Under the Dome

While I appreciate the writing of Stephen King, I have to say I'm not usually a fan of his genre choice.  I can't handle i!  He writes so darn well that it.... scares me.  I had read a review of this book and something about it intrigued me so I gave it a try and it makes me wonder if I have changed or if he has.  His writing is still tremendous and the visuals he creates as well as the diaogue is spot on dynamic.  But it's the web of characters and his unique ability to hold a large story together that I find so fascinating.  I had to re-read the beginning a few times to grasp all of the characters that were being thrown at me but once I grasped who the central players were I let the others drift from my mind and was honestly surprised to revisit them later in the story.  I'm making it sound like it was a difficult read and it truly wasn't but I did have to pay attention to keep it all straight.

The premise of the story is that an large invisible dome drops down on a small town community and then we are given the opportunity to glimpse this community at work and how they react to such conditions.  It's a little Lord of the Flies meets Friday Night Lights.  We all support the team is a common mantra throughout the tale with a varried opinion of what that actually means.  Throw in some crooked politicians, a serial killer or two and you have a big book with a lot of characters that I couldn't put down.  My husband was reading this one at the same time as I was and it was a great couples book to discuss.  There was plenty of violence for him and unsuspecting romance for me.  Or, is that there was plenty of violence for me and some subtle romance for him?  Either way, we both loved it and would highly recommend this for a science fiction escape.

I wouldn't recommend this book for children, however high school students would love it if they could stick with it for the duration of this lengthy story.