Book Review: Under the Dome by Stephen King
Title: Source: Personal Copies
My Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥
From Goodreads.com
On an entirely normal, beautiful fall day in Chester’s Mill, 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.
As a lifelong Stephen King fan, I am always excited to get my hands on a copy of another of his novels! (Under The Dome was Stephen King book #26 that I have read!) So when my husband got Under the Dome on Audible, I was anxious to get my hands on it and start reading as well.
Unfortunately, this one took me a LONG time to really get into. (And I found myself switching to a hardbound copy for awhile, hoping reading rather than listening would help!) As much as I love Stephen King, I can’t deny that when it comes to his stories with an Epic cast? It’s sometimes hard to follow and connect with the characters. I didn’t feel any real attachment to the characters until half way through this 1072 page book. I felt bombarded with people for the first third and struggling to find redeemable characteristics of the characters.
The story itself is great, a dome trapping a town? And Mr. King did a great job of acknowledging the very real problems that would go with this scenario – air pollution from not being able to exchange air. Running out of fuel, generators dying, etc. this was definitely a fast paced plot, with action on every page and a colorful cast that has you wondering who is behind the dome. There is murder, mayhem and destruction to the highest degree, and even a few small romantic plot lines tossed in.
I have to say that I found much of this book predictable. Even the big plot-twist at the end, you know? The ones where King shows you that the cause of the horror is something totally unexpected? Well, maybe I’m cynical. Maybe I read too much Stephen King. But, I saw it coming. I even (at one point) called my husband and said “It better not be ____!” and sure enough? It was.
All-in-all, Under the Dome is what I’ve come to expect from King. A long, twisty road that I enjoyed walking and came away from feeling as though I’d made new friends and enemies. The characters will stay with me for life, the plot – while predictable in places – was memorable and the book enjoyable. I don’t know that I’d recommend this if you’ve never read a King novel. And I don’t think that it falls into my top 10 of his books. But it’s worth a read if you’re a lifelong fan.
