diziet 's review for:

Under The Dome by Stephen King

3.5

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Under the dome’ is a deep dive into how a society handles crisis. The story reminded me of the early Stephen King books - many characters, backstories and storylines. 

I would have liked it better if some elements had been more subtle. 

The town’s second selectman, Big Jim, did not have to be a meth kingpin. It would have worked if he were just one of those ‘little big people’ getting high on power and using it for personal gain and advantage. 

The meth lab explosion was unnecessary.

The air would have become poisonous anyway in a closed dome, with all the wood-burning stoves and cars. 

It would have been more realistic and scarier if the story took place over a longer period of time. With food shortages, air quality plummeting and oppression. And been an excellent analogy of what is happening with the climate catastrophe. But there is also a message in how everything goes to hell in a week. 

Interesting and different take on

aliens

- I liked it. 

The book can also be seen as a commentary on what is happening in the USA in 2025. Authoritarianism, unprecedented greed, targeting of the free press, no due process, enrichment of a small group of people etc - and good people suffer. Stephen King sees the bad parts of America clearly. 

King hands out consequences to the selfish pricks in his story. One can only hope that the mother of all karma slap downs is coming for the confederacy of criminals, pedophiles, rapists, techbros, billionaires, religious nuts, puppy killers - and all the rest of the wide assortment of assholes currently occupying the US government.

Jeff Harding narrates the audio book I listened to. As always, he tells an excellent story.