Under the Dome by Stephen King

Today I finally finished reading Stephen King's 1000+ page novel, Under the Dome. And let me just say that I am satisfied with what I read. I'm not bowled over with excitement or anything, but I am glad that I read this book. I haven't read any of King's books since I was a teenager and so deciding to pick up his latest effort was a bit of a blast from the past type of exercise. I wanted something that I knew I would be able to sink my teeth into and get lost in - I definitely got both with this ginormous book.

Under the Dome takes place in the small town of Chester's Mill. A man is walking on the road that leads him out of town when suddenly a multiple of things happen - a plane explodes above him and a woodchuck gets sliced in half and he encounters an invisible shield that will not let him leave the town of Chester's Mill. This invisible shield is solid, but cannot be pierced. It completely covers the small town of Chester's Mill, thereby creating a barrier between the residents and their neighboring townspeople. From this point on we are introduced to a bevy of characters that quickly divide into separate camps with agendas that are either producing riots and chaos in an already panicked town to agendas that are set in maintaining a united front in trying to figure out what the dome is and how to get out from under it. In typical King fashion, it is clearly a battle of good versus evil. Except towards the end when we learn that the true culprits responsible for the dome are not of this world. They are alien children playing their version of holding up a magnifying glass towards the sun and directing it towards an ant pile, except that the ants in this pile are human beings. In the end we have the evil characters being discarded in one way or another and the good people begging for their freedom (which apparently an alien child decides to listen to and winds up removing the dome). So, happy ending!

Alright, so the book was not exactly what I thought it was going to be, but it was definitely entertaining. The writing was detailed and solid. The characters were plentiful and engaging. The plot was intriguing at first, but I feel as if it was derailed at the end with the introduction of alien children. I just feel as if that made the rest of the book fall a bit flat and it just did not really end well. Overall, I am glad I read this book, because it was nice to dip into something a bit different than my usual reading fare. And now I am off to start reading, Audrey Niffenegger's, Her Fearful Symmetry. Happy Reading!!