Monday, August 16, 2010

Under the Dome by Stephen King

First up?  An author who needs no introduction in a genre he defined.  I'm jumping in head first.  Stephen King's Under the Dome, published in November 2009. 

Here's the publisher's synopsis:
On an entirely normal, beautiful fall day in Chester’s Mills, Maine, the town is inexplicably and suddenly sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field. Planes crash into it and fall from the sky in flaming wreckage, a gardener’s hand is severed as “the dome” comes down on it, people running errands in the neighboring town are divided from their families, and cars explode on impact. No one can fathom what this barrier is, where it came from, and when—or if—it will go away.
Dale Barbara, Iraq vet and now a short-order cook, finds himself teamed with a few intrepid citizens—town newspaper owner Julia Shumway, a physician’s assistant at the hospital, a select-woman, and three brave kids. Against them stands Big Jim Rennie, a politician who will stop at nothing—even murder—to hold the reins of power, and his son, who is keeping a horrible secret in a dark pantry. But their main adversary is the Dome itself. Because time isn’t just short. It’s running out.

Gorgeous coverwork.  It was evidently an ambitious design that turned out beautifully.  Click here to see the whole thing.

King is one of those authors I always meant to read but never did, and as I read the synopsis of Under the Dome, it didn't seem like a horror novel, more like a psychological thriller, though if you think about it, that's what good horror is.  I'm looking forward to this being a good book.  He wouldn't have sold bazillions of other books if he wasn't at least an adequate author, right?  Right??

Welcome!

Hello there! Welcome to Novel Adventures. I am avid reader, someone who lusts after new releases from my favorite authors and devours them when they are available. I collect books and treat them as a log of my adventures in literature; each one is a memory and each one is a friend. I have a problem though; I don’t frequently try new authors. I get so stuck in my favorites that I’d rather reread old ones than venture off into territories unknown for fear of being disappointed. A book is an extreme investment of time and to read an unsatisfying one is disheartening. My displeasure stems from simplistic phrase work to unresearched facts, but no matter the reason I stay away.
 
But no longer! I have vowed to beat this irrational fear of the literary darkness and venture into contents unknown. This blog is my outlet, my thought page, my brain drain for all of the analysis and perspective I have on each book I read. Some may call these writings “reviews” and to that I say…ehh probably. I can’t help it. I know some I’ll like and some I won’t, but I’ll detail all the reasons why for either scenario.
 
The meaning of the blog’s title is twofold:
  1. Novel means new and I’m embarking on new adventures in reading. Joy!
  2. Most novels I read fall into the broad category of “adventure”
Adventure, suspense, action, thriller; these are the genres of books I enjoy and these will be recorded here. No Oprah book club (she’s never endorsed Clive Cussler), no chick-flick-o-the-month movie (I’m looking at you Nicholas Sparks). Cussler, Preston, Child, Morrell, Rollins, Koontz, Crichton. These are my heroes in no particular order. If you haven’t read some, or all, or these authors, I encourage you too. If you’re fans like myself, you know what I’m talking about.
 
As I branch out and chronicle my new frondescence, I will also be enjoying my aforementioned favorites, since they haven’t put down their own pens yet (save Michael Crichton, God rest his soul). I will still snap them up and tear through them with the same veracity I usually do as well as express my thoughts here on each one. I also frequently return to my old favorites, to be “reviewed” here as well, along with classics that I may or may not have read. I hate that word, “reviewed.” Sounds like something Jeremy Irons would say as a bad guy. As a consequence, I hope these reviews examinations encourage and assist budding writers, helping you enhance your new skills.

 
As I choose books I’ll let you know which books I’ll be reading so you can play along at home and see if we come to the same conclusions. Feel free to comment and engage in discussion with myself or each other, but “yeah huh” and “nuh uh” aren’t logical responses to intelligent chatter. Suggestions for future readings are more than welcome, but if you say “Twilight” I’ll swing the banhammer down faster than you can say Herman Melville.

 
Welcome, and enjoy!