Under the Dome

This book is a monster. Physically, at just a shade over 1000 pages (and what feels like 30 pounds), it’s an imposing read.

Stephen King originally conceived the concept for Under The Dome some 30 odd years ago, but apparently at that time found the story and the intricacies therein to be too daunting and shelved the project for awhile. I for one am glad he finally decided to write it, and I think the end result is largely pretty good.

The rough sketch is this: Shortly before noon one fall day, the town of Chester’s Mill finds itself cut off from the rest of the world, encased in an impenetrable dome (much like a snow globe). There is no way in, no way out, and the U.S. government and military are helpless to remove it. With no one to help (or hinder), a power-struggle ensues for the command and control of the town, with deadly consequences. Can anyone figure out what is causing the dome and how to remove it?

This book is raw and gritty. There are some pretty graphically violent scenes and loathsome characters. The cast of characters is pretty extensive, and the main characters get a pretty good development. While the dome is the big oddity in the story, the main gist is about the interactions of the town’s citizens, and the oft disturbing lengths some will go to for a little power.

The ending and the big reveal (i.e.. dome stuff) is…well…an interesting take, but not as strongly written as it could’ve been. The meat of the story though I thought was done pretty well, and wasn’t wholly unrealistic. I think it’s safe to say that more than one small town in the U.S. has that member of society the tries to be the big fish in the proverbial small pond, sometimes to the benefit of the community, but also often times to the benefit of themselves and their cronies. This power dynamic in King’s hands is ratcheted up to the extreme for some vivid and distasteful characters. If you like King’s other stuff, I think you’ll enjoy this one too! I’d recommend it.

Blaze

This book was apparently written ages ago, back before Carrie came out, and given the choice between publishing this or Salem’s Lot, the publishers chose the latter and this became a “trunk novel”. Many years went by, and eventually Blaze was published in 2007 as a Richard Bachman book with a foreword by Stephen King.

The brief synopsis is this. A mentally slow, very large man – Blaze – who is also a career criminal is getting ready to pull the “big job” with his smaller more intelligent partner George. This is the final job that puts them on easy street and gets them out of (additional) crime for good. They are to kidnap the infant son of a very wealthy family. Everything is planned out and foolproof. There’s just one hitch in the plan as we enter the story: George is recently deceased. Blaze, hearing and encouraged by the voice of George ultimately decides to proceed with the plan.

The plot itself is decent. Nothing overwhelming or unusual to it, and it’s engaging enough to pull you in. Where this book shines is the character development. Throughout the course of the story, both in present time and through flashbacks we get a really solid characterization of Blaze. Overall, it’s a pretty good story and an engaging read. I’d recommend it.

Holy Cow!

Just picked up a reserve copy of Stephen King’s Under The Dome from the local library…  1074 pages.  This thing’s a beast!

A light-hearted tale

Showing once again that you can’t judge a book by its cover, Stephen King’s Thinner, originally released under his pseudonym Richard Bachman, is most certainly not the romance novel I’d originally hoped it would be. ;-)

The plot is set in motion when our main character (Billy Halleck), an overweight stereotype of all the ills of modern America (hefty, well off, a family concerned about material goods and image), accidentally runs down and kills a gypsy woman. The leader of this particular band of gypsies (Taduz Lemke) lays down a simple curse. Our Mr. Halleck will get thinner.

This comes out sounding like a pretty sweet deal. Halleck now has a true no-hassle means to lose his excess bulk. The problem is, the weight loss, once started, never stops, and it becomes readily apparent that he will waste away until such point as he dies (see? not romantic in the slightest).

Can Halleck find a way to undo the curse? Is it in fact a curse, or a mental disorder? How will his family deal with this crisis? And, how will it all end?

It’s a pretty well written story, not overly long, and the result is it’s pretty tight. There aren’t some of the long interludes where the story lags (ala. Insomnia), and it makes for a good read. It’s an oldie but a goodie, and I’d recommend this one.

Windows Live Writer

I’ve had a love-hate relationship with Microsoft for years. Hell, I think that can be expanded to encompass computers in general. It’s a living though, so whaddya do…

Once in awhile though something comes along that actually seems useful and almost makes it all worth while. My most recent salvation has been largely because of Windows 7 (which may appear overly fabulous after using the comparably dismal Vista), but I’ve also been experimenting with another nice gadget called Live Writer. This handy tool gives you the ability to work on your blog in a handy non-web-based tool that takes much of the headache out of the process. So far I’ve only tested the thing out with Blogger, but in theory it works with a host of different blog sites. How splendid is that?!

All of the usual editing features one would expect are at the ready, tags are there, adding images is a snap, and there are numerous other features that I haven’t even had occasion to use yet. Best of all, it’s free! (with the qualifying purchase and heart rending upgrade to a suitable version of Windows) If you like to blog or think you’d like to blog, and happen to own a compatible version of Windows, give Microsoft’s site a visit and download today!

Avatar

Well, we went and saw a little independent flick you may have heard of by an up-and-coming director…James Cameron I believe it was… What can I say. Wow.

This film has of course been marketed and hyped as the end-all-be-all of filmmaking. Does it really live up to the hype? Is it really the beginning of a new era in film?

I couldn’t tell ya. I didn’t take in the 3-D spectacle at a fancy-schmancy IMAX cinema. No, I went old school 2-D at the Caloundra mini-multiplex where the screens are a step beyond your modern home entertainment center, and I must say, this was an excellent movie.

The graphics are indeed superb, and the world these folks conjured up is breathtaking. What really makes this movie good though is much older than the technology used to make it, and that is the story. Here we are presented with a really good story which is executed superbly by a highly capable group of actors. This story, when combined with beautiful production makes for a real treat. It’s most definitely a film meant to be enjoyed on the large screen, so go. Go I say, and enjoy! I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Lisey’s Story

In Lisey’s Story (Lisey rhymes with Ceecee), Stephen King writes an odd read. Lisey’s husband, famous writer Scott Landon dies, and he leaves behind the unfortunate legacy of some crazed fans who would do anything to get a look at his cherished unfinished works.

What makes the reading a bit odd is Lisey often hears (or imagines hearing) the voice of her dead beloved, and the way the sentences break takes some getting used to. Combined with what I would consider a rather slow beginning, it took awhile for this book to set the hook, as it were, and get to the stage where I wanted to know what was next. I had a similar experience with King’s Insomnia, and in both cases, the second half of the story made up for the slow setup. This one also trades the pants-crapping type of horror for more of the sick-to-your-stomach variety, and overall, I’d recommend it. It was an interesting story with compelling characters.