Under the Dome
""King slowly unravels this epic story without losing any of its inherent energy or dramatic tension...already one of the best books I have read this year! ""
Synopsis:
Chester's Mill is your typical 'run of the mill' town. There are people who like the relaxing, smooth side of country life and there are others who crave domination of such a small population. These people are normally very clever about how they go about getting what they want and controlling the masses without their knowledge - but then the 'dome' cuts Chester's Mill off from the rest of the world and 'normal' is no longer an option.
In only a few days the unity of the town is fractured by the manipulation of certain individuals who preach that they are only looking for peace and order in a society which is running on limited supplies. The truth is that all the townspeople are being guided by the actions of others through devious means. It is within days that all-out war is declared with blood curdling and violent results: and can the few that remain save the day?
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Review:
Firstly, as this is a Stephen King story do not reject this novel out of hand. This isn't a book populated with monsters, giant spiders or rabid dogs. All the monsters in this book are very much human – if you can call them that! I have to admit that I haven't read Mr. King's work for some time as I have been disappointed by recent works of his. However, this epic which runs to 877 pages intrigued me – and had me gripped from page one right through to the end! I would say that this is King's version of 'Lord of the Flies', a terrifying tale of what can happen when panic sets in - and how through desperation people lose their inhibitions and become animals. Again, like the aforementioned classic, people strive to dominate the others and install a staunch hierarchy which wasn't there before the dome arrived. King's villain of the piece, Big Jim Rennie, is a master manipulator and a man with many secrets he will go to any length to keep hidden. When the new 'police state' is initiated there becomes a definite divide between the community. With admirable stealth, King slowly unravels this epic story without losing any of its inherent energy or dramatic tension. I could write reams of copy about this novel but I won't. I will let you decide. But for me, it was an epic tale that I couldn't put down and when life interrupted, I would race back to it to find out what happened to the good (and bad) people of Chester's Mill. King is ruthless and has no problems despatching main characters – about forty people die by page 50! This is a novel only an author of King's standing could have produced – and he has written a blinder. A truly brilliant book of epic proportions (and I don't just mean the size of the book!) that will stay with me for a long time and is already one of the best books I have read this year! Phenomenal!