Under The Dome
I cannot keep up with the number of books that Stephen King has churned out through the years. Somewhere along the way I have lost count. There are too many of his books already, and it seems that he’s always there, every time I am in a book store there is another Stephen King book waving at me from the shelves, begging to be read. I stopped reading him years ago, not because his books have lost their magic but because there are many other authors and their works to read. But King’s new book, Under the Dome, somehow found its way into my collection.
I was somewhat surprised to see how much has changed in King’s writing. I am not talking about his writing style, it is still the same, although it seems to have matured a lot; what has changed is how he deals with his characters now. The novel is thick with emotions. King has found a new power–the ability to bring us into the very depth of each character’s soul without any effort at all. The book is more than a thousand pages, but you barely notice the number of turns you make while you are at it, at least it was what I felt while reading the book.
Under the Dome is set in the small town of Chesters Mill, which suddenly is cut off from the rest of the world by a dome that descends on the town. The dome is invisible but it is there, the town feels its presence when a small plane suddenly bursts into flames after it hits the dome. A truck carrying logs crashes on the dome. What the dome is made of and why it is there, King does not explain clearly during the first half of the book, and this is one of the things that hooks you and keeps you turning the pages. But if you are very observant, you’ll see some hints that King drops here and there early in the development of the story.
Under the Dome can be considered one of Stephen King’s best works. In this book he successfully merges the real world with the fantasies that only he can create.
