Under the Dome by Stephen King - Ashley's Pre-Reading

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Title: Under the Dome
Author: Stephen King
Year Published: 2009

Synopsis: 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

Why?: My boyfriend, as a fan of Stephen King, read this book before it was turned into a television show and really enjoyed it. Then we started watching the show, which I found really interesting. Hearing the book was better than the show (and not wanting to wait to find out what happens), my dad read the book and enjoyed it. So I figure at this point I should probably read it too. I haven't read much by King, but I really liked what I have read.

Expectations: I expect a sci-fi story with elements of horror and mystery. I don't want to base any of m expectations on the show, since I've heard that some pretty big plot points and characters have been changed, but I do hope that the book is better. King knows how to tell a story, so I do have pretty high expectations because of that.

Judging a book by its cover: I don't know how I feel about this cover. It isn't really eye-catching or stunning or anything, so I don't think I would pick it up off a shelf in a bookstore or library. I do think it fits the story without giving anything away though, so there's that.


--Ashley