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The Dome

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After being rescued moments before Earth is destroyed, Sam and his daughter Emma are shipped away to planet Syri, where they now reside in a dome with thousands of other human survivors. Welcome mats, mailboxes, and breakfast cereal, the dome is a suburban paradise made to emulate Earth in every way… But something feels wrong.

Why did the aliens save them?

How did they know about Earth's fate?

And exactly what are they hiding?

The mystery intensifies as Emma forms an unexplainable bond with one of the Syrions; a bond that quickly has Emma sliding deeper into a dangerous attraction. As Sam and Emma search for answers on their own, Emma wonders if she can trust her heart while Sam questions how he’ll be able to protect his family from the very aliens humanity depends on for survival.

268 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 30, 2009

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235 people want to read

About the author

Nova Sparks

9 books37 followers
NOVA sparks is an author hailing from the Bronx of NYC. She loves writing science fiction, fantasy, and romance. She hopes to have her stories adapted into feature length films.

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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
Profile Image for zara.
133 reviews362 followers
January 24, 2021
I really could not put this book down. There’s aliens, sex, sex with aliens, murder, betrayal, a strained parent-child relationship, really everything you need and more for a sci fi thriller about the end of the world. Something I loved most about this book is that it’s told from the perspective of two characters (father and daughter, Sam and Emma) who keep secrets from each other and absolutely cannot understand each other, even though they’re so alike. Highly recommend.
Profile Image for Pavarti Tyler.
Author 31 books516 followers
May 18, 2011
I received this book as a pdf file after Nova Sparks sent out a general request for reviews.  She did not ask me specifically and I volunteered.  No promise of a positive review was made, only an honest one.

the DOME is a rare find.  I have been hunting for quality Sci-Fi for so long, it's hard to find anything that really pulls in the cultural aspect of alien races.  I don't think I've read anything where the alien culture and characters were so thoroughly thought through and described since Lilith's Brood.  Plus, the fact that Nova Sparks is a woman...  This is not only rare but takes an incredible amount of talent to pull off.  For the most part Sparks pulls this off with flying colors.

I want to begin by discussing the plot alone.  The story line of the DOME is incredible.  Told from the alternating points of view of Sam and Emma Tucker we are given a before, during, after and finally the unimaginable consequence of the end of the world.  Layers upon layers of mystery, interpersonal interactions, romance and intrigue flow so easily together that the world of the DOME becomes real on the page.


the DOME Sam is Emma's father (this gives us a great relationship to explore from 2 different POVs plus the opportunity to experience the story from two different age perspectives - Go Nova!)  Sam receives advance warning of the end of the world and does his best to save as many people as he can.  Sam's group and others from around the world are taken to a distant planet (Syri) where they live in an enclosure which protects them from the elements and predators of their new home.  During their time on Syri we glimpse that perhaps the Syrions are not as altruistic as they seem.  Sam makes some upsetting discoveries and Emma finds herself having feelings for a Syrion teen which leads them both to believe there's something rotten in the state of Syri.

One of my very favorite things in literature is to read the interactions of two conflicting cultures.  I love The Clan of the Cave Bear and Roswell for precisely this reason.  It's also why, as much as I loved the X-files, ultimately it was just a monster of the week show and never captured my imagination.  The culture of the Syrion race is portioned out slowly as fits the flow of the story.  By the end of the book I feel I have an understanding (although not complete) of who they are as a species but I was not hit over the head with it nor forced to read 20 pages of fictional socio-bio-history.

The two main characters who we follow over the course of this book are Sam and Emma.  Each chapter alternates POV giving us a 3-dimentional perspective of the situation they are in.  Normally I hate this device because I get lost between the charaters or lose the flow of the story, never able to completely loose myself in it.  Sparks manages to keep her characters distinct and consistent at all times.  That plus the fact that she tells me at the beginning of every chapter whose POV I'm reading really helped!  

Overall I would say this is a fantastic book that you should buy and read and enjoy.  I lost myself completely in it, spending precious writing time reading, but unable to stop.  However, you should know there are a few issues:

1 - the DOME needs an editor.  It is not so bad as to make it unreadable but words like "mines" instead of "mine" and "you're" instead of "your" do happen and unfortunately it detracts from the experience of reading.  Not a reason not to read, but be aware, there may be one or two things that pop out at you.

