Under the Dome

A small town is suddenly sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible barrier. That is the horrible starting point of Under the Dome. There is no way through it, which would be quite enough to ruin anyone's day. Then you have to consider everyone else trapped on your side. Suddenly the problem is not just the barrier, but how people live together behind it.

For me, the frightening thought is being unable to leave when things get difficult. The story moves between different inhabitants, giving that one impossible event more than one person's view. I find that more unsettling than a creature waiting in the dark. You can shut a cupboard door. An entire town is rather harder to tidy away, however determined you are.

This is for readers who like a big cast and a question that keeps pressing on them: what happens to a community when it cannot turn to the world outside? It sounds like a long, quiet night sort of book, with a drink close by and no one talking over the good bits. Just check that your own front door opens first. For reassurance, obviously.