The King is back

Okay fellow Stephen King fans, I know you're out there. You may be in hiding; the last 10 years or so have not revealed any of his most stellar writing. The pinnacle of his career was unquestionably achieved through his earlier novels -- "Cujo", "The Shining", "IT", and "The Stand" -- to name a few gems. Real-deal King fans also know that many of his short stories are precious stones as well. Even though he is well known as the master of horror novels, what I have always enjoyed about King is his ability to create truly bizarre scenarios that you can just almost get your mind around... but not quite. His best books are the ones that just flirt with horror, that maybe have a horrific scene or two, but are not entirely gruesome. He is exceptionally talented at building sub-plots based on the dynamic interactions of his unique characters, and if you have a sense of humor at all, you will laugh. And yes, you will be scared. If you are unconvinced, by all means, read "IT," one chapter at a time, just before bed.

The first book I ever read by King was "Thinner." I was hooked and I proceeded to devour them all. The last great book I read by him was "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon" (titled in standard Stephen King style, revealing very little about the plot of the book) about 11 years ago. Shortly after that I read the two that are responsible for my hiatus from his writing: "Desperation" and its sequel (written under his pseudonym, Richard Bachman) "The Regulators." These two did much more than flirt with horror and gore; they overflowed with blood, guts, dismemberment, eyeballs, blood, and more blood. They were not entertaining or amusing, but indulgent and gross. Over the last 10 years I have only picked up a couple of his books and they were okay but I just haven't seen the old Stephen.

Until now. "Under the Dome" is a welcome return to King's old style, and this time the title pretty much sums up the plot. It takes place, as usual, in a small town in Maine (in King's dimension, if Area 51 and the Twilight Zone had a baby, it would be Maine) where all at once and without a lick of warning, an invisible, impenetrable dome encapsulates the town. Think for a moment about the implications this would have on weather, air quality, wildlife, the ecosystem, electricity, phone service, internet service, mail service, airplanes and cars passing through unaware, families separated, and the limited resources within the strict confines of any small town. Life in Chester's Mill, Maine will never be the same.

The real saga of good vs. evil, however, has more to do with the dome's effect on the people. "Big Jim" Rennie is the town's Second Selectman, and proprietor of the local used car lot. He is powerful, manipulative, crooked, and criminally motivated to take advantage of the uninvited isolation imposed by the dome. When the Chief of Police, the only person who isn't afraid to stand up to Big Jim, gets too close to the dome and his pacemaker explodes (a nasty side effect the dome has on all electronic devices), Big Jim realizes his opportunity to take control of the town.

But Big Jim has an obstacle named Dale Barbara. "Barbie" is an Iraq war vet who landed in this small town looking for a simple lifestyle to help him forget what he's seen. He is the only person in Chester's Mill who has the honor, humanity, and leadership experience this town desperately needs. He is also at the top of Big Jim's least-favorite list; so he is not pleased one bit when correspondence arrives from the President appointing Barbie, reinstated as a Colonel, to the position of highest authority in the now lawless town of Chester's Mill. Big Jim has an agenda of corruption and greed, he wants Barbie out of his way, and he will stop at nothing to make that happen. Meanwhile, someone or something is responsible for this otherworldly confinement. When Barbie and his supporters come closer to figuring out what that is, things get really interesting.

King is at his old-school finest here, fast-pitching us a very scary "what-if" situation we need both hands to hold on to, then furtively placing at our feet developments that suggest we humans may very well be our own worst enemies. "Under the Dome" is what I like to call a "commitment" book; it is over 1000 pages, but don't let that scare you, they get started fast and pick up speed as they go. There are a lot of characters to keep straight, but King has done us a favor and provided a handy index of all the key players. So come-out, come-out wherever you are horror fans... on second thought; find a safer place to hide... The King is back.