2 - the DOME needs to realize that it is NOT a romance novel.  I don't need to read about someone's hard sculpted abs to get that he's vain and works out.

3 - the DOMEshould seriously consider removing it's sex scene.  The intimacy that Emma experiences is beautifully written and completely in keeping with the style and flow of the book.  However, the earlier scene with Sam and Kris is jolting and not especially well written.  The writing is inconsistent with the rest of the book, both in wordsmything and in quality.  I really didn't like the term "Indian Burn" anywhere near a sex scene, it doesn't work.  -  Also, the DOME could be marketed as YA without that scene and a few choice words replaced, worth thinking about.

4 - the DOME has some formatting issues.  Not all paragraphs are indented and not all quotes are demarcated.  Again, I recommend Sparks get an editor, these are small issues that detract from the book.

So my final assessment is that this is an awesome book and you should read it.  It's better than 65% of what I find on the shelves at Borders and better than 90% of what's available via ebook.  I would love to see Sparks invest in a line editor and take some time to clean up a few small things so that this could become the next great sci-fi novel.

I can't wait for the DOME: Revelation to be released!

Live Long and Prosper
Pav

Profile Image for MBR.
1,391 reviews365 followers
June 20, 2011
What would you do if you knew that the entire world as we know it is coming to an end and know exactly when it is going to happen? That is the dilemma faced by Sam Tucker when he starts getting realistically visual dreams of an apocalypse that is just around the corner.

Fearing that he is losing his mind, Sam does what he thinks is all that he can do in the short period of time available and tries to save as many people as he can without alerting them to what was going on. The only other person who knows the truth is his best friend Mark who is apprehensive about everything that takes place right from the very beginning.

When the annihilation begins, their savior comes in the form of an alien race who seemingly go out of their way to make their planet Syri habitable by the humans. The lucky escape from a certain death makes Sam rethink his priorities in life; a life which he had been taking for granted until now.

For Emma, Sam's daughter, Syri opens up the possibility of a new love which she tries to embrace in her usual take-charge attitude. But on a planet where everything is not what they seem to be, Emma finds that even falling in love has its price which could get deadly with one wrong turn.

Told on first person basis by both Sam and Emma, the 1st book in The Dome trilogy is one intense, edge-of-the-seat read. Ms. Novak does a brilliant job on capitalizing on the emotions as well as the nature of us human beings, whose instinct for survival always comes into play when that is all we are left with.

Mark's instinctive distrust with anything that has got to do with Syri certainly rings true with our inquisitive natures and our need for absolute freedom from any sort of shackles that may bind us. For Mark, the truth that he finds out turns out to be a deadly and costly one, leaving Sam a changed man, a man on a mission on the quest for truth and a way out of picture perfect Syri.

For someone who mostly reads and enjoys romances, this one was certainly a delightfully riveting surprise. With a nightmare inducing kind of prologue that reeled me in, I couldn't help but be fascinated with the story as it unfolded and all my gratitude lays with Ms. Sparks who approached me for a review which otherwise would have had me missing out on this great sci-fi installment. I am definitely looking forward to the next book in the trilogy which cannot come out soon enough as far as I am concerned.

Recommended for fans of the genre. You won't be disappointed.

Rating=4.5/5

Original Review posted at MBR's Realm of Romance
Profile Image for Ziggy Nixon.
1,155 reviews36 followers
February 24, 2025
We have an obligation … wake up!

A friend just asked me to describe "The Dome" by Nova Sparks and this is what I came up with: "It's a horror story, because this dude that's cheating on his wife is having prescient nightmares about... someone offing The President of the United States? No wait, it's a disaster story, something is happening (comets, earthquakes, we're never quite sure ... oh and don't forget the bear attack!). No, it's a first contact story because the aliens save some of us. Oops, back to horror, those aliens do not come in peace! Or YA love story? Emma - our bright, drug-cooking, troubled but brilliant teenager - has refused her human boyfriend of 3 years who wanted to deflower her with his bad breath and clammy skin (well, not literally WITH those, but he was pretty gross) ... but the alien she met 3 days ago has captured her heart... and almost broken her hips because he's YUUUUUUGE!"

This whole place is nothing but a beautiful lie.

