Under The Dome: A Novel

Stephen King

Nov 2009 · Simon and Schuster · Narrated by Raul Esparza

About this audiobook

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.

Ratings and reviews

I am a massive Stephen King fan and the only way for me to enjoy his books is by audio book. Mr. Esparza is damn good and the majority of the story grabs you and keeps you in. The issue I had was I didn't feel fulfilled in the end. I didn't feel satisfied and for a reader/listener, that's a big deal. There haven't been many books that let me down, but this one did. I'm just happy I didn't have to read it for myself. There is also an issue with the audio of this book as you need to blast your volume to full blast just for it to be understood.

Good story, good narrator. I don't know why one reviewer complained about the character voices. The narrator did a great job on the different character voices. I especially like how the skateboarder sounded like Otto (the school bus mechanic) from the Simpsons. Yeah, I'm 41 years old and I grew up with the Simpsons. Bite me. Also, I'm not going to spoil anything by giving away any details about the ending, but I liked it. it wasn't a let down ending, it was weird and twisted and explained the dome, and the source of the dome just fine. It was a lot more of an explanation than you'd get out of any "true" UFO book. I don't disbelieve in UFO's but they surely aren't from space and aren't running a crossbreeding program. think about it. would we humans cross-breed with apes? no. so if "aliens" are a superior life form, why would they breed with humans, which are an "inferior" life form? they wouldn't. but so many UFO nuts can't imagine any other scenario, so they're stubbornly closedminded

The narration is terrible. His characters accents are atrocious. I'm having a hard time getting into the book.

About the author

Stephen King is the author of more than sixty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His recent work includes the short story collection You Like It Darker, Holly, Fairy Tale, Billy Summers, If It Bleeds, The Institute, Elevation, The Outsider, Sleeping Beauties (cowritten with his son Owen King), and the Bill Hodges trilogy: End of Watch, Finders Keepers, and Mr. Mercedes (an Edgar Award winner for Best Novel and a television series streaming on Peacock). His novel 11/22/63 was named a top ten book of 2011 by The New York Times Book Review and won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller. His epic works The Dark Tower, It, Pet Sematary, Doctor Sleep, and Firestarter are the basis for major motion pictures, with It now the highest-grossing horror film of all time. He is the recipient of the 2020 Audio Publishers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2018 PEN America Literary Service Award, the 2014 National Medal of Arts, and the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He lives in Bangor, Maine, with his wife, novelist Tabitha King.

Raúl Esparza starred on Broadway in The Homecoming, Company (Tony nom., Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Award), Taboo (Drama Desk Award), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and Cabaret. On television he had a recurring role on the ABC series Pushing Daisies. His film credits include Sydney Lumet's FInd Me Guilty.