[ Books ] 'Under the Dome' by Stephen King

Under the Dome by Stephen King

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Had just belatedly watched the TV series -which parts company with the book pretty soon, although the general outline of the story is similar. I do have to say that, at least at first, the series resolves some issues slightly better than the book -but soon becomes a parade of sci-fi, horror and mystery tropes, from Battlestar Galactica to the Matrix. The book does hint at that ('wow, this is like being in that movie, 'The Mist'') but is a different thing entirely. In a way it _is_ kind of a retelling of The Mist, a community that becomes isolated and simmers in their own juices of weakness, desire for power or a reassuring authority to lead them through the crisis. Weirdly, I found Big Jim more convincing in the movie -the character in the book is irredeemably, relentlessly loathsome without any complexity or saving graces. The book is not perfect, at times it does stretch your suspension of disbelief and, as I mentioned, some characters are drawn in rather thick black and white strokes and the basic premise of the existence of Dome is one such moment in which you think 'nah, you've gone too far', but it is a very good read nonetheless. I enjoyed it.



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