So that was the short version. In terms of the long version, look: I realize that science fiction by its very definition is pretty much allowed to run rampant when it comes to plot-lines and the scenarios that arise. But to underline this a few times, "the DOME" seemed like it could never settle on any given direction or intent or genre or etcetera. One minute we're looking at the mentioned catastrophic series of events (was this plural? I was never really sure?), with a mere 5,000 humans surviving thanks to their apparent rescue by… wait for it … aliens. However, in between all of this, we also have the marital infidelity issues as well as enough YA angst and theatrics to fill a separate series on its own. And kids, that's not even half of what eventually arises - though to be fair the alien-human sex is kind of hot! Both literally and figuratively… But for the overall pot of gumbo that is this book, I can confirm that it does NOT all work together.

In three days the President will be dead and then everyone else.

Ignoring the plethora of incompatible sub-genres for a moment, the book also is dragged down by an almost insufferable cast - see previous issues in regards to an unfaithful husband or a drug-brewing daughter that could have used a few months in Juvie to get her to calm TF down. Again, it just never seems to blend into one functioning story, a fact made even more obvious by the redundant nature of things as we progress. Sam - The Dad - is the kind of really swell guy that thinks things like "One more lie can’t hurt, especially if it’s for her own good." Then without fail Sam does A, feels bad about A, but then he does B, defends doing B, runs into C, has to do something about it… AND REPEAT. Same goes for our YA lead who I've mentioned before, namely Emma, aka the teenage daughter, where if she called her dad by his first name just one more time - or batted her eyelashes at the alien boy whose skin heated up around her - I would have screamed my head off. But thank goodness we do have a new species that she can already read like a book and with whom she can consider giving up her oddly still intact virginity that remains despite her other rather deviant shenanigans.

The Earth being destroyed is the best thing that ever happened to me.

And I don't know if being "saved" by aliens counts as a First Contact scenario or not, but the behavior of every single human present on this new world is so utterly mind-boggling to me that I still can't make sense of it. As are all the convenient similiarities between the "aliens" and us humans (they have penises and apparently somewhere to put them, too, yippee! Makes ya' feel like, quote, "a prized fucking pig" don't it?). But hey, getting back to the complaints being filed: oh wow, it's been a FULL WEEK since you landed on this alien world that's billions of light years away from your own destroyed planet? Oh wow, every single one of your needs has been seen to but you're upset by not being able to go shopping?

I take a deep breath, secretly hoping I’m not making chicken pot pie out of lemons.

[reviewer note: WTF?]

Well, by golly, who can blame you for not understanding everything and demanding answers from your hosts? Time to kick some butt and Make Syri Great Again! The hell with needing some time to deal with the fact that Earth is gone and billions of lives have been lost… what about my stock options, dammit? Personally, I kept hoping the Syrions would just take them all back to whatever was left of Earth, even if that wound up being just a few rocks colliding in roughly what might still be considered the Goldilocks zone of our previous solar system. If this is how the remnants of humankind behave in such a random situation (yeah, right, it's pretty obvious it's not) then I think the Federation or High Council or whoever is in charge in this Universe votes like the Prime Directive insists they do and just lets us die out.

Even in a crisis, people still seem to practice self-preservation over human decency.

Yeah, kind of a defeatist attitude, but I'm still grumpy after reading this poorly executed and boring book. What it needed was a good editor wielding a really big axe. The plot was silly and ultimately it did not resonate with me in any way whatsoever. The editing was also very poor with a host of spelling, formatting, grammatical and punctuation errors that simply should not have made their way through to release. But most of all, I didn't sympathize with any of the cookie cutter characters - human or otherwise - and the redundancy just drove me nuts. In the end, I was reading to just see if the ending would save everything… but that was just time wasted.

Why did you save us? Why didn’t you just leave us on Earth to die?

Oh well, I have had a good stretch for a while in terms of new authors and their offers, so I was bound to eventually have a crash and burn. But remember kids, if you start dreaming about the president being murdered for no apparent reason, grab all your friends and run to the nearest high altitude landmark, because The End is Nigh. I mean, DUH, right? Or whatever anyone else outside of the continental US did. Who knows, even the folks from Hawai'i had no comment. Just another one of the many gaping plot holes that weren't filled to any degree of satisfaction (noting I couldn't even continue the "trilogy" in that Book 2 - if it even exists - is not available for sale in ANY format in my region). OK, I need to stop, maybe I should take a good stroll outside of the Dome. I know, I know, be back by dark! And if I see a place to pick up tampons or pads, I'll get some…
Profile Image for (Nat) Reading Romances.
339 reviews421 followers
June 3, 2011
I bet you're wondering: why am I reviewing a sci-fi title? I read about romance and I love sci-fi, I'm a big fan of Star Trek, Battlestar Gallactica and other series. Nova Sparks has a very interesting approach to romance when writing sci-fi.

