Stephen King: Under The Dome

[12thmonkey]

Don't know if this old news or not, but it was news to me (and I'm a King fan). Could be interesting....

From CemetaryDance.com

Under the Dome
the epic new novel by Stephen King!
1,500+ Pages In Manuscript Form!

As several of our customers noted, Scribner has officially added the new Stephen King novel, Under the Dome, to their 2009 publication list, so as requested we're adding it to our online store for your ordering convenience!

This is an epic novel die hard Stephen King fans first heard about in the 1980s, when King tried twice to write it without much luck, but apparently he took another shot at it earlier this year and "it's going to end up being comparable to IT and The Stand in length at the rate it's going."

King read from the beginning of the first draft at "The Three Kings" reading event at the Library of Congress back in April and he described the novel as "very, very long." The manuscript for Under the Dome was finished in August and it reportedly came in twice as long as Duma Key, at over 1,500 pages, and "deals with some of the same issues that The Stand does, but in a more allegorical way."

[JAA]

Sounds epic-like . . . looking forward to this. Thanks!

[Groucho]

I'd like to know more about it other than "it's long".

[12thmonkey]

Originally Posted by Groucho

I'd like to know more about it other than "it's long".

Yeah, I did find it odd that the book's length was the only thing mentioned.

Sort of like that old thread about someone on this board writing a novel and praising themselves for its length, not its content.

[Larry C.]

Tell me more!!!!!

[Larry C.]

A little more info: Under the Dome is a novel currently being written by Stephen King. It is a rewrite of a novel King attempted writing twice in the 1980s, under the titles The Cannibals and Under the Dome. As King stated on his official site, these two unfinished works were two very different attempts to utilize the same idea, which concerns itself with how people behave when they are cut off from the society they've always belonged to. Also, my memory of The Cannibals is that it, like Needful Things, was a kind of social comedy. The new Under the Dome is played dead straight. Thats from Wiki and also I heard there were gonna be some Mist elements in it as well.

[12thmonkey]

Originally Posted by Larry C.

A little more info: Under the Dome is a novel currently being written by Stephen King. It is a rewrite of a novel King attempted writing twice in the 1980s, under the titles The Cannibals and Under the Dome. As King stated on his official site, these two unfinished works were two very different attempts to utilize the same idea, which concerns itself with how people behave when they are cut off from the society they've always belonged to. Also, my memory of The Cannibals is that it, like Needful Things, was a kind of social comedy. The new Under the Dome is played dead straight. Thats from Wiki and also I heard there were gonna be some Mist elements in it as well.

I'm in!

[jmj713]

A bit more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under_the_Dome

[Geofferson]

I always look forward to new King material -- but can't say I'm excited to read a 1000+ page novel...

[Larry C.]

Originally Posted by 12thmonkey

I'm in!

I know now I'm excited....

[jmj713]

Originally Posted by Geofferson

I always look forward to new King material -- but can't say I'm excited to read a 1000+ page novel...

Why not?

[Liver&Onions]

Sweet jesus. I still haven't finished Duma Key, Lisey's Story or any of the shorts in Just After Sunset.

[chris_sc77]

At the rate he's crankin out these 500+ page epic novels I'm thinkin King may be back on coke. Still this one sounds pretty damn cool.

[Darth Maher]

Is there a quintessential order that I should be reading King's books? It seems that they all release to one another somehow (some more than others). I guess I could read them all chronologically by release date, but some of the newer ones appeal to me more than the older ones sometimes.

[jmj713]

I'd say release order for sure.

[Josh-da-man]

It would appear that Stephen King has been using his retirement to write.

It's good that he keeps himself busy.

[Abob Teff]

Originally Posted by Larry C.

... these two unfinished works were two very different attempts to utilize the same idea...

Regulators/Desperation?

I have no problem with long books ... as long as they are worth the time invested. Very intrigued ...

[jmj713]

A short excerpt: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=VCCEI4TJ

[wlj]

yikes. 1500+ pages?!?! i can't see myself spending that much time with 1 book

[MScottM]

This is supposed to be the book forum and all of you are complaining about the length of the book. When I get into a good story I often find that the books are too short. If this story requires 1500 pages to tell, then the book in not too long. My only worry is that the ending will be less than satisfying, other than that, let the book be 10,000 pages.

As a reader, if the story if good and I can get into it, I am more than willing to invest the amount of time nessesary to read it. And King is generally a good story teller.

Just my two cents.

[12thmonkey]

Originally Posted by MScottM

This is supposed to be the book forum and all of you are complaining about the length of the book.

I don't think all of us were complaining about the length. I believe much of the concern was about how the release focused more on the number of pages than at the very least a vague plot description.

1500 pages - good, bad, or otherwise - requires something of a commitment by the reader, so I don't think the concern is necessarily completely unfounded. That's a long journey to take. I like King, so I plan on giving it a shot. On the other hand, Duma Key failed to grab me after a few hundred pages so I set it aside until some time in the future when I feel like revisiting it.

[jmj713]

1500 pages is manuscript format (single-sided and double-spaced).

[wlj]

Originally Posted by MScottM

This is supposed to be the book forum and all of you are complaining about the length of the book. When I get into a good story I often find that the books are too short. If this story requires 1500 pages to tell, then the book in not too long. My only worry is that the ending will be less than satisfying, other than that, let the book be 10,000 pages.

As a reader, if the story if good and I can get into it, I am more than willing to invest the amount of time nessesary to read it. And King is generally a good story teller.

Just my two cents.

i wasn't "complaining" -- i was just surprised by the book's length.

[MScottM]

I do not mean to cause a controversy. All I am trying to say is that no matter the length of the book, if it captures your attention and holds it throughtout, that is the only thing that is important. If the book is 1500 pages and you have to invest the time to read it, you may not be able to read 20 books that month only 18. Its no big deal, the enjoyment should be in the story, not the length of time it takes to get to the end of it. At least it is for me.

[Sean O'Hara]

Originally Posted by 12thmonkey

Yeah, I did find it odd that the book's length was the only thing mentioned.

It involves a dome.