Story Had Potential

Under The Dome

By: Stephen King

Simon & Schuster 2009

On a crisp fall day a mysterious dome descends on a small Maine town, trapping all its residents like prisoners.

This book has quite a simple concept; however the story is anything but simple. Filled with more characters then most or any book I have ever read, Stephen King’s new novel Under The Dome is less about the dome as it is about how people react to catastrophe and the lengths they will go to for survival.

I, admittedly, am not a Stephen King fan. But I read this one due to the interesting premise. My first feeling while read this book was that I could see this as a made for TV mini-series.

As I mentioned before there are so many characters, so many in fact that at times it is difficult to remember who everyone is and to really develop an intimate relationship with them. King even felt he needed to place a cast of characters page at the beginning of the book.  

And even though I think King was making more of a statement on humanity’s instincts in crisis’ situations and how these things can bring out the worst in the worst type of people, instead of actually explaining why the dome came to be, I was very disappointed in the resolution of the book. The story had major potential but I was left with a feeling that it could have been 500 pages shorter than it was. When you read a novel that is 1000 plus pages, you are expecting a satisfying payoff.

If you’re the type of person who doesn’t read a lot of books, I don’t feel like this is worth spending your time on. If you’re looking for an interesting scientific or science fiction thriller with smart and creative storytelling, this is not your book.

Story                           **

Characters                   **

Readability                  ***

Overall rating               ***

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