Under the Dome by Stephen King - C-? D+? C-? D+?

From Poltergeist (the original): "Do NOT go into the light. Stop where you are. Turn away from it. Don't even look at it."

In the movie Poltegeist, little Carol Anne is drawn to the light. Her mother implores her to stay away. Ultimately, Carol Anne does stay away, returns to her family, happy ending (other than with respect to the Poltergeist curse which claimed the life of both the actress who played Carol Anne (at age 12) and the actress who played her sister, Dana (at age 22), but I digress).

I probably should have stayed away from the light. But per my earlier posts on the works of Stephen King, I was drawn to the light.

Under the Dome is about a transparent dome that descends on a small Maine town.  The dome seems impenetrable.  Cut off from the rest of the US, sides form as some seek rescue and others embrace anarchy--after all, "old" rules don't apply to the new reality, and there's power to be had.

Under the Dome is not a horrible novel. As usual, King has created some excellent characters. Unfortunately, many of them are are cheap imitations of King's classic characters. The "Chef" is no "Tick Tock Man" though readers of (WINNER BY KNOCKOUT AND STILL CHAMPION OF THE WORLD) The Stand will see the similarities, and the Chef just doesn't measure up.

Similarly, in most ways, Under the Dome just doesn't measure up.  The problem with reading a good portion of King's works is that characters and plots recur.  You can see bits and pieces of prior (better) works in each of Cell (not good), Duma Key (good nonetheless) and Under the Dome.

One other major gripe with the novel--many of the underlying themes are unnecessarily political and, like the dome, transparent.  A Cheney mask?  Really?  The town newspaper which reports the "truth" called "The Democrat"?  CNN lauded; Fox ridiculed?  I have no issue with the political sentiment, but is that why people actually read Stephen King?  We read him to get away, to escape.  Injecting blatant politics cheapens the novel rather than enriching it.  I find it a shame because there are plenty of great bad guys here without the unnecessary rhetoric.

Ok, at the end of the day, I have to give this novel a C-.  ESPECIALLY if you, like me, bought the novel for $9.  I did spend about 10 days of my reading life on the book, so it can't be all bad.  I recommend Under the Dome only for the most avid Stephen King fans.  I was, however, overcome by many "Ay yi yi, why did I stick with this for 1,070 pages" moments as I neared the end of the novel.

Remember, a good book is better than a sharp stick in the eye.