Stephen King's "Under the Dome" - SPOILER THREAD - Page 2

HorridRedDog · 01-02-2010, 12:03 PM

If you try to read "A Confederacy of Dunces" you WILL be able to throw a book away.

Tossing "The Stand" away was just a matter of being unwilling to foster the book off on friends, none of whom were into King.

"The Stand" was simply outside of my normal interest. I do that frequently. Sometimes I win, sometimes I loose.

But I am fully confident you and 99.9% of the people here would gladly toss "A Confederacy of Dunces" no matter how interesting it looks.

daffy4u · 01-02-2010, 12:21 PM

Duplicate post.

daffy4u · 01-02-2010, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HorridRedDog

Tossing "The Stand" away was just a matter of being unwilling to foster the book off on friends, none of whom were into King.

But since you know he's a popular author even if you or your friends don't like him, donating the book would have put it in the hands of someone who would appreciate it. Same with the other book.

I'm not familiar with "A Confederacy of Dunces" but that's another thread anyway.

Squirsier · 01-02-2010, 12:28 PM

I finished reading Under the Dome and I couldn't help being reminded of an old movie/tv show I saw a long time ago in the 1980s.

It might be coming out of left field a bit, and I can't recall the title, but here's what I remember :

One day, a family wakes up in their home only to find that the door and windows are blocked by a mysterious dark grey wall... They tried to get out, can't... I remember at one point something oozing out of the fireplace and it all turned out that this house was just a sophisticated toy house of some future kid that had been hidden inside a furnace or something..

Can't quite remember if it was a movie or a tv show episode, but while the scope of the story isn't the same, I thought the premise a little similar, anyone knows that one?

Dr. Drib · 01-03-2010, 06:20 AM

Run on over to the January MobileRead Bookclub

area and vote for UNDER THE DOME.

Make it official - VOTE NOW. Here's the link:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67922

Don

yessirrom · 01-03-2010, 08:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

Run on over to the January MobileRead Bookclub

area and vote for UNDER THE DOME.

Make it official - VOTE NOW. Here's the link:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67922

Don

Been there, done that.

daffy4u · 01-03-2010, 10:17 AM

I voted (where's my sticker).

Dr. Drib · 01-03-2010, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daffy4u

I voted (where's my sticker).

Good!

But spread the word, please.

Don

Dropout · 01-04-2010, 11:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HorridRedDog

If you try to read "A Confederacy of Dunces" you WILL be able to throw a book away.

What? A Confederacy of Dunces is the funniest book I've ever read. I never laugh out loud much at books and I laughed more at that book than I do most film comedies.

That fact that you have such bile for it shows it did something right. If it was truly a bad book, you'd forget about it. Yet it stirred up enough emotion for you to actually throw it away.

jament · 01-04-2010, 04:42 PM

I'm with Dropout - I thought it was very funny. And, with all of the adult-type people moving back in and living with their parents, as timely as ever.

Francesco · 01-05-2010, 12:35 AM

A Confederacy of Dunces made me laugh like only a few other books!!!
And the story behind its publication is quite interesting, by the way.
But to each, its own (is that the way the saying goes?)
By the way, for some reason I can't stand S King just like I can't stand the Dallas Cowboys, Bill Gates or iPods. These are a few of the things that make me want to scream.

By the way, I did read The long walk and Rage when I was a teenager. I enjoyed them a lot! I'd stay away from them now, though.

mgrunk · 01-06-2010, 12:40 PM

I'm disappointed in the ending - I guess I just expected something more profound for the amount of loss suffered. I did enjoy the fact that I really wanted to read it - it's been a while since I've been drawn into a story and stayed up late to read it. I'm not sure if it's a classic SK book like "The Stand" (just re-read it and so loved the experience).

mrsquash · 01-06-2010, 07:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Squirsier

...I couldn't help being reminded of an old movie/tv show I saw a long time ago in the 1980s.

Reminded me of an old Twilight Zone episode from the 60s: "Stopover in a Quiet Town":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stopover_in_a_Quiet_Town

Also reminded of an old Star Trek episode "The Squire of Gothos": just when the seemingly-omnipotent Trelane is about to dispatch the hapless Kirk off to eat roast beef with Jesus, Trelane's glowing parental-units pop-up from some other galaxy/universe/dimension. They apologize to Kirk, and make the unruly Trelane stop playing.

Endings seem to be very difficult to pull off well in horror fiction. You've got the comparatively weak human(s) against the powerful, often already-dead, entities. This helps create tension but makes it easy for the author to write himself into a corner. Authorial trickery ensues, and the reader feels cheated or disappointed. I thought King did a brilliant end-run around this problem with the way he wrapped up "The Stand".

But King's endings started really dropping off for me with The Tommyknockers, which, I read somewhere, roughly coincided with the onset of his heavy substance-abuse problems; don't know if there's a connection. I thought the endings to his "Needful Things" and "The Dark Half" were nothing short of ridiculous. Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading the books. A good trip is all I ask.

