Book Review (Part 1): Stephen King's Under the Dome

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There's a reason I haven't blogged about anything since yesterday. I've been immersed into a book. A big, heavy, 1074-page book.  I first checked Stephen King's Under the Dome out of the library several months ago, but partly intimidated by its heft, I returned it unread.  Last weekend, while still reading Dean Koontz's Frankenstein: Lost Souls, a book I enjoyed but with which I was disappointed.  As I said in my review of that book, it left me wanting because it ended mid-story--or more accurately--only a third of the way in.  Unlike the previous Frankenstein trilogy, this edition didn't carry a chapter number, or any other indication that it was only one volume of a longer story.

I'm pretty sure that won't be an issue for Under the Dome. I'm only halfway into the book (at page 545!), and have only come up for air now, after reading since 7:00 am this morning!  If you've ever read a Stephen King novel, you know that he can be wordy, sometimes at the expense of the story.  As much as I loved Misery, I found myself skipping the "Misery Chastain" romance novel portions of the book only partway in.  At other times though, say with The Stand, King's wordiness can be rich and rewarding.  One thing I think I can be relatively certain of is that it won't have a rushed conclusion!

Under the Dome takes place in Maine (naturally), just up the road a piece from Castle Rock, a town you're intimately familiar with if you've read very much King.  The small town of Chester's Mill finds itself suddenly trapped--right to the town's borders--by a transparent, seemingly indestructible barrier.  This has a calamitous effect on anything actually at the border at the moment the dome came down, or for anything preparing to cross it at high speed. 

This first part of the book is an outstanding, gripping, can't-put-the-book-down good time.  If your idea of a good time is kinda gory.  Mine is.  Anyway, a large section of the book deals with the setup, introducing us to a broad section of Chester's Mill's citizenry and public servants.  By the time we begin to gather some vague understanding as to what's going on--about a third of the way in--we'd have already been to the end of many books of this genre (Koontz's included).  I was a little leery of what the thick mid-section of this book was going to be like.  For the sheer genius that was The Stand, another long King book, Duma Key while good, wasn't quite as satisfying. So far though, I'm still along for the ride.  There are protagonists I'm rooting for, a couple of deaths--hey, this is King--that I've lamented, and a few deaths I'm looking forward to! 

I'll be following this review with a complete one when I'm done reading. I may have to extend my library check-out period to do that, unless next weekend is as schedule-clear as this one was.  But so far, I've got to say I recommend it. Especially, I recommend the idea of books like this to other writers (you listening, Dean?).  Having the space to flesh out a story this rich, and not having to wind it up at page 400 or so has got to be a freeing experience for a writer. It's also an entertaining and memorable way to read one.  I've read hundreds of books, and if we winnow it down to just the King and Koontz stuff, I could name several titles, but few details.  That said, I can tell you that The Stand had characters like Mother Abigail and Trashcan Man, and the song "Baby, Can You Dig Your Man?."  Those big books stick with you!