1074: The number of pages in the hardcover version of Under the Dome.
8: The number of days it took me to read Under the Dome.
6: The number of people that demanded to borrow Under the Dome when I was done.

I don't read that fast normally. I keep a book around for a good month before I really get into it and then knock it out all at once. Under the Dome was different. I read the first two or three chapters and couldn't stop. A few marathon sessions later and all 1074 pages were done. Needless to say I quite enjoyed the book.

Under the Dome is the latest novel from Stephen King and it is a doozy. Chester's Mill is a small town in Maine. A town that could be any small town in the United States. It has a diner, a bar, a handful of businesses and several hundred people whom all know each other. What makes it different? Well as the title implies one fateful day an invisible dome-shaped force field surrounds the entire town trapping everyone inside.

Sounds like a rip off of The Simpsons Movie right?

Not really.

Under the Dome kicks into full speed within a couple pages. The dome drop is anything but peaceful and despite being invisible is completely noticeable by the carnage it leaves behind. Planes crash into something pilots can't see or detect. Automobiles collide headfirst at full speed. Objects, animals, and people caught between the sides are split in twain. The death toll from the very start is higher than most of his novels.

The Dome isn't really the story though. The Dome like many of King "big bads" is merely something to drive the characters. After all, Under the Dome is a character study; done on the same scale as Needful Things, but with the epic intensity of The Stand. There are four central characters and as many as thirty major characters. When you bring in the minor characters you'll quickly notice King is juggling close to a hundred characters.


Let me introduce you to the key villains (and most interesting characters):

Big Jim Rennie: The town's second selectmen and used car salesman. Big Jim is an amalgamation of liberal fears; whom displays a contempt for pretty much everything. He has been saved since he was a teen and acts as a church deacon, despite this he displays contemptible actions and murderous aspirations. All Old Testament, not a bit of New. He sees the Dome as a blessing and quickly moves to position himself to become the ruler supreme of Chester's Mill.

Junior Rennie: Big Jim's son. He might just be an over aggressive bully if not for a raging undiagnosed brain tumor. The natural anger combined with mental instability turns him into something of a monster. Early on he proves he is capable of depravity, but somehow pales in comparison to the evil of his father. He has a compadre of ne'er-do-wells that join the police reserves after the Dome drops. This ragtag group brings misery and oppression as Chester's Mill's new Hitler Youth.

The Chef: The Chef is a hopeless tweeker strung out beyond belief on an unfathomable amount of crystal meth. He named himself The Chef because he is the head cook at a meth lab on the outskirts of town. He considers the drug a way to commune with God and he is more than ready to serve the Lord's will. Chef is as dangerous as his mind is addled.

Of the three villains the darkest and scariest one is Big Jim Rennie. A corrupt politician that manages to outshine the two complete psychopaths in every way imaginable. He is an even darker version of Machiavelli's Prince. A man hellbent on controlling the town in defiance of even the President himself. It is around him that the forces of evil in the town align. It is against him that the protagonists constantly struggle - whether they know it or not.

This isn't like The Stand though where your evil and good gather quickly for an epic showdown. Only the evil gathers gathers at first; Rennie almost immediately asserts his will onto the town by putting his own players into positions of power. At the same time he immediately sets to destroy his opposition. One by one, they become discredited, incarcerated, or simply dead. The man knows no limits. It isn't until late in the book that the "good" become a true force. By then it is really too late, Rennie has already won the town over with deceit.

People may end up liking different characters for different reasons, but everyone will hate Big Jim. He is one of the most vile and stand-out villains King has ever scripted. Big Jim as I said is a liberal boogieman. He represents the deep-rooted American fear of their government and an ever growing distrust of Christianity. King hit the proverbial nail on the head.

I'd talk about the good guys, but like I said they really aren't the star in this one. You have to kind of cringe at how stupid they end up acting. Each holds a crucial piece of information, that they withhold from others. Each steps up to Big Jim thinking they can stop him only to be struck down. When Big Jim starts talking about "being in the zone" you can't help, but agree. Even with the deck stacked against him he manages to weasel out of attack after attack; he turns adversity into his greatest strength time and time again.


All of Under the Dome's characters are written with some type of fatherly love. Their dialogue may be a tad on the stinker side at times, but when you look at the size of the novel it hardly pollutes the book. I've seen other reviewers and critics tear it apart for the dialogue and simplistic tones. I don't care if everything isn't perfect. If he gets a little goofy at times - so be it. If he wants to use horror elements and motifs from his other novels - who cares? Certainly not me.

Let the dogs be able to talk to dead people.
Let children serve as an integral part of the story.
Let there be some unexplained phantasmal element.

That is what makes it a Stephen King novel. That is why I enjoyed it and was able to read all 1074 pages with ease. The man tells a hell of a story and it is easily one of my favorite King works. I personally rank it in my favorite King books alongside The Stand, Needful Things, The Mist, The Shining, and Duma Key.

I'm not sure if it is my favorite King work yet, but I definitely enjoyed the hell out of this book. If you're a Stephen King fan read it. If you're not a King fan this may be a little too much for you to get into. Start with something smaller.

Then again, you can make your own decisions and they might as well be informed. So read this excerpt which happens to be the very first chapter and see if you like it - ask yourself "Can I read a 1000 more pages just like this?"

---

---