Rating: 
Summary: One of King's best
Review: Several years ago (my early teens) I was obsessed with Stephen King and for some reason vowed I would read every single one of his novels. Well, I grew out of that stage before I could get to every single one, but needless to say I have read more than a few, so I feel confidently saying that this is definitely one of his best. It is composed of four different stories with similar themes and characters who are generally seperated by a few degrees (of seperation) and weaves them together really affectively. If you've read King before and are not sure that you like him I would definitely recommend this book. I find that I generally like King's writing when it is more reality based (I think that the words I am looking for), as in when it focus more on realistic characters and events instead of fantastic monsters. Plus I think that this book is more chilling because the monsters are more hidden in the background. King is also great at telling coming of age stories because he can capture the magic of childhood as well as the fear of becoming an adult. And I think that this book is ultimately a coming of age story although it deals with the coming of age of a whole nation through the Vietnam War.
Rating: 
Summary: He knows how and where the to get ya--a new king reader
Review: O.K. So everybody but everybody reads Stephen King, right? No, not right. There are lots of bookish sorts of people who don't read him -- and who look down their nose at King and his readers. I guess I picked up their gist/prejudice at some point and just never paid any attention to King--until one day I picked up Bag of Bones and discovered a ratehr interesting story--well told with values I understood and admired--so I decided I'll read another--so I went out and bought Hearts In Atlantis. Again I discovered --not a great book-- but a good book--made us of a series of moving tales, tied together by placing characters from the first story in the book in the later stories so there is a continum -- a linking of all the stories -- even though each story can stand separately. All these characters are placed in a universe from the 1950s and then we spot them again in the 60s seeing how the 60s impacted them. It is a nice structure for trying to get a grip on the diversity of what happened during that much talked about and deeply misunderstood generation. In the process King is able to pull to the surface and weave into the stories the things that haunt and hurt and motivate people--their needs (for a mother's love that isn't fully available) their obsessions (an out of control game of cards) their hopes & dreams (a base ball glove). King is even handed with his characters & the reader easily falls into caring about them. He isn't a fantastic wordsmith--he seldom turns a phrase that wows you but he is a able to go directly to where we live, tell a good story, locate our fears & concerns and present people in a fair handed way. All in all--I think King's detractors (those who haven't read his stuff and judge it negatively because it is popular) are snubbing the wrong guy--there is stupid literature in the world--but based on my limited sampling of his work King isn't the one writing it.
Rating:
Summary: One of King's most moving books...
Review: Being a Stephen King fan (even though I've only read about 4 or 5 of SK's books) and a fan of things from the Sixties (The Beatles, Hendrix, and all those people are my favourite performers) I found this book to be one of his best. The storytelling is superb, as well as the characters and the way the spirit of the sixties is kept.
Of the five stories the one I liked the most was Low Men In Yellow Coats because it is the one that is the most Stephen King-like. It makes you remember about when you were a kid, how your mind used to be focused on just a few things before it all became complicated. This one will sure be interesting to watch in the movie of the book.
The second story, Hearts in Atlantis was one that I loved as well. It somehow gave me a glance at how my parent's college life must have been. The story itself is worthy of a movie all by itself (*hint* any movie producers reading?! please!)
The third story (Blind Willie) was kind of interesting, even though it is the weakest one. While the main character is related interconnected to the rest of the characters in the book, this story seemed as if it was copy/pasted from somewhere in King's computer. The story is good and it reveals some kind of redeeming in the character's life, but it's not that big of a story.
The fourth story is "Why We're In Vietnam", an excellent look at the lives of the veterans of that terrible war. This story is the preamble of the book's full circle story, as it is continued by "Heavenly Shades of Night Are Falling", the story's "epilogue", which will bring goosebumps to your skin with the story being told.
This books is a must read for all of King's fans, and for those who haven't read him, this is a great book to start with (then move on to Bag Of Bones :-).
As an afterthought, I read that this book's movie focuses more on the first and fourth story, but I don't possible know how you could tell this story without at least some deep look into the second story, just a tiny little glimpse at the third story and it MUST end with the fifth story. I think the movie would not be complete with out that last story.
