Under the Dome by Stephen King

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


An immersive, thrilling epic from a master of the craft.

It was just an ordinary autumn day when the dome suddenly appeared around the town of Chester’s Mill. Invisible, impenetrable, unbreakable. Dale “Barbie” Barbara, on his way to departing Chester’s Mill, is amongst the first to witness the devastating impact of the dome’s presence, the borders with the neighbouring towns becoming the sites of carnage on both sides of the dome.

This is only the beginning. As the residents begin to realise the full extent of their predicament, the media and military response in the outside world heightens. But, despite the scrutiny, they are isolated and alone. As tensions escalate, some take advantage of the situation for their own ends, while others strive to do what little they can to help. Divisions are setting in and becoming more fraught, threatening not only the stability of the town but also the chances of survival.

For James “Big Jim” Rennie, all of this is just collateral damage as long as he emerges as the town’s saviour. Barbie, local newspaper editor Julia Shumway, and a small group of others, know they are rapidly running out of time. Striving to uncover the mystery of the dome’s existence, their quest becomes a fight for survival against a ticking timebomb of greed, power and corruption.

‘Under the Dome’ is sheer brilliance. It sucks you in from the first page and refuses to let you go until the very last. Bursting at the seams with a large cast of characters, criss-crossing plotting, descriptive detail, action-packed scenes and emotional moments, it has all the ingredients you would want from a sci-fi fantasy thriller, exploring the personal struggles against the canvas of the epic scale of a crisis.

This novel is, first and foremost, a character-driven story. There are many of them to keep track of, the core cast each with their own evolving sub-plots, that soon begin to cross, merge and combine as the dome’s invisible but constant presence proves a catalyst for the best and worst of human behaviour. Trapped, with no chance of escape, the residents of Chester’s Mill are all potential prey to the slow trickle of fear that spreads throughout the town. This is a story of a community under a microscope, exploring the dangers of a culture of fear and deprivation, and the compounding pressures posed by a crisis, characters emerging as either heroes or villains.

Amongst the many themes the novel explores – including the human relationships; resilience in the face of adversity; the abuse and corruption of power – is an awareness of the natural environment and our impact on it, as well as the use and availability of natural resources. Giving the novel a fable-like quality, the dome is the equivalent of a petri dish in a psychological, sociological and environmental study of concepts and issues that are often discussed on a scale that may be difficult to relate to.

Ahead of its crucial and thought-provoking themes, this is, most importantly, a gripping fictional narrative – an epic tale that hurtles relentlessly through every one of its almost nine-hundred pages. Rich in detail and imagery, be prepared to not want to put this book down for many days. Within its pages, you will become one the residents of Chester’s Mill and live this experience alongside them and through each of their stories. Stephen King has mastered many forms of storytelling, the epic amongst them – most notably with ‘The Stand’ – and once again he demonstrates his storytelling ability, the history of what occurred under the dome of Chester’s Mill standing resolutely alongside King’s masterpieces.

Intense and deeply engrossing, ‘Under the Dome’ is a superlative high-concept thriller, an epic with a beating human heart.



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