Because while it was ok, it really seemed like another version of The Stand, only with aliens. I know I'm going to be crucified for that opinion, but I can't be the only one, can I?
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Because while it was ok, it really seemed like another version of The Stand, only with aliens. I know I'm going to be crucified for that opinion, but I can't be the only one, can I?
I see what you mean. IMO, nothing can top The Stand...but Under the Dome is still a hell of a novel. At least I thought so.
...give me some idea of why you drew such a conclusion-coz frankly-I ain't seein' it....Quote:
Originally Posted by reddoggiegirl
Nonsense, the rumours about the SKMB Ritual Altar are unfounded! :eyebrow: I wasn't keen on UTD either, and I've lived to post many more days. I don't see any real similarity to "The Stand" however, so please explain why you feel this way? I'm surmising you're possibly referring to the townsfolk dividing into a "good vs evil" mentality but other than that I got nuthin'!Quote:
Originally Posted by reddoggiegirl
There are some superficial similarities from a distance but the devil (and God) is in the details. Philosophically, at least, these are the things which make them light years apart:
1. The Stand is largely about "outside evil" working on the weakness of people as part of a cosmic struggle. It is also true that "outside good" has a direct hand in affairs. Two external forces have chosen their sides and manipulate and/or attempt to inspire human beings to do the right (or the wrong) thing. By contrast Under the Dome is a story about "inside evil." While the alien dome acts as a catalyst to create the situation, the evil wrought within its confines was there before and belongs entirely to the people who perpetrate it. There are no devils or angels on their shoulders.
2. Looking at "inside" and "outside" evil at another way, we find that the entities in The Stand care about events and have an intimate, personal relationship with the characters. The aliens in Under the Dome don't even really believe we exist and have almost no contact with us at all.
3. The Stand is an epic, the ultimate game for all of humanity and its future. Under the Dome is localized to one small town and thus the planet doesn't hang in the balance at all.
4. The people in The Stand aren't (in general) entirely black characters or entirely good. They lean one way or the other which is to be expected by their selection, but they still have a choice toward redemption however slim. Under the Dome, by contrast, starts the story as monsters with no saving graces. They are already damned. Murderers with brain tumors, drug dealers hooked beyond help, power-hungry monster and so on. A careful analysis of the truly bad people in this book indicates that they are what they are and that the choices which made them are long since made, the Rubicon crossed.
5. The Stand is about the big questions of good and evil, whether or not people can change (and we aren't just talking about good and evil in their choices). The good and bad guys, so to speak, both are doing much the same things in regards to putting the world back together. Do you follow? In Under the Dome, it isn't about questions. It is more a dark, pragmatic statement of fact. It is a commentary on human nature which isn't flattering. People are who they are and at a certain point they will not change. They will follow their well-worn tracks into oblivion, or into the light if they get lucky. One has to wonder if Sai King's worldview has altered over the years. Has age and wisdom made him more pessimistic about people? More than likely, however, it is just a good story. It is reckless to assume too much about the author's views from any story. :)
I could go to ten but these are the really big, esoteric things which divide the two books. Both are about groups of people thrown into a fantastic situation which is stressful, deadly and unprecedented. Both books hinge on the behavior of the characters for good or ill. If I were to use an analogy, I would say in The Stand, we are looking at a perpetual motion machine. As long as the parts continue to run in the right order (take their Stand) the machine will never run out of energy. In Under the Dome we are looking at a top slowly wind down until it is dead.
No thats ok no one will crucify you here. some say it has some similarity with The Stand, me im planning to re read it this holiday season
I also see some similarities, mostly in so far as the characters in both stories are put in unusual, never-experienced-before situations and circumstances. Both books show how shockingly fast civilization and civilized behavior can fall apart under such circumstances, and how they bring out the worst in some people (but also the best in others). I also see the element of good vs. evil in both books. Also, Stu and Barbie to me seem very similar characters (and they've both been through their own trauma, Stu through the tragic loss of his wife, Barbie as a Soldier). So yes, for me the similarities are there, but they don't affect my enjoyment of Under The Dome.
To me, even though UTD only affects one small town, it's an apocalyptic story like The Stand. So is "Cell". All of them are great in their own way. I actually think Cell has more similarities to The Stand than Under The Dome because in Cell, the whole world is affected and it has the element of starting anew plus the "loss of civilization" plus the near extinction/destruction of the human race, as seen in The Stand.
People started to panic when they are facing a situation for the first, not knowing what to do they just cling to any person who they think had the answer to their present situation