Under the Dome (novel)

BevVincent

We've received permission to release the official copy from Simon & Schuster for the plot synopsis for Under the Dome. Here's your first peek at the story line:

On an entirely normal, beautiful fall day in Chester’s Mills, 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.

Lou_Sytsma

Bev_Vincent wrote: Scribner now says that the book will be 1120 pages

That is not a brick but more like a boulder. Woot! Can't wait to start reading it.

BevVincent

Stephen King completes epic novel after 25 years



Under the Dome, which King began writing in the 1980s, runs to more than 1,000 pages and will be published in November







It's been incubating for 25 years but Stephen King is finally ready to show the world the 1,000-plus page epic he first attempted writing in the 1980s. Under the Dome, in which an invisible force field seals off a Maine town from the world, is due to be published this November, his publishers have said.



Weighing in at a whopping 1,120 pages, Under the Dome is a return for the bestselling author to the arm-breaking heft of his classic novels The Stand and It. King told an audience at the Library of Congress in Washington DC last year that he'd first had the idea for the book 25 years ago, and made a stab at writing it. "I tried this once before when I was a lot younger, but the project was just too big for me and I let it go, I let it slide," he said. "But it was a terrific idea and it never entirely left my mind. It just kinda stayed there and hung out, and every now and then it would say write me, and eventually I did."



Set in the town of Chester's Mills, Maine, "on an entirely normal, beautiful fall day", inhabitants suddenly find that the town has been sealed off 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 neighbouring town are divided from their families, and cars explode on impact," King revealed on his website. "No one can fathom what this barrier is, where it came from, and when – or if – it will go away."



Characters in the cast of more than 100 include Dale Barbara, a Gulf veteran and now a cook, the town's newspaper owner Julia Shumway, a physician's assistant at the hospital and three children. They're up against an evil politician, Big Jim Rennie – who's desperate to hold onto power and will stop at nothing, even murder – and his son, who in classic King style, "is keeping a horrible secret in a dark pantry". Meanwhile, time under the Dome is running out.



King, the author of more than 50 books, has said that the new novel "deals with some of the same issues that The Stand does, but in a more allegorical way".



"Since it's over a thousand pages long, I sure hope people like it," he said earlier this year in his regular column for Entertainment Weekly.

BevVincent

Physician Assistant in New Stephen King Novel



Maine physician assistant Julia Shumway is one of the main characters in Stephen King's upcoming novel, Under the Dome.

Characters in the cast of more than 100 include Dale Barbara, a Gulf veteran and now a cook, the town's newspaper owner Julia Shumway, a physician's assistant at the hospital and three children. They're up against an evil politician, Big Jim Rennie – who's desperate to hold onto power and will stop at nothing, even murder – and his son, who in classic King style, "is keeping a horrible secret in a dark pantry". Meanwhile, time under the Dome is running out.

BevVincent

Lilja reports that Raul Esparza will narrate Under the Dome. The book will be released on 30 CDs.

Fievel

Bev_Vincent wrote: Lilja reports that Raul Esparza will narrate Under the Dome. The book will be released on 30 CDs.

I've never heard anything by him. Audiobook is the way for me, so I'm hoping he's decent. Oh how I miss the sounds of Frank Muller.

BevVincent

Per SK's message board: "Scribner is planning to make the unveiling of the cover an 'event' and we should have news about that in the next couple of months, but it is done."

BevVincent

I just checked with Scribner to see if I could at least post the cities and got the okay. We're still working on the details of dates and venues but should be able to get that to you in the next couple of months. This is also the most likely order for the events.



New York

Baltimore or D.C. (not yet determined which one)

Atlanta

Sarasota

Minneapolis

Toronto

New England city (not yet determined which one)

Lou_Sytsma

Toronto!?!?!?



Woot! I'll be at that for sure. 8-)

BevVincent

Steve sez: Watch for an excerpt from Under the Dome in Entertainment Weekly.

BevVincent

Fans who have been curious about the U.S. book cover for Under the Dome will have to wait until September. Scribner will be releasing the cover art with a special promotion at that time.

