Under the Dome Book + PRICE WATCH * Amazon pricing is not included in price watch

Under the Dome Book

The achievement of Stephen King is unlike that of any writer. He has taken a genre which was somewhat moribund when he came to it -- the horror novel -- and transformed it into one of the most phenomenally successful areas for quality popular writing -- what's more, his unprecedented sales success has inspired hundreds of imitators, and while few can match his inspiration (or, for that matter, his jawdropping productivity), there is no question that he has rejuvenated the horror field. Not that King confined himself to the strict parameters one might associate with the genre; several of his books -- such as this latest one, The Dome, stray into science fiction territory). But King’s achievement doesn't end there -- such is his influence over other genres (notably the crime and thriller field) that writers in those genres have been obliged to up the ante in terms of gruesome compulsiveness (Thomas Harris’ Hannibal Lecter books, for instance, owe much to the King transformation of the popular literature field). And as for that loaded world – ‘literature’ -- isn't Stephen King reputed to be the author who has brought quality writing into a field not noted for such things? (Not, that is, since the halcyon days of Edgar Allen Poe in a previous century). Is that claim true of the new book?So... The Dome. This massive novel, 25 years in the writing (if Stephen King is to be believed), is quite his most ambitious project, and brings to mind earlier blockbuster novels which aficionados considered to be among the writer's best work. Something like the basic premise here may be found in a classic piece of British science fiction, John Wyndham’s The Midwich Cuckoos (filmed as Village of the Damned). In that book, a village is isolated by an invisible force field -- and in the King novel, the residents can no more get out than the outside world can enter. John Wyndham's narrative involved the insemination of the women in the town by unseen alien presences, but Stephen King in The Dome has chosen to work in a different area. When the small New England town of Chester's Mill is cut off from the outside world by a mysterious force, all the laws of physics seem to be up for grabs; cars leaving town come up against invisible barriers, and there is death and mutilation for whatever was caught in the boundaries of an invisible field. Inside the dome, the inhabitants of the town deal with the catastrophe in a surprising (and often alarming) variety of ways: ex-military hero Dale Barbara has already come up against the antisocial elements of the town, and has been trying to get out. But the self-styled boss of the town, the demagogue Big Jim Rennie, soon establishes a Machiavellian control (another echo of the books of John Wyndham, in which catastrophe always throw up vicious, fascist-style leaders who capitalise on the disaster).As ever, King develops his massive dramatis personae with great assurance, and demonstrates once again that his imagination in terms of plotting is as strong as ever. Those, however, who have made a case for King as a quality writer rather than a great popular entertainer will not find much ammunition for their arguments here, but this great sprawling canvas affords many pleasures. --Barry ForshawRead More

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  • Amazon

    Stephen King's most riveting novel since THE STAND, in which every chapter ends on a cliffhanger -- a Maine town and its inhabitants are isolated from the world by an invisible, impenetrable dome

  • Play

    There's a reason why Stephen King is one of the best selling writers in the world ever. He knows how to write stories that suck you in and are impossible to put down. The New York Times describes it as a 'relentless tidal pull' and Stephen King has done it time and time again with stories like The Shawshank Redemption Misery The Green Mile and The Stand. In Under the Dome he has produced another riveting masterpiece. The end of every chapter hooks you into the next drawing you inside a psychological drama that is so rich you don't read it you live it. It is the story of the small town of Chester's Mill Maine which is inexplicably and suddenly sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field. No one can get in and no one can get out. The normal rules of society are suddenly changed and when food electricity and water run short the community begins to crumble. As a new and more sinister social order develops Dale Barbara Iraq veteran teams up with a handful of intrepid citizens to fight against the corruption that is sweeping through the town and to try to discover the source of the Dome before it is too late ...

  • Foyles

    Now with a stunning new cover look, King's 'propulsively intriguing . . . staggeringly addictive' (USA Today) No. 1 bestseller, that inspired the hit television series, centres on a small town suddenly cut off from the rest of the world.Time isn't just running short. It's running out.On a beautiful autumn day, a small New England town is suddenly and inexplicably sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field. Planes crash into the dome and rain down flaming wreckage. A gardener's hand is severed as it descends. Cars explode on impact. Families are separated and panic mounts.No one can fathom what the barrier is, where it came from, or when - and if - it will go away.Now, a few intrepid citizens, led by an Iraq War veteran turned short-order cook, face down a ruthless politician dead set on seizing the reins of power in the town. But their main adversary is the dome itself . . .

  • TheBookPeople

    Chester's Mill in Maine is inexplicably and suddenly sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field, meaning no one can get in and no one can get out. The rules of society are changed as food, electricity and water begin to run short and the community begins to crumble. As a new sinister social order develops, Iraq veteran Dale Barbara teams up with a handful of intrepid citizens to fight against the corruption engulfing the town, while also attempting to discover the source of the Dome before it is too late. Under the Dome is a startling psychological novel full of intrigue and suspense from Stephen King, one of the bestselling authors of all time and the man behind the likes of The Shawshank Redemption, Misery and The Green Mile.

  • BookDepository

    Under the Dome : Paperback : Hodder & Stoughton : 9780340992586 : : 08 Jul 2010 : Adapted as a major TV series, produced by Steven Spielberg, King's bestselling novel centres on a small town suddenly and inexplicably sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible dome.

  • Blackwell

    The second season of the television adaptation of UNDER THE DOME will receive its UK premiere on Channel 5 on Monday, August 25th. In one of Stephen King's most riveting novels, in which every chapter ends on a cliffhanger. a Maine town and its...

  • 0340992581
  • 9780340992586
  • Stephen King
  • 8 July 2010
  • Hodder Paperbacks
  • Paperback (Book)
  • 896
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