Some years back, Stephen King decided he had told all the stories he wanted to tell and he said he would stop writing novels.

It turned out he was wrong, and I'm glad he was. While there are some stories he tells that are overly familiar and reminiscent of earlier, better novels, he has turned out a few in recent years that have been very impressive. I enjoyed both "Cell" and "Duma Key" a lot, but neither of them really compares to his newest work, "Under the Dome."

<img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-199" title="under-the-dome-by-stephen-king-full-cover" src="http://mikerappaport.net/onevoice/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/under-the-dome-by-stephen-king-full-cover-300x125.jpg" alt="under-the-dome-by-stephen-king-full-cover" width="300" height="125" />It's another of the thousand-page plus books King does so well, like "The Stand" and "It," in which he deals with big subjects. This one is particularly relevant in the post-911 years, and it basically shows how people very easily trade freedom for security when faced with the threat of the unknown. The story is of a small Maine town that one day -- out of nowhere -- finds itself covered by an impenetrable dome.

Nothing comes in, nothing goes out. And even though the people under the dome are able to communicate with people on the outside, it's almost shocking how quickly they decide they aren't really part of the United States anymore. A sort of fascism takes over, with the strongman a town selectman who has very few scruples when it comes to getting his way.

Of course the supernatural comes into play eventually. It is after all a King novel, and there really isn't any logical way to explain a dome that can't be penetrated even by nuclear weapons just appearing out of nowhere.

What's fascinating about the story is the way some people rise to the occasion and others don't. And even those who do step up, some do the right thing and others try to take advantage of the situation. It's a fascinating story that will probably require a miniseries to tell it. King's greatest work, "The Stand," was an eight-hour miniseries, while "It" took four hours and could easily have filled six.

Nobody is ever going to call King a "great" writer, although his non-fiction book "On Writing" showed that he is probably much underrated in that area. He is and always has been a great storyteller, though, and I hope he has a lot more stories to tell before the well runs dry.