Friday, 12 March 2010

CRIME/URBAN FANTASY REVIEW: Under the Dome - Stephen King

BOOK BLURB:

Celebrated storyteller Stephen King returns to his roots in this tour de force featuring more than 100 characters - some heroic, some diabolical - and a supernatural element as baffling and chilling as any he’s ever conjured.

On an entirely normal, beautiful fall day in Chester’s Mill, Maine, the town is inexplicably and suddenly sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field. Planes crash into it and fall from the sky in flaming wreckage, a gardener’s hand is severed as ‘the dome’ comes down on it, people running errands in the neighboring town are divided from their families, and cars explode on impact. Dale Barbara, Iraq vet, teams up with a few intrepid citizens against the town’s corrupt politician. But time, under the dome, is running out....

UNDER THE DOME is King at his epic best and will capture a brand new readership as well as thrilling his existing fans.


REVIEW:

I always tend to worry when I can use a book as a weapon, this title really is a serious bit of bludgeoning equipment and whilst I knew that it was an author with an established reputation I did worry that perhaps King had bitten off more than he could chew especially after a number of pretty poor endings.

What unfurled within this offering was a supernatural crime thriller as a town is sealed off from the outside world by a giant glass dome. (Do we think King has watched the Simpson movie?) Add to the mix a cast that is giant even by King standard’s which at times felt either overbearing or just unbelievable and an ending that felt a little weak and you’ve got a pretty good idea of what you can expect to unfurl within.

That said however, what was clear about this novel is that King is back with a real vengeance and whilst some of his other recent releases haven’t quite hit the spot for a number of readers, this one is getting back to the form that a lot of his fans have missed.

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