I just finished Stephen King's brand new gargantuan opus Under the Dome ... and boy are my arms tired. Kidding, but at nearly 1,100 pages this is his third longest (heaviest) book, behind IT and the revised version of The Stand. It is also an unbelievably quick read -- I did it in just under two weeks. All of the old book critic clichés come to mind here: a gripping, unrelenting, fast-paced page turner that will keep you up until the wee hours ...

But all those descriptors are spot-on. This is Classic King. This is Old School King. As much as I loved the newfound maturity of recent SK novels like Bag of Bones and Duma Key, this book is truly a return to form. A massively populated epic that is instantly reminiscent of the aforementioned classics IT and The Stand.

From the first chapter, when a mysterious dome descends on the small town of Chester's Mill, Maine (situated between Castle Rock and Derry -- probably not the most ideal locale for R&R), to the last chapter when all is explained, Under the Dome is at once pulp fiction, high art, an exposé of small town life, an introspective treatise on societal breakdowns, a morality play about the dangers of religious hypocrisy, a scathing metaphor of the Bush/Cheney cabinet, and just a damned exciting story, rippingly well told.

Taking inspiration from an old James McMurtry song, Talkin' at the Texaco (“It's a small town, son, and we all support the team” -- see the video below), Under the Dome is about how fear strips us of our masks. On the day the dome comes down, Chester's Mill is populated with less than 2,000 residents -- we come to intimately know about 100 of them, including our hero, Dale Barbara (nickname: Barbie), an Iraq vet working as a short order cook; Julia Shumway, editor of the local newspaper; Jim Rennie, a car salesman and Second Selectman of the Town Council ...

Speaking of Mr. Rennie, a pompous, manipulative, Bible-thumping, scripture-spouting, power-hungry blowhard -- the hissable villain of this melodrama -- it's been awhile since Mr. King gave us a truly memorable bad guy. At least one who could compete with the likes of Randall Flagg (The Stand), Pennywise the dancing clown (IT), Greg Stillson (The Dead Zone), Annie Wilkes (Misery), I could go on and on here ... but Rennie ranks with the best worst of them. Given Rennie's political leanings, this is Greg Stillson made over as a small town Dick Cheney -- a megalomaniac who doesn't mind his second banana status as long as his clueless superior can play scapegoat. It's also easier to pull the strings when you're behind the curtain.

Speaking of religious hypocrisy (a subject about which I am also wont to rant), many of King's previous works have touched on this subject. From Carrie's maniacal mother Margaret White, to The Dead Zone's Vera Smith, to The Talisman's Sunlight Gardner, to The Shawshank Redemption's Warden Norton, religious zealots have often filled villainous roles in King's oeuvre. That's not to say that King (who was raised a Methodist) doesn't simultaneously embrace Judeo/Christianity while exposing some of the dangerous, pulpit-pounding, garment-rending poseurs who are often center stage. Mother Abagail from The Stand was a divine prophet cut from an Old Testament cloth -- in fact, portions of that epic novel played like an old fashioned tent revival meeting (can you say, Hallelujah?). Under the Dome is no different -- faith in God is never ridiculed, but those who misuse the scriptures for selfish gain are painted with ghastly scarlet H for Hypocrisy.

King has also showed us small town life before, and how otherworldly elements can bring out the worst in the best of us -- ‘Salem's Lot, Needful Things, The Mist, Storm of the Century -- and Under the Dome ranks with those: its Our Town meets Lord of the Flies meets The Twilight Zone.

Simultaneously introspective and extremely visual -- the vivid and dramatic imagery played tall in the HD screening room in my brain -- Under the Dome was recently optioned by Steven Spielberg and Dreamworks Television, who will produce the film adaptation as a miniseries for HBO. That's great news (... let's just hope Spielberg has better luck tackling it than he has the eternally languishing film version of The Talisman).

For King fans this is a no brainer -- if you have not already done so, run, do not walk, to your local bookseller and pick up (with a grunt) Under the Dome. For those who have never read King before, this is not a bad place to start. Is it his best work? No ... but I would put it in the top 10. Maybe even the top 5. For a publishing phenomenon like King -- 60+ novels and short story collections, truly our modern-day Dickens -- that is high praise.

Under the Dome will get under your skin. Highest recommendation.

BOOK GRADE: A



The James McMurtry video below might as well be the theme song for Under the Dome -- it is called Talkin' at the Texaco (incorrectly titled Small Town), and deals with the everybody's nose in everybody else's business of small town life. Have a listen.



For an interview with King about Under the Dome, click here.