Book Review: 'Under The Dome'

First of all, it's confession time again: prior to "Under The Dome", I had never read a book by Stephen King. I've seen plenty of the films based on his books (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, The Shining, etc.), and many of them are great. For some reason, however, I never felt the urge to peruse the source material.

That changed when I saw the cover to King's latest, "Under The Dome". I know they say never to judge a book by its cover, but that's exactly what I did. And I don't regret it at all.

"Under The Dome" tells the story of the residents of Chester's Mill, Maine, a fictional small town that finds itself suddenly and inexplicably covered and surrounded by a mysterious force field. King provides a daunting list of characters at the beginning, all of whom factor into the story in their own way--big or small.

King has truly created his own little (big for a book) world in "Under The Dome". Each character has a history, personality and reputation in Chester's Mill, and much of this is evident through character interactions rather than straight-up narration.

Some of the more prominent characters include Dale Barbara, an ex-army drifter who finds himself put in charge of Chester's Mill during the crisis. Julia Shumway is the editor of the town's local newspaper. Big Jim Rennie is the corrupt Chester's Mill second selectman.

Suffice to say, there's a lot going on here. Thankfully, it all happens at the briskest pace possible for a book of this scope. Everything ties together very nicely, which certainly strengthens the illusion that we're reading about the plight of an actual town.

King has said that he began this novel in 1976 but couldn't finish it due to the enormous scope. He handles this scope very well, tackling everything from the human response to being trapped under the Dome to the meteorological implications of the situation. King has definitely done his homework, and this also serves to strengthen the illusion.

I thoroughly enjoyed "Under The Dome", but two glaring flaws stood out during my time with the book. Firstly, the symbolism. I'm fine with symbolism, but King is rather politically overt here. As a result, characters like Big Jim Rennie (essentially a small-town Dick Cheney) turn into caricatures rather than deep characters like they should be. I was hoping King would provide a well-researched account of how a town might react to an extraordinary situation of this kind. What I got was a well-researched account with a sharp political message that is neither subtle nor groundbreaking.

Secondly, the dialogue is, in many cases, horrendous. I listened to the "Under The Dome" audiobook while reading the novel itself on my Kindle, and hearing the wonderful Raul Esparza read King's dialogue really demonstrated just how unrealistic it really is. These characters, in many cases, do not talk how real people talk.

These flaws are minor in the grand scheme of it all, however. The book moves so fast and so much happens, you won't believe it's over when you turn the final page. Aside from the too-obvious political themes and the clunky dialogue, King has crafted a very good read. It's graphic, powerful, frightening and enjoyable all at once.