I picked this up from a second-hand book shop for a few bucks earlier this year and finally, in April 2020, it bubbled to the top of the pile and I started reading it.
As per the book Wikipedia entry, Under the Dome (2009) is a science fiction novel by the American author, Stephen King. Under the Dome is the 58th book published by Stephen King, and it is his 48th novel.
The novel focuses on a small Maine town, and tells an intricate, multi-character, alternating perspective story of how the town's inhabitants contend with the calamity of being suddenly cut-off from the outside world by an impassable, invisible glass dome-like barrier that seemingly falls out of the sky, transforming the community into a domed city.
Well, I generally like Stephen King, I have nearly 40 of his books in my library and some are complete classics, but this is not.
It's far too long - 877 pages of this large-format paperback edition - but lacks any real depth. The premise is a good one - What would people do if stuck together under a dome for an extended period of time, with no obvious rescue in sight? I'm afraid I found most of the characters unbelievable - Big Jim Rennie, his son Junior and his cronies, etc, etc. As one reviewer said, it's a cast of dull, one-dimensional, and highly stereotypical characters. It seems in this novel you are either a hateful, fear-mongering, murderous megalomaniac or you are a gentle, respectful, selfless individual with a limitless background of useful talents.
I don't often do this but I read up to about page 300, then skipped to about page 600 and started reading again. I missed nothing in terms of the plot but I saved myself a week or so of frustrating reading.
Once you grind through, the ending is disappointing. I wonder if King was struggling to find a good ending to the book and just decided on a dud ending so that he could get it off to the publisher and move onto something else.
Want to read it - don't bother in my opinion. There are a lot better King books out there.
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