Under the Dome: Chunk One

    I started listening to the audio book Under the Dome by Stephen King. When I saw this on our class list I was excited to read it because a while back in 2013 there was a tv series based off this book and I started watching it with my mom. I was only 15 at that time and it was a show my mom would watch and keep on in the background as we both did our own thing. I barely paid attention to it but remember a few of the main plot points they explored in the series. We eventually missed an episode or two a season in and when we got back to it, the show had progressed enough that we were lost, Even with only paying attention to the main plot. We switched to a different show and I never learned how it ended. I heard the ending was bad and the book was always better. The book is always better. So when I saw it on the list I was glad to have a reason to finish the plot.

    What I didn't get from the audio book was the map at the beginning. I like those sorts of details and so when I first listened to the beginning chunk I missed out on this aspect. Another aspect I like of Stephen King is that he is very descriptive of his writing. We are introduced to two characters at the beginning of the book as they are teaching and being taught how to fly a plane over a small town of Chester’s Mill. Claudia Sanders is being taught by Chuck Thompson and it sounds like everything is going well. This isn't her first time flying and they're able to have a sort of playful tone about this whole situation. But, when the controls stop working they both are able to stay calm which is a detail I like. In real life in situations like this it's always important to stay calm. King describes that their actions are calm and focused but their eyes can show panic. Never been in a plane crash myself but i have been in situations where this sort of action just kicks in and it's easy to relate to these characters even with a huge emergency happening.

    While on the ground we are introduced to another main character named Dale Barbie. He's driving making his way out of Chester’s Mill daydreaming about leaving completely and starting over somewhere else. As he is driving he can see the plane start to decent and eventually explode. I think Stephen King did a great job with these paragraphs explaining the explosion and the whole crash scene looks and smells. He gives a lot of detail about how Barbie is thinking and acting during all of this, by running to take cover or by looking for the people in the plane. Another car comes to the edge and a man tries to come help as well. Although as he tries to go a bit farther he runs straight into an invisible barrier with such force he breaks his nose. These two characters haven't met each other yet but there is a common sense of confusion as they connect what happened to the plane to what invisible thing is in front of them. 

    With just this first chunk of story and from what I remember about the T.v. series I know that there is an invisible wall and I would have loved reading this blind. I think there are a lot of interesting questions popping up that I can't remember how it is resolved throughout the book. I like the writing and King’s voice as I’m reading through this and definitely hooked from just this first chunk of book.