This book is told from the perspective of Sam and his teenager daughter Emma. Sounds weird, doesn't it? Well, it's not! They complete each other's POVs and nowhere in the book you'll get lost or feel like skipping pages. I have to tell you I read this book in about 4 hours, I could stop reading it! The DOME, I dare to say, is one of the best sci-fi books around this year.

Now of course I have to critique the romance side of this novel. This book has a deep romance line that is very important to the development of the characters and the plot, therefore it has to describe love. I wouldn't take the love scenes out of this book (not because I love romances) because it connects the story in so many levels! I won't write any spoilers, but I believe we'll be watching the results of those actions SOON. I have to agree though that they could've been better worked on. Think about it!

There's nothing that caught my attention to the negative side, apart from a few errors that can be fixed with a better editing. The DOME is a rich and compelling story with very strong elements from movies, and an amazing plot. I could picture it all in my head like a tv series or a movie while reading it. Amazing, I was hung up! It's sci-fi, romance and fantasy all in one - I can barely wait to read the next two books! My dear reader, you can't miss this one!

To read more go to:http://readingromances.wordpress.com/...
Profile Image for Alice Saunders.
Author 26 books29 followers
March 5, 2014
My Review:

I don’t normally read science fiction books as much as I watch science fiction movies but when Nova Sparks sent me a request to read and review her book, The Dome, I was definitely intrigued by the synopsis.

I don’t want to give away any spoilers but The Dome is an amazing story that is very well written. Although there are some places where editing is needed, it doesn’t take away from the elements of the story that make this such a great read. From the beginning to the end, the character development is strong and smooth as is the consistency in building up the tension so the story doesn’t feel rushed. It’s well paced, giving readers enough resolution to satisfy their literary appetite so they don’t feel cheated once they reach the end. At the same time however, Sparks leaves enough of the bigger plot open to make room for the second book in this trilogy. I finished this book excited, as I eagerly wanted to know what would happen next. With this, I also want to mention that the story is neither boring nor predictable. Simultaneously, the author, Sparks, doesn’t spend a lot time weaving in complicated subplots that are hard to keep up with. The story has balance. Even with the use of the multiple points of view, I as a reader never felt lost or left behind in the story.

Another point that I really love about this story is how it reminds me of something Peggy Blair blogged about one day when she stated how “character drives plot but plot shapes character.” This perfectly sums up the flow of Sparks’ novel, The Dome. Her characters are well written with Sam and Emma being two of my favorite people in the story. The situations, feelings, and conflicts that the characters face are made perfectly clear and as the plot evolves so do the characters. These developments add a beautiful realism effect to the overall story. I wanted to keep reading. I wanted to continue turning the pages just to see how they would resolve the present situation. I was intrigued and I wanted to learn more about why they acted and responded to their situations the way they did. Throughout the story, my view of the characters changed as more was revealed because it’s well-known that our responses show the true nature of our character. I also loved toying around with the question, what would I do if I were in Sam’s position or Emma’s for that matter?

In addition, did I mention that this story has a bit of romance? I’m a sucker for great romance stories, even if it isn’t the main theme. Love will create the suspense, regardless of whether the characters are trying to obtain it or keep it, or in some situations get rid of it. With The Dome, it’s obvious that love is the motivation. It may not be the only motivation for the characters’ actions, but it is part of their motivation nevertheless. Without giving away too much I will say that this story involves several types of love’s complexities. This is something else that I enjoy about this story. It reveals what people will do for love, and how too often, people fail to realize how their actions can threaten what they have. This story likewise exposes how lackluster our lives can become when void of simple love and affection. Also, please note that this story does have some sexual graphic content.

Moreover, I really enjoyed Spark’s writing style. The dialogue of the characters is witty and intriguing, not to mention, I didn’t run across any overused clichés and I often found myself laughing during the conversations that took place between the characters.

