Scribner has officially added the new Stephen King novel, Under The Dome, to their 2009 publication list. This is an epic novel (1500 pages in manuscript form) 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.”
One has to wonder which King will show up in this novel – the King of “Duma Key” and “Bag of Bones”, or “The Cell”?
It’s iffy. King has slowly wound down since the novels, novella and short stories of the 80s, though I still buy what he’s selling. I have to say I skipped “The Cell” and the other one that came out, can’t remember the name. I read “Duma Key”, “Lisey’s Story” and “Just After Sunset” (short stories) and I have to say I wanted to choke the man. Is this how midlife crises manifests in brilliant fiction writers. I think John Updike fared better. It’s a shame–SK is my hero. He makes the state of being in “supernatural terror” come alive–and I love it. I am certainly impressed beyond measure at his prolific well of story ideas, but maybe he’s just getting tired of his muse. It’s no longer like making love to a beautiful woman, perhaps it’s more like taking laxatives. Still gonna buy “Under the Dome”.
It’s not called “The Cell”…it is simply titled “Cell”…and it was a very entertaining, frightening novel in my opinion. I enjoyed it very much.
Stephen King’s recent novels are very impressive. I think people who criticize them have stopped reading them in the beginning or in the middle and haven’t followed through to the conclusion. “Duma Key” is frightening and the characters are memorable. I think “Under the Dome” will be well worth the time and money!
I could’nt agree more Kevin. I enjoyed “Cell” very much. Mr.King never disapoints!