JUST FINISHED: "Under the Dome" by Stephen King

For starters, I am not a Stephen King mega-fan.  I enjoy reading his books, but I don't regularly search them out.  That being said:
Holy cow!  What an awesome book!

The people of Chester's Mill, Maine, are going about their business on a run of the mill Saturday, running errands, working, playing, commiting felonies.  But suddenly, without rhyme or reason, an invisible dome appears (think like The Simpsons Movie) that isolates the town from the rest of the world. 

King does a fantastic job of introducing the townspeople on Dome Day, layering their points of view with style and twisted humor.  At first, the cast of characters seems overwhelming by sheer number alone, but every character has a purpose in the story, and more importantly, they all have a voice.  Each character introduced is integral to moving the story forward, which is really important because there are 1074 freaking pages. 

As the story unfolds, there is not a soul, whether from military intelligence or leading scientists, that seems to know why the dome has dropped, but the people of Chester's Mill quickly realize that no one and nothing can cross the invisible barrier.  Big Jim Rennie, the town's Second Selectman, imposes makeshift Martial Law to keep the town under his thumb, but all hell breaks loose.

Characters to keep your eyes on (besides Big Jim):
Dale "Barbie" Barbara- a former Army Captain on his way out of town just before the town was isolated.
Junior Rennie- Big Jim's son, nasty in so many ways...
Joe McClatchy- 13 year old genius, an absolute kick in the pants.  "Scarecrow Joe" has made it into my top 5 fictional characters of all time.
Julia Shumway- editor of the local paper.
Eric "Rusty" Everett- Physician's Assistant and the token level head.

Stephen King is masterful in creating the town of Chester's Mill, which is like Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon crossed with Alfred Hitchcock's Bodega Bay, with hints of George Orwell, Shirley Jackson and Ray Bradbury.  I was so wrapped up with this book,  I spent over 5 consecutive hours reading the last 400 pages or so, an honor previously bestowed only upon the final two Harry Potter books. 

This book isn't just a snack, it's a seven course meal; every course tastes so good, but you can't wait to try the next one.

TITLE: Under the Dome

AUTHOR: Stephen King
Copyright: 2009
For more info on the world of Stephen King, visit http://www.stephenking.com/