Furthermore, if I had to pick a favorite part of the story, it would be the beginning of the middle when they arrive at the Dome, that point in the transition where we get the first glimpse at a new setting that will bring us closer to the development of the theme. I must also point out that the theme itself is entertaining and unique. It’s not overdone or overused. The same thing goes for the plot as well. I was curious as to how Sparks would execute the plot but as I mentioned earlier, she did so very smoothly. The introduction, suspense, climax, and conclusion were well written in my opinion.

Final Assessment:

Looking back on everything, I give this book 4 out of 5 stars because even though some slight edits are needed, it doesn’t affect the overall story. This book is definitely a page-turner that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys a good story that perfectly combines science fiction, romance, and suspense that also delivers on its emotional promise to provide readers with an entertaining story.

I leave you with the humble confession that I am eagerly awaiting the release of the next book in what is sure to be another brilliant installment of this trilogy. Be sure to purchase your copy of The Dome today on Amazon. If you have already read the book, please feel to share your comments below. I would love to know what you thought about the story.
Profile Image for Robyn .
92 reviews1 follower
June 23, 2011
At first, I was a little weary, I got over my sci-fi phase a few years ago, and haven't read much of it since. But, since the official title for this one is sci-fi urban romance, I thought I'd give it a try. And I was really happy I did! (: The DOME was a gread read, and I can't wait for the second one!


I think what really made the novel for me (besides the characters, which I'll talk more about later) was just the whole world-is-ending-and-we're-going-to-another-planet-and-living-with-aliens aspect of it. It was so different and really interesting to read about. Especially the whole 2012 thing, and that guy predicting that we were all gonna die back in May. It was cool to get to "see" what happens when the world really does end. It was a really unique topic and I think the author approached it really well.


As I mentioned earlier, the characters really made the novel for me. I loved Emma! She was by far my favorite character, with her outside attitude but complex inside. She was the character I felt grew the most throughout the novel, and I really can't wait to see what's in store for Emma later on. Sam was another character I loved and felt grew a lot throughout the novel. I felt his journey must have been the toughest, but it was cool to see how he took on his role as a leader.I also loved Mark (ugh! - Read the book and you'll find out the reason for the "ugh". I'm not giving anything away!) and his son, Gregory, who was such a little cutie. And I really, really liked Ked, who was probably my favorite character aside from Emma. I thought he was such a cool little alien guy, trying to figure out human emotions and such.


The relationships between the characters was another thing I really enjoyed, particularly between Emma and her dad, as well as Emma and Ked. I thought it was honest and genuine and cute, and I can't wait to see what happens later on. The one character/relationship I didn't like was between Sam and Kris. I just didn't like Kris. I'm not sure why, she just annoyed me. I'm not even sure if there was a particular reason, or if she was just one of those characters I just can't like no matter what.

And, can I just say, the aliens and their little planet were pretty damn cool! I expected them to be, I don't know, more creepy sounding, or green. It was cool when they ended up sorta like people.

As for the ending, it was somewhat quick, and left open, but since there's a sequel, I'm alright with that.


So, I liked the characters, the topic, the aliens. I liked the intense-ness certain chapters brought (see, escape from fiery little balls, and the ending) and I liked the fact that it wasn't all that predictable. As for what I didn't like? I felt that it was a little rushed, and certain scenes could have been a little longer, and a little more detail given. Oh, and I didn't like Kris. But other than that, I really enjoyed The DOME and will be looking forward to the next book, The DOME Revelation. I've given The DOME 4/5 stars.

PLUS - Until Sunday, June 27th, you can enter at the blog for a chance to win a free ebook copy of The DOME! http://bit.ly/krzSLT
Profile Image for Chris Pavadore.
16 reviews
January 6, 2014
The Dome is a decent, very quick read if you are into Sci-Fi apocalypse novels. The book is a better concept than it is a story, however. Although parts are entertaining, it lacked basic necessities to push it to the next level. Sam, the father of the family, and Emma, his daughter go back and forth throughout the novel describing all that is happening in the world.

The book begins with a dream about an apocalyptic event that leads Sam to take his family and whoever else he can round up to a specific place. The place and time were burned in his mind after a week of dreaming the same dream. Simultaneously, the daughter Emma was going through typical trying times of a late teen girl, romance and parent troubles, mostly.

