have to admit that i did cry at least twice in the book.
I did thoroughly enjoy it though and i will no doubt read it again.

Hi everyone, just started reading UTD this week, getting to meet the characters, the place, and sliding back into SK's style of writing. Its been a year or more since I read a new King, the last was Lisey's Story, and its a great feeling to read something new, and wonder what he has in store for me down the line. Can't wait to get home from work and pick it up again!

I just finished the book and I feel a little cheated. The first half of the book was amazing, classic King. But the second half started to drag on and become more and more unbelieveable with each situation that King put the characters in. It was like a "Meet the Fockers" version of horror...I just kept wondering when something good was going to happen to the people of Chester's Mill. The ending was very anti-climatic for me, almost to the point where I think I wasted my time. I can't recommend such a long book with an ending like that to anyone, even if they are a fan of King's books.

Really, Jeff!?!

I can kind of understand why you'd feel that way Jeff. I mean, the ending was... different. All along we have this incredibly real, human-interest story, and then the end is so unexpected that it can make or break the rest.

I didn't mind it at all actually. I loved the roller-coaster ride of the story, and I loved to hate Big Jim and Junior, and I was so wrapped up in the story for those two days that I couldn't put it down. Almost literally. I dragged that hulk with me everywhere, and luckily I read over a holiday so I didn't have to leave the house.

I loved it, but I can see why others might not.

Dustin wrote: "Really, Jeff!?!"

Yes, I'm sorry to say it. I wanted to read it for so long and now that I finally have I'm disappointed in it. I haven't read a ton of King, but I've enjoyed everything I've read except this one. I'm going back to The Dark Tower series now.

I was a little disappointed in this one. Thought it dragged on way too long. And I am a fan of long novels! Just not my cup of tea.

I didn't feel that way at all... I read it so fast that it didn't seem long to me at all. I finished it in two days.

I will say that I can understand people being a bit put off by the ending, which was different, as well as people being put off by the over-the-top badness of (view spoiler)[Rennies Sr & Jr (hide spoiler)], but I thought it was fascinating and like a rollercoaster. I loved it. :)

Becky wrote: "I didn't feel that way at all... I read it so fast that it didn't seem long to me at all. I finished it in two days.

I will say that I can understand people being a bit put off by the ending, whi..."

Me, too. I was sorry when it ended. I finished it in about a week. I was ok with the ending as well.

I was OK with the ending, but it wasn't what I was expecting at all. LOL

I also loved Under the Dome...it's a favorite of mine, actually!

Under The Dome was great! It is such a fast read, I couldn't put it down!

My two cents...
I liked this much more than The Stand.
Rennie did seem too much like a combo of other King archetype baddies. Annie Wilkes, Stilson, and Mrs. Carmody in particular.

I am satisfied with the ending, for once. I have had lots of issues with Sk's endings of novels and of stories, but here he was really able to tie in the events of the tale into something with real meaning, and then take that and make it work as the solution to the problem.

Why does everyone (not literally) seem to compare UTD with The Stand? There's no comparison, IMO. They are two entirely different books.

I'm with you, Dustin, I don't get it either.

For me the only comparison for me, is in how much I like them both and that they are both such epic stories. They are completely different otherwise.

Thank you, Kathy and Dung Beetle!!

The only thing I really see as a common link is the weight. You'll bust your damn foot if you drop either of them on it.

I will elaborate on my UTD/ Stand comparison that both have a huge, labrythine amount of plotlines and characters, many with their own motivations and thoughts that King made expertly clear; and both feature a cataclysmic event that brings out the best and worst of people, delineating them to sides of good and evil.

I think I just dont connect with The Stand as many fans do because the tale seemed to take so much longer to come to completion. UTD's pacing and development seemed just a tad more RIGHT to me.

Yeah, I can see the similarity with "a cataclysmic event bringing out the best and worst..." Other than that, I stand firm in my previously stated opinion.

Agrimorfee - thank you for elaborating!