This is the first book of King's that reminds me of The Stand. High praise from this Constant Reader, because though I read them all, and like less of them, in my humble opinion, The Stand rises above the rest. Under The Dome rises with it.

Under the Dome's only flaw is the "how the Dome got there," but I can't think of a better way myself, so it's not much of a flaw. And King handles its creation well. I don't want to "spoil," so that's the most I can say.

I LOVED the character development, and wish that more people had switched from "bad" to "good" or vice versa in the story. Too many just stayed one way or the other. The "good" people only had one flaw in their past, and were always thinking of others, and occasionally, the "bad" people would do one good thing, albeit usually self-serving, still sticking to being mean, like picking the wings or legs off of insects.

Of course, I like Dale "Barbie" Barbara and Julia Shumway, the main characters. Their backgrounds and feelings are thoroughly unearthed. It's harder to like the "bad" characters, mostly because their personalities and reasons for doing things don't resonate with me ... I kept trying to figure out a motivation for their evil.

I can't recommend this book to all, but if you've enjoyed a Stephen King book ever, I feel that I can give you a whole-hearted recommendation to read this book. I have a copy, if you want to borrow it.