Review - Under the Dome

Under the Dome, by Stephen King

Under the Dome begins with a bang - literally. A mysterious force field appears out of nowhere, causing plane crashes and car crashes along the perimeter of Chester's Mill, Maine. All attempts at breaching the Dome -- from acid to bombs -- fail. The town's population -- at least those who were in town on Dome Day -- are stunned and confused. Some in the town have big secrets to hide, others see this as an opportunity to seize power and control, some see the Dome as their chance to get away with whatever they want, and others are just trying to figure out what in the world is going on.

I read this book for book club, and have to say that I really enjoyed it. I haven't read a ton of Stephen King's books, but of the few I've read this is my favorite so far. I don't really do horror, and this was more of a drama/adventure/mystery type book. Horrific only as you see what kinds of things human beings are capable of doing to each other (and I will admit, there were a few things that made me go ewwwwww. Junior, you are one sick puppy). Sometimes I have a problem with King's pacing in his books, but this book was very well-paced for such a huge story. I was also impressed with the characterization in the book, particularly given the large cast of characters. There was a fun good guys-bad guys element to the book, which was also maddening at times because WHY ARE THE BAD GUYS GETTING AWAY WITH THIS JUNK! I was invested, that's for sure.

Bottom line: fun, entertaining, and slightly disturbing.