Under The Dome
by Stephen King
(Hodder, R120)
The story literally starts with a bang. The sound caused by an aeroplane crash.
The aeroplane crash is the first sign of a paranormal occurrence. Minutes later more accidents occur and as people get out of their cars to assist the victims, they too become injured as they “bump” into an unseen force.
A suburban power failure, occurs along with cellphone transmission and other communication networks becoming cut off.
After a while the truth starts to dawn on the people “inside” the “barrier” that they are now cut off from the “outside world” and may have to cut down on the use of supplies like food and electricity to attempt to delay completely running out of stocks, as nobody knows exactly what this “barrier” is or how long it will last.
This is a story of a paranormal events in a small town with realistic characters. The people live ordinary lives with believable roles with typical human habits and conditions. The situation itself makes you feel similar to being part of a M Night Shyamalan movie, that something out of this world like this can occur.
While the community is trapped under the dome (the invisible barrier), the normal social order changes. What the dome actually is and where it came from, is not explained until the very end, keeping the reader on their toes as they read about one event after the next at almost break-neck speed.
The reader as well as the characters get the feeling of being inside an experiment and the disgrace of it becomes frustrating.
One is completely drawn into the story, feeling the frustrations of the community, especially as control is taken by the town bully, who forces himself on the people like a politician, yet ironically he is a used car salesman.
The race continues and desperation to find a way to destroy the dome becomes more heated as time runs out.
This book is gripping and you breathe a sigh of relief when a suffocating town is saved – as we know from the start will happen. – Kristi Braun