Under the What?

I thought it would be fun to be a guest blogger and be able to embarrass my partner with my less than literary repartee about the books I am reading or have read or might be thinking about reading.
Most recently I dove into Stephen Kings new novel "Under the Dome", which could be called a "Tomb", I suppose. Eleven hundred pages of good versus evil with evil having profoundly more victories that then aforementioned good.
Mr. King has no problem killing off characters that we know and love. In fact, I believe that Mr. King sits at his desk thinking up ways to make the characters he is going to dismember more likable to us, his dear readers.
My favorite part of "Under the Dome" is that he has included three dogs that figure predominantly in the story and he actually lets one of them live to the very end.
The storyline itself is what happens in a community when an impenetrable, clear dome comes down around a city. Let's just say that not being accountable to anyone on the outside of the dome does not seem to enhance the character of those living under it. Stephen writes the story like a contagion of evil was released there and most people neglected to get vaccinated.
I have heard a lot of talk about this book being compared to "The Stand", a book that still haunts me and has characters I will never forget. I can see why the comparisons are being made but can't say that "Under the Dome" is of the same caliber.
The Stand is a classic and Under the Dome a book that will be revered by carpal tunnel specialists everywhere.