NY Times book section did a do-over:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/12/books/12book.html?_r=1&ref=books
This time with real words and a coherent delivery. I should get mine tomorrow from Amazon. CAN’T WAIT! I haven’t read a King book in 10-15 years, and I really think this is going to be the one to bring people back.
Cannot wait! Cannot wait! Cannot wait!
Actually, many people don’t realize that the New York Times Book Review is completely separate from the regular NY Times reviewers. The review you linked to is the regular (daily) Times review by Janet Maslin. (The Times has a stable of four or five reviewers, Janet Maslin, Michicko Kakutani, etc.)
The Sunday Book Review (where the first review appeared, on the front page) does not have regular reviewers, but usually enlists other authors or writers to review books. Because of this, these reviews are usually less critical and less focused than the regular Times reviews. Also, this means that major books are reviewed twice; once in the daily Times and once in the Book Review section.
[/end hijack]
Got mine yesterday and I’m about 100 pages in as well. Liking it so far, but the sheer physical weight of it is detracting from the overall “experience”. At least the cat is obliging enough to act as a bookstand…
Good to know!
Amazon has raised the price from $9 to $17.50. That’s still reasonable for a big fat book. I wonder if Target and WalMart have raised their prices too.
I started it last night. My favorite part of all King’s books is character introduction and build-up, so I’m in heaven. My fear is that some asshole will spoil it. I don’t want to know what caused the phenomenon until King’s ready to tell me.
No quibbles about the writing – it’s very tight and lucid.
In the first place, I agree about build-up and character development. I don’t think King is a particularly good writer, but when he’s on his game, he’s an amazing story-teller, and a big part of that amazement is his gift to write characters you give a damn about. Often, even his “bad guys” are somewhat sympathetic.
As far as what caused the phenomenon, well, he may not say. He does that sometimes, though more often in his short stories than his novels.
Cannot wait to read it! I don’t care if retailers have raised the price. Whatever it is, I will pay it!
Sounds like King books give you head lice :p.
I might see if they’ve got the audiobook at the library, and put a hold on it. About the only King stuff I’ve actually read is The Stand, the first of the Dark Tower series, and (I think) Salem’s Lot many years ago.
He may not be perfect, but hoo boy does he do a FANTASTIC job of making things that are “almost normal but not quite” have JUST that right edge of dont-look-under-the-bed scary.
Drat - they don’t have it in any form yet, it’s still ordered.
Maybe I’ll look for one of his others in audio format. Just finished Hearts in Atlantis which I had mixed feelings about. I think my favorite was The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, of all the audiobooks I’ve had so far.
But they’re head lice that will bite your scalp, then suck out your immortal soul. Probably after having sex with something. :p;)
Is Moe, Lenny or Carl in it?
I’m sure I won’t get much sympathy here, but…
As a moderate conservative (I guess) am I going to find the political spin in this one too annoying? King makes his views known in most of his books, but it really hasn’t bothered me too much. This one sounds like it’s very overtly political, though.
I’ve read both It and The Stand and thought, meh, I don’t think I’ll be buying this. Give me a Carl Hiaasen book anyday.
Probably not a spoiler, but a couple of character descriptions:
So far, there’s a conservative Republican, Julia Shumway, owner and editor of the local newspaper. She’s thoughtful and intelligent, a sympathetic character. I can’t say as much for the fundamentalist Christian who appears to be set up as the main villain. He’s almost cartoonish, which is a bit of a disappointment.
ETA: I know I’m into a King book when I turn on the news and wonder why CNN isn’t talking about what’s happening at Chester’s Mill. 
Head’s up: King is on The View today. It’s Whoppi’s birthday.
Grr, the Kindle edition isn’t available for a month and some! And now that I have my Kindle I see no need to bruise my ribcage reading a scale-breaking King novel in bed.
That’s what I thought as well. But when I realized I’d have to wait a month and a half, I cracked and shelled out for the hardback.
I went to Wal Mart to pick up a copy at lunch and came away empty handed. I figured it would be prominently displayed, but no. At first I though maybe they were sold out, but there wasn’t any empty spot on the shelves. Then I thought they might have it up by the checkout lines–no luck there, either.
I asked a cashier (this is one aisle over from the books), she gives me a blank look and says “Stephen King? Do you know the name of it?” Uh…“Under The Dome?” That doesn’t help. She turns to the cashier next to her and asks. We get a similar response, the woman has obviously never heard of one of the world’s biggest-selling authors; “Stephen King? We need a bar code to look it up. Do you have the bar code number?”
Sheesh, I felt like I was in a Stephen King (whoever he is) book! I ended up getting it at Target.
The idea of reading this book has apparently wormed its way so far into my brain that I dreamed about it last night!
No kidding. In my dream, the book wasn’t called Under the Dome, it’s title was comprised of two nonsense words of the sort King seems fond of (see: Desperation or Lunch at the Gotham Cafe or Everything’s Eventual, both from the collection Everything’s Eventual). Anyway, in my dream, the book wasn’t out yet, but there was a thin version of it (maybe 20 pages?) that gave the broad plot outlines. I don’t remember much else about the dream except that it involved me and all my sisters (and my father, who is deceased) reading it.
Yeah, I gotta read this.
I, too, identify as a moderate conservative. I usually think that for all his liberal posturing, King usually does a fairly good job at sometimes painting conservatives/hardcore Christians (yes, I know they’re not always the same thing; I’m married to a man who is much more conservative than me, but an atheist) in a good light. See: The Stand and The Green Mile.
The hubby and I headed off yesterday around 11AM for our anniversary get-away; there’s a decent-sized mall between our little backwater town and the little backwater town the B&B we’d booked for the night was in. We decided to stop at the mall for lunch at Garfield’s, then a movie, before heading for our B&B. In the mall, they had a Border’s. They were selling the book at a 40% off for members (I’m a member; unlike Walden’s, Border’s doesn’t charge for membership!) so he bought me the book! Yay!
I didn’t dare start it last night for fear I would neglect my hubby (we were celebrating our anniversary!) and possibly not even sleep.
I’m about fifty pages into it so far and damn. It starts off with a bang!
I have the same dilemma. Wrists, bed, pain, and no ebook for my Reader, grrr…