I liked "Under the Dome", best King in years for me, and the ending, though not all that original, was a big step up from some of his others.

daffy4u · 01-06-2010, 08:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrsquash

Reminded me of an old Twilight Zone episode from the 60s: "Stopover in a Quiet Town":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stopover_in_a_Quiet_Town

Also reminded of an old Star Trek episode "The Squire of Gothos": just when the seemingly-omnipotent Trelane is about to dispatch the hapless Kirk off to eat roast beef with Jesus, Trelane's glowing parental-units pop-up from some other galaxy/universe/dimension. They apologize to Kirk, and make the unruly Trelane stop playing.

You and I were thinking the exact same thing only your had the episode titles. Thanks for that!

Quote:

Originally Posted by daffy4u

Under the Dome, for me was claustrophobic and really hopeless until the end, which was a bit too simple. BTW, the end reminded me of similar Twilight Zone and Star Trek episodes.

daffy4u · 01-07-2010, 01:12 AM

OMG! The Squire of Gothos is on TV right now!

01-02-2010, 12:21 PM	#17
daffy4u I'm Super Kindle-icious Posts: 6,734 Karma: 2434103 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Long Drive, Calinadia Candafornia Device: KDXG, KT, Oasis	Duplicate post. Last edited by daffy4u; 01-02-2010 at 12:29 PM.

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Kindle deal: Stephen King's Under the Dome for £2.88	greencat	Deals and Resources (No Self-Promotion or Affiliate Links)	0	08-07-2010 03:15 PM
Discussing Stephen King's "Under The Dome"	Dr. Drib	Reading Recommendations	31	02-09-2010 10:08 AM
King's "Under The Dome" dropped to $7.99 on pre-order	Dr. Drib	Deals and Resources (No Self-Promotion or Affiliate Links)	50	12-25-2009 02:02 PM
First Glimpse of Stephen King's "Under the Dome"	Moejoe	News	2	04-11-2009 09:54 AM
Stephen King's "Ur"	Gideon	Reading Recommendations	28	03-18-2009 09:22 AM

01-02-2010, 12:03 PM	#16
HorridRedDog Addict Posts: 322 Karma: 1592 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: PRS-600 EB-1150	If you try to read "A Confederacy of Dunces" you WILL be able to throw a book away. Tossing "The Stand" away was just a matter of being unwilling to foster the book off on friends, none of whom were into King. "The Stand" was simply outside of my normal interest. I do that frequently. Sometimes I win, sometimes I loose. But I am fully confident you and 99.9% of the people here would gladly toss "A Confederacy of Dunces" no matter how interesting it looks.

01-02-2010, 12:28 PM	#19
Squirsier Addict Posts: 269 Karma: 38416 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Longueuil, QC Device: Sony: PRS-300, PRS-350. Kobo: Aura v2, Clara HD, Libra 2	I finished reading Under the Dome and I couldn't help being reminded of an old movie/tv show I saw a long time ago in the 1980s. It might be coming out of left field a bit, and I can't recall the title, but here's what I remember : One day, a family wakes up in their home only to find that the door and windows are blocked by a mysterious dark grey wall... They tried to get out, can't... I remember at one point something oozing out of the fireplace and it all turned out that this house was just a sophisticated toy house of some future kid that had been hidden inside a furnace or something.. Can't quite remember if it was a movie or a tv show episode, but while the scope of the story isn't the same, I thought the premise a little similar, anyone knows that one?

01-03-2010, 06:20 AM	#20
Dr. Drib Grand Sorcerer Posts: 44,734 Karma: 55645321 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Peru Device: Kindle: Oasis 3, Voyage WiFi; Kobo: Libra 2, Aura One	Run on over to the January MobileRead Bookclub area and vote for UNDER THE DOME. Make it official - VOTE NOW. Here's the link: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67922 Don

01-03-2010, 10:17 AM	#22
daffy4u I'm Super Kindle-icious Posts: 6,734 Karma: 2434103 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Long Drive, Calinadia Candafornia Device: KDXG, KT, Oasis	I voted (where's my sticker).

01-04-2010, 04:42 PM	#25
jament Enthusiast Posts: 40 Karma: 185 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: Sony 505	I'm with Dropout - I thought it was very funny. And, with all of the adult-type people moving back in and living with their parents, as timely as ever.

01-05-2010, 12:35 AM	#26
Francesco Aficionado Posts: 391 Karma: 710 Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Denver, CO, USA Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Touch	A Confederacy of Dunces made me laugh like only a few other books!!! And the story behind its publication is quite interesting, by the way. But to each, its own (is that the way the saying goes?) By the way, for some reason I can't stand S King just like I can't stand the Dallas Cowboys, Bill Gates or iPods. These are a few of the things that make me want to scream. By the way, I did read The long walk and Rage when I was a teenager. I enjoyed them a lot! I'd stay away from them now, though.

01-06-2010, 12:40 PM	#27
mgrunk Zealot Posts: 130 Karma: 96 Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: metro Atlanta, GA Device: Sony Reader PRS-505	I'm disappointed in the ending - I guess I just expected something more profound for the amount of loss suffered. I did enjoy the fact that I really wanted to read it - it's been a while since I've been drawn into a story and stayed up late to read it. I'm not sure if it's a classic SK book like "The Stand" (just re-read it and so loved the experience).

01-07-2010, 01:12 AM	#30
daffy4u I'm Super Kindle-icious Posts: 6,734 Karma: 2434103 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Long Drive, Calinadia Candafornia Device: KDXG, KT, Oasis	OMG! The Squire of Gothos is on TV right now!