Book Recommendation: Under The Dome

Under the Dome: A Novel by Stephen King

Stephen King's latest 1000+ page doorstop is about a small town in Maine (big surprise, I know) that is one day suddenly encased in an invisible "dome." It is a story he has been working on for about 30 years, was originally set in an apartment building and was called The Cannibals. That title probably would not have stuck as there is no actual consuming of human flesh going on, but the concept is valid: trapped in a tight area for a short amount of time, people take sides, turn on each other and start to eat each other alive. Not physical cannibalism...more of a social/spiritual type.

The book is, in part, about mob mentality and how people act as part of a mob to do things they would not when by themselves, but there is much more. King himself is left-leaning in his politics (another big surprise, I'm sure) and describes the main villain in this book as a "Dick Cheney" type who is technically the second in command, but really runs the show (while the "George W. Bush" type is dull, distracted, and somewhat stupid). Knowing this before I stepped into King's world this time, I was on my guard for a propaganda rag. Turns out, though, that King was wrong...yes, Stephen King was wrong about his own creation!

Big Jim Rennie, the villain, is the absolute embodiment of the Rahm Emanuel (Obama's chief of staff) quote "Never let a crisis go to waste." He is all about manipulating events to consolidate power and then go in front of everyone and twist them with his flowery, convincing speeches. He has made himself a very wealthy man through the manipulation and suffering of others. Basically, Big Jim turns out to be an amalgamation of Barack Obama, Rahm Emanuel, and George Soros. Turns out King was writing about the current administration and their puppet masters without even knowing it!

Overall, this was a great book and I highly recommend it. There are the typical King touches, both good and bad: town in Maine, lots of blood and guts, overuse of profanity and vulgarity--which is basically to say: "If you already like Stephen King, you'll enjoy this book. If you are not a fan, this probably is not the book that will turn you into one." I would not rate this book in the top 5 King books of all time, but neither is it in the bottom 5. A good solid book that sucked me in and pulled me along for about 6 days until I finished all of the nearly 1,100 pages.