I decided to read this book after being told it was "classic Stephen King, back to his original greatness" - and I wasn't disappointed. I loved his early books, Salem's Lot, Carrie, The Dead Zone, Pet Cemetary, Different Seasons... the list goes on. But somewhere along the way I stopped reading King, and now after the pleasure of Under the Dome I can't imagine why. It reminded me why I loved his books so much. He has an effortless talent of drawing you into his fictionalised small towns in Maine, making you feel like you've known the characters all your life and despite all the strange things going on there, you kinda wish you lived there too. From the very beginning when the mysterious invisible 'dome' comes down, isolating the town of Chester's Mill from the rest of the world, you're hooked, you're trapped there too, rooting for the good guys, booing the bad guys and struggling to figure the whole thing out. His characterisation is delightful, and the richness of these 'small town folks' stuck in this crazy situation carries the story along at a great pace. At around 1000 pages it's fair to call the book 'epic', but it feels far shorter than that, I guess because time flies when you're having a great time.
Looking for a great page-turning escape? This could be the book for you.
Kirsty