Anyway, get this book, you will love it.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Stories, but terrible narration by William Hurt
Review: As any fan of audio-books knows the narration is key to the overall experience delivered by the book - I have heard fair to poor books come alive with the right person narrating. William Hurt is a great actor, but I could not believe the awful job he did narrating portions of this book - it really ruined the portions he read. His ability to read a sentence naturally without staccato interruptions (in the wrong places) made it difficult to listen to. I kept wondering when the producer was going to think..."this is not working out, let's find someone else" Overall I enjoyed the second story "Hearts in Atlantis" the best and think this book is another fine piece of work by Steven King. Additionally, King, as always, does a wonderful job of narrating. As with Bag of Bones his style is excellent and well delivered - accents and all. It's just really is nice to hear the author put the emphasis and feeling into the verbal reading too!! What a treat!!
Rating:
Summary: A doorway sixties...
Review: Despite it's usual placement among Stephen King's works as strange, "Hearts in Atlantis" impacted me greatly. As one obsessed with the sixties, this book was both accurate and entertaining, detailing the lives of several characters as the legacy of the vietnam war continues from the sixties to present times. A marvelous and richly told story.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent storytelling
Review: In Hearts in Atlantis, Stephen King gives us his usual - brilliant storytelling. The first two stories in particular are excellent. I found myself losing interest toward the end, although my attention was held by trying to find out what happened to Carol Gerber, the only character who is relevant to every story. As a college student who spent several months playing cards instead of doing schoolwork, the second story has me hooked. I really relate to the protagonist of that story, Pete Riley, as he struggles with girls and college life. I've read it half a dozen times already, and still can't get enough of it. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of great storytelling, and, lets be honest, if you're reading this review you probably are.
Rating:
Summary: Following a good opening story an uphill read
Review: I'll start with the positive. The writing is good, very good. Stephen King has come a long way since "Carrie" which I often describe as the worst written book I have ever read. It has taken me many years to pick up a Stephen King book again. This came from my daughter who felt it explained the Sixties to her. The first story is great with interesting characters and plot. It is evocative of a time in the early 60's that has long since ceased to exist except in the imagination. I co˜tinued on to the second story which does a great job of humorously describing the milieu of the mid-60's at college campuses, especially the obsession with musical correctness. Unfortunately, after so many silly heart games, one loses interest. I played hearts in college and never found it as compulsively addictive as King makes it sound. From there it was mostly downhill. King didn't capture the Viet Nam War for me. I would have been just as happy to read the first story in the collection and move on to something more interesting. That being said, I am glad to have read Hearts in Atlantis. King does a nice job of tying together lose ends of the plot at the end.
Rating:
Summary: Not bad, but not his greatest
Review: Hearts in Atlantis can be described as average when compared to other works by Stephen King. I have been an avid reader of King for several years, but this is the first book I had to force myself to finish. The first story, Low Men in Yellow Coats, was quite compelling and enjoyable. The stories that followed, however, lacked the interesting storyline that is needed to keep me going. As far as the writing goes, it is King at his best, as usual.
Rating:
Summary: Drift Away Towards Atlantis
Review: With Stephen King books it's just like with smoking - you just can't kick the habit. This is a book of rare literate quality and certainley something King can be proud of. Hearts In Atlantis take us back to the early sixties, takes us back to where hearts are. The first two stories of the book which consists of five inter-connected short-stories, are one of the best words I 've ever read. They are nostalgic, impulsive and sort of alive, like holding a beating heart in your hand, feeling it pumping, struggling and twisting between your fingers. The atmosphere, King creates, makes you feel you really kind of stranded in a period more than forty-five years ago. I'd say, this book is a true landmark in American literature, but I won't say no more, because telling the story would be like cheating on your classmate. Read the book yourself, face an forgotten era's atlantis.
Rating:
Summary: Deep and heartfelt....
Review: "Hearts in Atlantis" is a very, very good read. Deep, emotional, and really quite interesting. I reread "Lord of the Flies" right before starting "Hearts" - and I highly recommend that everyone else try that too. The characters were well sketched and I felt connected to them, especially Carol, Ted, and believe it or not, Ronnie too. I felt sorry for the poor guy. There were many subtle connections that kept me thinking and considering. And the ending was truly great... maybe war ISN'T the human condition, but we could never dispute that without being INSIDE it first. A beautiful book. I am still trying to assimilate the information and make all the connections. It took me a week to read, and it'll take me another week until I'm not thinking about it all day, every day. Highly recommended. King opts for the emotional and the intellectual, leaving behind the suspense and terror of his works past.
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