We’re delighted to bring you an exclusive sneak peek at the trailer for Stephen King’s long-awaited epic novel Under The Dome, which goes on sale Nov. 10 (you can pre-order it here). More than 30 years in the writing, this sprawling, 1072-page supernatural thriller brings to life the town of Chester’s Mill, Maine, the day that an invisible force-field seals it off from the rest of the world. “Every time I went back and picked it up again, science had changed,” says King (who is a regular contributor to EW), noting that he asked good friend Russ Dorr to spearhead the book’s research, nailing down details about everything from cell phone technology to portable generators.
Want more? You can read an exclusive 4,000-word excerpt of Under The Dome in the current issue of Entertainment Weekly, which goes on sale tomorrow. Also, come back tomorrow for another Shelf Life exclusive: a video clip of King reading a passage from the book. In the meantime, check out the official Under the Dome site here.
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Anyone else thinking about the SIMPSONS movie, when he/she heard about the plot of the book? *gg*
How many times does it have to be said that Stephen King came up with this idea and started this novel back in the 70s, a decade before The Simpsons was ever created and 30 years before The Simpsons Movie. He even addressed the comparison on his website. Besides, I highly doubt there will be any resemblance to The Simpsons Movie here beyond a dome.
As for the book trailer, it looks amazing!
Regardless of when King came up with the idea, the initial comparisons are going to be made because they obviously has A very similar plot point. Just like if the book had come out before, the Simpsons Movie would have been compared to the book.
In all honesty, if King has a problem with the comparison, he has no one to blame but himself for taking over 30 years to finish this book.
In the end, if the book is good, it won’t matter, but Drew, you need to realize that, whether you like it or not, that first glance comparison is going to be made.
Of course it’s going to be made, Jason. But the fact that it’s been made over and over again ever since the book has been announced has gotten old. Wait for the book to come out, read it, then decide for yourself. End of story.
No, it doesn’t have a similar plot point, other than a dome. Having read an ARC of Under the Dome and seen the Simpson’s movie, they’re not even close. Ignorant people may make that mistake, but some of us know better than to make assumptions.
Yeah, I thought about the Simpsons Movie too. Well, good trailer, nevertheless.
As a long time fan of King’s work, it’s nice to see him go back to the big epic story’s that I grew up reading, like The Stand and IT. I can’t wait for this one.
I totally agree…I’m off to order it right now!!!
Obviously haven’t read the book, but it sounds like the beginning of John Wyndham’s The Midwich Cuckoos (filmed as Village of the Damned). For all his skills as a storyteller, King has frequently borrowed at least the starting point for his novels from other sources (which, at least in the case of ‘Salem’s Lot, he has acknowledged).
And what author hasn’t used the same ideas as others? Really, your assumptions about it, without having read it, border on rampant stupidity.
I’m so excited!
This reminds me of the YA book Gone, which I really enjoyed. But obviously King had the idea long before that book came out.
In 1977, I read The Shining, the first book to ever really scare me; and for the next 20-plus years, he was the only author whose books I bought in hardback the day it came out. I haven’t been quite as faithful in the last few years, but somehow this book reminds me of The Stand and IT, and I preordered it. I’m setting all other books aside to go Under the Dome. Added bonus, got it on Amazon for $9!! Even better!!
Stephen King is the standard that most of the books I read have always been set against, I’m looking forward to digging in!
Ever since King had his accident, his stories have changed. Not as scary, and stranger?!?! I hope this book is more like the old books, I really miss the former Stephen King!
They’ve changed, because he’s gotten older, and the things that interest him have changed. There’s nothing worse than ignorant readers wanting to keep someone pigeonholed for what they did 20-30 years ago.
CAN’T WAIT!
Sooo stoked!!! I’ve only read 1 SK book I didn’t particularly like, so I have high expectations.
yes, Stefan, I absolutely thought of the Simpsons Movie as soon as I saw this.
Also…I’m not some 15-year-old who has no idea who Stephen King is. I’m actually a big fan of his work and well aware that he was writing novels before the Simpsons came to be. That doesn’t mean I can’t think the coincidence between his new novel and the Simpsons Movie isn’t funny. He is also prepared for the comparisons, so it’s not a big deal. I’m still going to read the book.
Well, I’ve read it. The whole thing. I got an advance reader’s copy and, well, it’s good. Not great, but good. The set-up is brilliant and starts off with a bang, literally. But the 2nd act is hard to swallow and the ending is foreshadowed to death in the previous 900 pages, so there’s little surprise when it actually happens. The book is really all about the characters of the town and what they do and how society breaks down and not about the dome itself. As to what’s causing the dome, well, I won’t spoil it, but a young character in the book guesses the correct answer early on, and you can too, probably. The ending, after so much build up, is rather abrupt and left me wanting an epilogue at the very least. It’s a long slog, but for dedicated King fans, ultimately worth the effort.
So.. when’s the movie come out? Cuz you know the adaptation for this is writing itself. Love you Mr. King
Since when have books had trailers like that? haha.
Stephen King used to be my favorite author. Now he’s become a self-absorbed douche-bag. He needs an editor with a backbone that will edit his rambling 1000 page diatribes down to the quality 350 pages contain within.
This is about the fifth book he’s written about a small town getting sealed off. Seriously, I think the poor guy is senile. It’s just that the publisher’s know that they can slap his name onto a Denny’s menu and people would shell out $35 dollars like sheep.
what other books has he written about towns getting sealed off? None, that’s how many. Do some research before making an uninmformed comment.
Oh, Yogurt – reduced to using recycled and boring blog-bites to get attention. Go read some Dean Koontz, you’ll feel much better.
I hope it’s nearly as good as The Shining, if possible.. That book is a literary masterpiece!!
If King wrote the Denny’s menu, I would pay $35 to read it. Even his worst book is better than 95% of everything else out there.
Yea at 1,000+ pages I don’t see how this one could be better than the simpsons movie. I mean hearing Mr. Burns say, ‘Release the Hounds!’ *shivers* What’s scarier?
While I don’t think Steven King need worry about the creators of the Simpsons suing him, Ken Follet might have other ideas. The plot of ‘Under the Dome’ sound identical to Follet’s ‘Silent Vulcan’ trilogy – (Temple of the Winds; Wicca; Silent Vulcan) about an English village cut off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field and the social and psychological effects it has, even down to the petty tyrant who takes control of the community. He’s a British author and not well-known in the US, but this will probably get attention when it’s published in the UK.