Book Review - Under the Dome by Stephen King

Under the Dome

Stephen King has released another monster; it's not unusual for King to come out with a six- or seven-hundred page book, but rarely does he ever exceed eight-hundred pages. Under the Dome is one of those exceptions. It's been in the works for decades, and while King admits that it's not the same beast it once was, as a writer, it's easy to see what a risk and undertaking King has made by releasing the finally finished book.

There's also that consideration that King is just not the same person, or writer, that he was twenty years ago. None of us are. But there's a part of me that wants to compare Under the Dome to King's other epic novels, It and The Stand. Perhaps it's just the length that reminds me of the two; but I think, more than that, it's the style of narration that hammers the resemblance home.Yet I'll refrain from making any other comparisons - it's not helpful, for one thing, and it's just not realistic to expect King to remain the same writer he was at that time period.

Under the Dome starts off with a bang; the Dome goes down, obviously, with the death toll skyrocketing immediately. King writes from a semi-omniscient point of view; at times, we're with certain citizens of the town, and at others, we have a grandiose, God-like view of the world. It's a good way for King to get us centralized and involved with the characters; since there's a huge cast, King has to head-jump to get the reader acquainted with everyone.

Here's where The Stand similarities come in. With such a wide variety of characters under the Dome, King allows us to get a feel for almost everyone, and then each character is forced to come together for the climax of the book. The pattern is similar to The Stand: have a bunch of characters spread out on all parts of the US converge and make a stand to stop the evil. But in Under the Dome, King does a fantastic job of characterizing the townsfolk so that each stands out from the other. At first, it may seem impossible to remember who does what and who is who; but after some time, all of the important characters are given such depth that it becomes second nature when recognizing each of the characters.

There's Barbie, a former military captain who has been ostracized by the crazy religious Second Selectman Jim Rennie. There's Julia, town reporter and writer of the town newspaper. There is Scarecrow Joe and his band of smart young kids. And the aforementioned Rennie, who does everything in his power to screw up the town's attempts to break free of the Dome.

Jim Rennie is essentially the villain of the novel. While there is some sort of supernatural force controlling the Dome, it is ultimately less interesting than the human conflicts that arise with Jim Rennie in power. When King sets out to make downright scummy characters, he does it to the nines, because Jim Rennie is a normal man who the reader hates right from the beginning. It only gets worse from there. King has found some really slimy ways to personify evil, and he doesn't shy from it. Under the Dome is violent and, at times, a bit disgusting.

The themes are powerful, touching on environmental issues subtly as a side-thought, with a tight focus on religious frenzy and the gullibility of a group of people when subject to authoritative power. But it's the pressures that King puts on the townspeople, the destructive and pitiful ways in which they act, that carry the novel. King is unrelenting - just when we think we're about to come through the worst of the Dome events, King punches with a KOing left hook to suffocate the reader. This is some pervasive stuff, almost unbearable in some instances.

The nature of the Dome is only secondary; it's King's way of describing human vs. human conflict that really grabs the reader. This is not supernatural, slasher horror. It is realistic horror driven by humanity that makes the skin crawl. If you can put up with King's reluctance to leave any description out, if you have time to read Under the Dome in a few weeks without having to set it down for a long period, Under the Dome is one of King's best recent novels.