Stephen King’s at his best when he lets the page-count roll freely and the cast of characters climb. That’s why I decided to give this book a try. It’s the first new King book I’ve read since Volume VII of The Dark Tower.

This book answers a question: what would happen if your small community was completely cut off from the outside world. In a sense, it’s akin to Lord of the Flies. In both books you watch society degenerate in isolation. In particular, I loved King’s grasp of religious fundamentalism and the blind hypocrisy it generates. His command of the subculture right down to it’s clichés was masterful. (“Wanna get kneebound with me?”)

While the plot wasn’t too involved, it did move along briskly. I would have liked to see more about the dome’s origin (sorry about the cryptic sentence—I’m trying not to let any spoilers slip). However, the ending was well foreshadowed and this story was about the townsfolk.

This was a solid effort from one of the masters.

King, Stephen. Under the Dome. Simon and Schuster, 2009.