Sam, the family, and others go to the campsite where the dream showed them to go and they are abducted by an alien race and moved to a new planet, Syri. The Syrions have designed a mock Earth and require the only humans left of the race to live under simulated conditions.

Life on Syri is strange and new for the Syrions and, more obviously, the humans. They are not required to do anything, but to live in the Dome as the atmosphere is too harsh for humankind. The novel takes a bizarre turn into a romance for a few pages when Emma finds herself falling for a Syrion. Meanwhile, Sam is trying to patch up his relationship with his wife and Emma in the new world.

The characters continually lie to each other, yet grow closer as things rapidly go wrong. The Dome is clearly a small introduction to what could, hopefully, get more interesting.

HOWEVER...there are so many grammatical errors and misspellings that are annoying and hard to look pass (see what I did there). There is seemingly an issue with the use of the words "pass," "passed," and "past." Similarly, the misuse of "was" and "were" and many contractions was too common. With a little editing and some beefing up of the story, the series has some potential.

I can see a television director taking this and making a series that could either be really good or awful. Either way, I would sadly watch it and pretend I didn't know what it was when talking with friends.
Profile Image for Nancy Silk.
Author 5 books82 followers
October 1, 2014
"An Awesome Science Fiction Story"

This is the first story of The Dome Trilogy written by female author NOVA Sparks. She very creatively writes the story from alternating points of view of Sam Tucker and his 17 year old daughter, Emma. Emma is self driven to experience her life her way, not with approval of her parents. She finds life in her small town boring, is frequently late for school, but she's found a way to make money to market her self-concocted drugs to sell to other kids with the help of a couple of friends. Her father, Sam, has been plagued with the same dream for the past week ... a man killing the president, but he can't recall the man's name. Even when awake, the flashes of the dream invade his brain. When his friend, Mark, comes to the house one morning, he shares his dream. Suddenly, there is breaking news on the TV: the president talking about a volcano eruption in Hawaii. Standing next to the president is the man of Sam's dream ... Kirt Johnson, head of the White House geology research team, who is the killer! Sam knows this will actually happen in three days. Will there also be an apocalyptic event? Sam devises a plan to possibly save his family ... a camping trip to Crystal Peak Summit, at midnight. Many people follow him to the campground where they witness what appears to be an implosion of Earth. These survivors are whisked away in an alien space ship to the planet Syri and they will reside in an Earth-like community under a dome. Are they being held captive? Are the Syrions friendly? Why have they been chosen to live on Syri? This is a very creative, compelling story, well written which will hook you. It's riveting and suspenseful. Highly recommend.
Profile Image for Mandy.
190 reviews
January 1, 2014
This is a great book. This books talks about being "rescued" from destruction of earth from the perspectives of Emma and her father, Sam. As both of the explores the new planet whose residents saved the human race and kept under a dome, they both discovered something that each of them is struggling to understand. With the discoveries comes danger. In the dome, the supplies are automatically refilled in the night time when humans are supposed to be asleep.
Through all the discoveries of the new planet, Emma gets attracted to a alien boy, Ked, who just may be fascinated with her as well. She gets wrapped into all kinds of trouble as Ked seems to be important to a group of aliens. Emma risks her life many times to visit him going out of the dome. Ked has also saved Emma many times as she visits him; he wants to see her as much as she does, but he knows the danger of them being together in any way.
I love this book. I wish it was a one time book that has the ending. When I read to the end, I was so wide-eyed because the ending was very much a cliff hanger. I was dying to read the second book! The writing was amazing in this book. I was able to read it in a matter of days because the book was so well written that it keeps me glued to the screen even when it passed my bed time by an hour. I am looking forward to the second book!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Author 18 books127 followers
May 6, 2011
This is was a surprising read for me. For one, I wasn't expecting a science/fiction type genre bender from this author.

But I digress. Stunning debut that began with a crazy dazzling prologue. The only thing this author needs to work on in terms of style is she can go a little choppy. Hence, the loss of one star.

Despite that, I'd like to post the first few lines of her prologue to demonstrate her elegance and admirable attention to word crafting.


The sound of heavy rain pouring is making rhythmic noises outside large white windows. A flash of lightning followed by a crash of thunder lights the sky outside. A man sitting at a desk with his eyes can be heard in the quiet room. Moments later, a female voice calls out to him, "Mr.President?"

