Review - Under The Dome by Stephen King

Under the Dome by Stephen King
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

ebook, 1120 pages

Published December 24th 2009 by Scribner (first published 2009) 

Source: Own copy

Synopsis:
'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.'


My Thoughts:
Oh boy! I don't even know where to start with this book except that I now feel a little bit lost that I have finally finished it.
In true King style this book contains a massive list of characters but they all weave together in such intricate ways and play their parts so well that I don't feel it was a struggle at all to remember who was who.
I love the concept of this book. It's a bit like Lord of the Flies where you get a glimpse at seeing how normal people react and adapt to an abnormal situation. It shows us how human nature can change and that everyone is capable of a bit of evil if pushed far enough.
Also, this is not a book where you should get too attached to any particular character as there is a great possibility that they may not be around by the end. King certainly doesn't pull any punches with what fate awaits the poor citizens of Chester's Mill.
Under The Dome is definitely one of my favourite King books to date. It has taken me a good couple of months to get through this mammoth read using a mix of audio and regular reading and I haven't felt so consumed or invested in a book in a very long time. I literally felt like I knew the people personally and could visualise the town and the events that were happening with almost perfect clarity. I guess a lot of this has to do with the great narrator of the audio book portion I listened to.
The ending was a bit of a surprise to me. I'm not sure what I was expecting but it wasn't what finally eventuated.
I wouldn't class this as a regular King horror, instead I would say it is a bit of a mix of Sci Fi and Thriller. Whatever you think it should be classified as, it just works.

Important Links:
Amazon: Under the Dome
The Book Depository