Under the Dome: A new novel from Stephen King…
There are times when being on Facebook can be very rewarding… some of those instances were the ads that usually show up on the right side of your page when you’re on Facebook… and one of those ads brought to my attention an upcoming new book from my all-time favorite American author, Stephen King.
Stephen King’s new book is named “Under the Dome” and it’s gonna be out on November 10, 2009… that’s Tuesday, next week. Below is a short synopsis of what the book will be about, straight from Amazon.Com
On an entirely normal, beautiful fall day in Chester’s Mill, Maine, the town is inexplicably and suddenly sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field. Planes crash into it and fall from the sky in flaming wreckage, a gardener’s hand is severed as “the dome” comes down on it, people running errands in the neighboring town are divided from their families, and cars explode on impact. No one can fathom what this barrier is, where it came from, and when–or if–it will go away.
Dale Barbara, Iraq vet and now a short-order cook, finds himself teamed with a few intrepid citizens–town newspaper owner Julia Shumway, a physician’s assistant at the hospital, a select-woman, and three brave kids. Against them stands Big Jim Rennie, a politician who will stop at nothing–even murder–to hold the reins of power, and his son, who is keeping a horrible secret in a dark pantry. But their main adversary is the Dome itself. Because time isn’t just short. It’s running out.
Sounds very interesting, doesn’t it? Here’s another teaser review from Publisher’s Weekly, the people who almost always have something good to say about Stephen King’s work:
King’s return to supernatural horror is uncomfortably bulky, formidably complex and irresistibly compelling. When the smalltown of Chester’s Mill, Maine, is surrounded by an invisible force field, the people inside must exert themselves to survive. The situation deteriorates rapidly due to the dome’s ecological effects and the machinations of Big Jim Rennie, an obscenely sanctimonious local politician and drug lord who likes the idea of having an isolated populace to dominate. Opposing him are footloose Iraq veteran Dale “Barbie” Barbara, newspaper editor Julia Shumway, a gaggle of teen skateboarders and others who want to solve the riddle of the dome. King handles the huge cast of characters masterfully but ruthlessly, forcing them to live (or not) with the consequences of hasty decisions. Readers will recognize themes and images from King’s earlier fiction, and while this novel doesn’t have the moral weight of, say, The Stand, nevertheless, it’s a nonstop thrill ride as well as a disturbing, moving meditation on our capacity for good and evil.
Under the Dome by Stephen King
Wow, sounds MIGHTY interesting, indeed! From what I can see, this book seems to contain elements of at least two of his earlier works, the “mega” novel The Stand, and the novella The Mist. The premise of ordinary people trapped in an extraordinary situation, trapped in a claustrophobic state, with the underlying fear of what is outside, of what is unknown, and of what is slowly approaching them. A story that suggests a dichotomy of morals, of good versus evil, peppered with a giant cast and an even bigger dilemma. Instead of a massive, roiling mist outside a grocery store that people want to keep out, we get a big dome that surrounds a small town keeping the inhabitants IN.
(Wait a minute, isn’t this very similar to the premise of the Simpsons movie?)
In any case, it sounds very interesting, and I will, once again, run (not walk) to my nearest bookstore and make sure that I get my gnarled, trembling hands on this damn book… as if I’m not behind on my book-reading already. Hell, I just bought Robert Jordan’s The Gathering Storm last Saturday, with plans of reading the first eleven books in the series first so I’ll remember what the fuck is happening … so how the hell can I sneak this one into my reading schedule?
Bah… does it matter? It’s a Stephen King book… I’m on it like white on rice…
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