I don't know about you, but that makes me want to read more.
Kudos. I love a good opening.
Profile Image for A Book Vacation.
1,485 reviews730 followers
July 5, 2011
Sparks has created wonderful characters and situations in her debut novel, the Dome, and I found myself unable to put the book down until its completion. Told from two different viewpoints, the reader follows both Sam and Emma as they journey across the galaxy as the earth is destroyed.

Having both Sam’s and Emma’s perspectives of the situations surrounding them was refreshing—I really enjoy having multiple narrators within a story. I also enjoyed that Sam and Emma didn’t rehash the same experiences, but actually had their own stories inside of the novel, creating two stories in one.

This is a great adult novel (there are some graphic sexual experiences), complete with romance, suspense, and mystery...

To read my full review (8/9):

http://bookvacations.wordpress.com/20...
Profile Image for Judith-Victoria Douglas.
Author 20 books82 followers
July 29, 2016
I wasn't sure I would get hooked in the beginning, but the separate chapters of Sam's pov and Emma's pov did it for me. I liked the father/daughter interaction, though it sometime felt like it dragged a bit. It was a little corny in places, and needs some polish, but the story is compelling and enjoyable. There is an excellent blending of alien-human interaction, on their planet for a change, in this Sci-fi. The slow revelation of circumstances will keep you turning pages as it did me, wanting to know more. Though I felt dumped at the end rather than gently hooked I still want more, so I am looking forward to the next book. There are a lot of mysteries left to solve.
Profile Image for Erin Danzer.
Author 19 books44 followers
August 21, 2011
What a great take on the alien abduction idea! Nova Sparks gave it a fresh voice, a fresh idea in THE DOME. I loved the two point-of-views in Sam and his teenaged daughter, Emma. Each chapter was wrought with enough action and mystery to keep me turning the page. And when I reached the end, all I could think was "Now I need the next one to see what happened next." A wonderful debut novel! A great read for sci-fi fans (and even those who aren't that crazy about sci-fi). I can't wait to see what happens next in THE DOME trilogy!
Profile Image for Erin Danzer.
Author 19 books44 followers
August 5, 2011
*** SPOILERS ALERT!!***

What a great take on the alien abduction idea! Nova Sparks gave it a fresh voice, a fresh idea in THE DOME. I loved the two point-of-views in Sam and his teenaged daughter, Emma. Each chapter was wrought with enough action and mystery to keep me turning the page. And when I reached the end, all I could think was "Now I need the next one to see what happened next." A wonderful debut novel! A great read for sci-fi fans (and even those who aren't that crazy about sci-fi). I can't wait to see what happens next in THE DOME trilogy!
Profile Image for Zev Steinhardt.
4 reviews
February 17, 2014
I've read some of the reviews here and on Amazon for Dome and, on the basis of the positive reviews, I picked it up. I've got to wonder if they were reading the same book that I read.

I've had plenty of books that simply did not engage me and I put them down -- but I can't remember any case where I actually, actively disliked a book -- until now.

I find it hard to find anything positive about this book. The plot is simply silly and the characters are just neither believable nor sympathetic. In addition, the book is riddled with grammar errors, cliches and awkward phrasing.

Zev

10 reviews
February 2, 2014
This book is written by a little known author who is self publishing, but I enjoyed her writing very much. It is a science fiction with some mystery entwined in it. There is suppose to be a sequel to this book, but is is late in being released. I have written Ms. Sparks and she assures me that the book will be available in March?
Profile Image for Pam Wright.
209 reviews
October 21, 2013
Really, really, really bad. Basically Twilight with an alien instead of a vampire. Tons of spelling and grammatical errors too (incessant use of "passed" instead of "past" for example). I read this because of the 4 star Amazon average review and very much regret it.
Profile Image for Janeth.
4 reviews
April 13, 2014
Amazing! At first i thought it was kind of weird but then it got really exiting and it was that way until the very end, cant wait to read the second book.
Profile Image for Alyssa L.
5 reviews3 followers
September 30, 2017
I got this book for free on Amazon. Almost every review I saw was great... honestly, I'm not sure how. Twilight was written better than this. The story had potential! But oh my goodness this was a hot mess. The timeline was way to messy, the characters were cliche, the POV's were lacking. This whole thing reminds me of how I wrote on 7th grade to be honest.

This is mean, I'm just really disappointed.
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