Under The Dome by Stephen King

One afternoon in Spring 2009, a massive dome lowers over the small town of Chester's Mill, Maine. While one guy, Barbie, runs into it while he walks out of town, a plane slams into it as it takes its passengers on a flying lesson; killing them both. Around Chester's Mill, other people are effected. One gardener has her hand chopped off and two elderly ladies who were on their way back to the small town are both kill when their car slams into the invisible barrier of the dome. Over the next couple of days, the residents of Chester's Mill find out who is their friend and who is their enemy. But by Halloween, something is going to happen.... something really bad. The one thing Barbie knows is that he has to get rid of the dome before Halloween; there are a few problems standing in his way. Right now, he's been framed and is in prison, most of the town's teenagers are amateur police officers and the richest man in town is holding the whole town to ransom. With only a few people who know Barbie's innocent, he needs all the help he can get!

I bought this tome of a book for myself for Christmas. At this time of year, I usually buy myself a few gifts that I know my family won't get me; and seeing I live on my own, it's usually the only the time of year I go all out and spoil myself. However, this book wasn't anything I was pleased with. I have been struggling with it for almost 3 months and should have finished it weeks ago. However it was how it's been written that bugs me. Anyone who has read 'The Stand' will see great similarities between this book and that one; but if you have gone to the trouble to read the unabridged edition of 'The Stand', you'll understand even more where I'm going when I say this book got to a point where I dreaded opening it when my afternoon reading time came around. King is a great story-teller and he is wonderful with detailed information. However, he put every single person in this book under the microscope; and it drove me to distraction. What was more frustrating was that if I skipped over any paragraph or pages, I missed something in the next chapter. This book forced me to read every little bit and detail; and I really don't like that when a writer expects that much from their readers in a book of this size.
I do love reading his older works; however I've found it harder to get into his newer stuff, but I do keep trying to read each new book as it comes out.