Book Review: Under the Dome by Stephen King

The first Stephen King book I read was The Shining, and it scared the hell out of me. I'm a night reader- if I don't read before I go to bed, I typically have trouble falling asleep. But it was a mistake to read The Shining at night. I would reach a terrifying part, then continue to read so that something could serve as a buffer between horrifying descriptions of ghost women and my dreams. But of course there was no buffer- the terror kept coming. So I didn't sleep very much during those few days.

And of course I loved the book. Even though I haven't read even a fraction of Stephen King's enormous library, I love most of his books that I pick up. Although he is usually remembered for his horror stories like The Shining and It, his forays into science fiction are wonderful. His literary brilliance traverses the genres wonderfully.

Summary

The quaint New England town of Chester's Mill is suddenly engulfed in turmoil when an invisible but powerful dome cuts the town off from the rest of the world. With limited cell phone access and no way to breach the shield, the citizens of the town struggle to adapt to their new world of isolation. Ex-army sergeant Dale "Barbie" Barbara, town selectmen and used car salesman James "Big Jim" Rennie, his son Junior, and newspaper reporter Julia Shumway attempt to avoid political turmoil and potential disaster as the situation grows more and more desperate.

Review

If you've read any of King's books, you know his writing style is very distinct. Regardless of whether you are reading one of his classic tales of horror like Carrie or are enjoying one of his science fiction novels, you're likely to find there are some terrifying moments. Although The Dome isn't about grotesque ghosts roaming around town, the townspeople are horrifyingly evil, particularly Rennie and Junior. Unbelievably evil.

SPOILERS
For example, both Junior and Rennie have serious issues with Barbie. Junior (who is admittedly a teeny tiny bit completely insane) attacks Barbie and ends up getting his ass handed to him (cue embarrassment). Right after the dome comes down, Barbie, a former Army sergeant, is promoted to colonel by order of the president. Rennie doesn't handle his potential loss of power too well. Both kill two people, then decide blackmailing Barbie for all four murders is a good way of dealing with the bodies and their simultaneous hatred of Barbie.

Nothing says father-son bonding time like murder and a good frame job! 

And on top of this, Rennie creates additional chaos (such as orchestrating a riot at the local grocery store) so that he can swoop in and save the day/earn more power. He also stocks the police force with local idiots and thugs who are just looking for an excuse to beat up people. This guy definitely has issues.

end of spoilers

Something about these two just drew me out of the book. I still enjoyed it immensely, but the absolute corruption of these two characters always threw me off. I just simply cannot imagine that there are people so power hungry to be in charge of a small town of a couple thousand people that they would do these awful things.

As for the show.

I started watched the show almost immediately after I finished the book. And wow is it different. A lot of the characters have been mashed together or switched or have completely new stories. I really enjoy it because I can watch the show and see how else the story would have played out. Some of the characters are so completely different, but they are a lot more realistic than those in the book.

Ultimately, I love the book and I highly recommend it. Be sure to take it with a grain of salt, though.