Under the Dome: A Retrospective View

Stephen King's Under the Dome is a lengthy novel well worth the number of trees needed to print it. The concept of an inverse abduction is interesting and well presented. The premise had a lot going for it and King did not abuse it. While the choice of a small town being trapped was an interesting one, it worked to build the tensions to the boiling point at a low heat rather than throwing the audience straight into the flames. The characters were rich and diverse with Big Jim Rennie a clear favorite as the self interested antagonist. Overall, the town dynamics felt authentic, if slightly out of place geographically. The only characterization flaw was that some of the characters came off as slightly less than 3 dimensional, relying on a specific trait to give them personality. The clever use of conflict and unexpected elimination of characters (that likely characterize a King novel, I am unfamiliar with any of his other works) serves to mask that slight tendency well. The biggest weakness of the book was the ending, which wrapped up questions that probably would have been better unanswered.

The book was a lot of fun, despite taking a sizable investment of time.