Under the Dome by Stephen King
Under the Dome is the story of the small town of Chester's Mill, Maine which is inexplicably and suddenly sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field. No one can get in and no one can get out.
When food, electricity and water run short, the normal rules of society are changed. A new and more sinister social order develops, Dale Barbara, a young Iraq veteran, teams up with a handful of intrepid citizens to fight against the corruption that is sweeping through the town and to try to discover the source of the Dome before it is too late.
Characters and Plot
This is a big book, coming in at over 1000 pages, and it took me four months to read. That's my fault, as I only read a few pages before I fell asleep at night, then sometimes a couple more in the morning when I woke early. Honestly, by the end I felt I was under the dome myself.
Thing is, even at such a length, it doesn’t flag. From the opening chapters, King pulls you right into his world - a dome covers a small town, cutting off the limb of a woman gardening, a plane crashes into the invisible barrier, and a groundhog is sheared in two. King lets his imagination rum amok here, and there’s plenty of gruesome imagery.
There's a big cast of characters. Sometimes I got confused with who was who, but the main protaganists are easy identified. The good guys, such as Dale ‘Barbie’ Barbara, soon become apparent. There’s depth to the characters, which is revealed as the story progresses.
Big Jim Rennie
Big Jim is one of Kings more evil creations of recent times, all the more so because he is the worst of humanity. Greedy, self righteous, vain - he's just odious. And being a king book, just the sort of protaganist you need to keep the story moving.
I’ve read somewhere that King based Big Jim and the useful idiot Andy Sanders are based on a certain post 9/11 American administration, but really, these could be any one of a number of scumbag politicians and their backers who pull the strings.
Ending
I was fearing the worst for the ending, because it's so divisive amongst Kings constant readers. And honestly, it was a bit underwhelming. But if you're a fan, you'll know that sometimes endings aren't his forte, but as he'd say himself, every story has to come out somewhere. Anyway, it certainly didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the book.
I love how King peoples his towns, and the different characters are all well drawn. He enjoys writing from a variety of perspectives - the town drunk, the evil politician, skateboarding teens and even at one stage a dog.
He has a lot of fun here, and therefore it follows so does the reader. The pace never flagged, there are some memorable evil characters, some bad shit happens and is eloquently described - just another vintage King book for me.