BevVincent

Tuesday | November 10, 2009 ,  7:00 PM - 8:30 PM  

A Conversation with Novelist Stephen King

On the publication of his latest novel, “Under the Dome,” celebrated storyteller and best-selling author Stephen King (“Just After Sunset,” “Duma Key,” “The Stand,” “The Shining” and more than 50 other novels) talks about his career as a novelist, screenwriter and columnist and discusses his new work, a tour de force set in a Maine town and featuring more than 100 characters who encounter a supernatural element as baffling and chilling as any the author has ever conjured. Interviewed by New York Times book critic Janet Maslin.



Tickets: $30

BevVincent

I've heard back from Scribner regarding the TimesTalk appearance. There will be a total of 350 tickets available but they have already sold over 200 so if you're considering this event, you may want to act quickly. They are on a first come, first served basis but they feel that all seats have excellent sight lines and that the theater is small enough to give an intimate feel.



The ticket price is not including the purchase of a book and nothing has been set in stone yet about there being signed copies available at this event.

willowlove

I looked up Under the Dome at the online bookstores two days ago and found that the page count has dropped to 1088. Now we won't need to work out as much to lift the book.

BevVincent

I think even the Kindle edition is going to be heavy!

BevVincent

Bev_Vincent wrote:

I just checked with Scribner to see if I could at least post the cities and got the okay. We're still working on the details of dates and venues but should be able to get that to you in the next couple of months. This is also the most likely order for the events.



New York

Baltimore or D.C. (not yet determined which one)

Atlanta

Sarasota

Minneapolis

Toronto

New England city (not yet determined which one)

Hi, Bev & all.

Just wondering: Have the actual venues for these cities been announced yet?  Specifically, I'm wondering what the venue for Sarasota will be?  I don't want to take a chance on missing out on tickets!

Thanks!

John

BevVincent

The only one announced yet is NYC, and that one sold out rapidly. Keep your ear to the ground and you should find out in plenty of time to secure tix.

Lou_Sytsma

Indeed. still waiting word on the Toronto date.

BevVincent

According to Camelot Books, these are the features of the Collectors Edition:

• Belly band
• Jacket (will be the same jacket as on the trade state)
• Housed in a stamped case
• 4 color printed endpapers
• Ribbon marker
• Deck of cards (apparently this relates to the book)
• Shrinkwrapped
• 25,000 copies

BevVincent

King is quoted in this">http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/15/books/15ebooks.html]this article about the timing of the release of electronic versions of books:



Stephen King, whose novel “Under the Dome” is being published in November by Scribner, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, said in an e-mail message that “we’re all thinking and talking about electronic publishing and how to deal with these issues,” adding, “but I can’t say anything right now.”

Lou_Sytsma

Interesting.

jhanic

This was just posted by the Moderator on the Stephen King Message Board:

I've been authorized to release the official information from Scribner about the collector's editions, so here you go:



Scribner will publish two Collector’s Editions. The regular Collector’s Edition will have a special jacket with a belly band, a stamped case, four-color printed endpapers, a ribbon marker, and will contain a set of 27 special trading cards featuring drawings of characters from the book (drawn by cartoonist Matthew Diffee). These drawings will also be featured in the book—as a frontispiece image and on the 26 part title pages. The book will be shrink-wrapped and Scribner will print only 25,000 copies of this edition, priced at $75.



Scribner is also offering 1,500 copies of a signed, limited Collector’s Edition. This contains all the special elements listed above, plus the book will be signed by the author. This is priced at $200.

Now I have to figure out how to get one of the signed limiteds!



John

BevVincent

You beat me to it! I wasn't all that impressed with the Collector's Edition, but I might consider a signed edition.

jhanic

Ms Mod just posted this:

Here is the link to Scribner's site for information about pre-ordering the unsigned edition. I've asked them about the signed edition and was told that it will likely be sold via the Simon & Schuster website, but plans are not yet finalized. They will get back to me when they have more information.

The link is: http://books.simonandschuster.com/Un...02&custd=33363



John

BevVincent

I hope they let Amazon sell it, too -- at a 40% discount!