I have never been a big Stephen King fan.  His work always struck me as horror-and-gore fare that I’d just as soon avoid.  But when my brother-in-law gave me a copy of Under the Dome and told me it was actually more of a science fiction book, I thought I’d give it a try.
I was quickly immersed in the odd predicament the good citizens of Chester’s Mill find themselves in when the dome comes down.  The best science fiction unfolds from the natural results when extraordinary events happen to normal people.  That is just what King does in Under the Dome. We get to know a large and complex set of characters as they struggle with the implications of the dome.
While all the events of the book take place in a small Maine town, the parallels for the rest of the world are clear.    The world has a larger, but equally finite atmosphere and the world also has despots that prey on the fears of the people to lead them down hell’s path.  King lets us see clearly the stages of the fall.  From the “we all support the team” to fear mongering at a grocery store.  We see a set of small decisions can lead to utter disaster.   By the end I found myself wishing the 1074 page book was a bit longer

I did quickly lose interest in carrying such a big book around, so I bought the Kindle version.  I found the reading experience fantastic.  I easily prefer my wife’s Kindle to a real book and the Android version was very good.  Having them kept in sync was very helpful.. I never lost my page.

Some fun with Under the Dome on the Web:

• Big Jim Rennie’s Used Cars
• Sweet Briar Rose Diner
• Chester’s Mill Democrat Newspaper
• Town of Chester’s Mill
• the blog of Scarecrow Joe

Enjoy!