Rating: 
Summary: Better than most
Review: A great combination of stories making one of King?s greatest books. The intertwining of the stories allows the reader to begin to explore the deeper consciousness of the beings. A needed change from the doldrums of some recent writings and a book that can be shared either with individual stories or as a combination of them.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best Stephen King books I've ever read
Review: I've read numerous Stephen King books. I am a very big fan of his, but I think this could be ranked among his best. Not only did it have a historical aspect to it, it also had the normal Stephen King paranormal aspect to it, as well. It really was a book that I just couldn't put down. I loved it.
Rating: 
Summary: A validation of the 60's. . .
Review: First of all, this is the first Stephen King book I have ever read. Secondly, I am a 50-year old child of the 60's and am sick and tired of the attempts of Congress and sundry talk show hosts who have been trying to repeal the 60's ever since the ascendance of Bill Clinton to the Presidency. I shudder to think of what may happen in the next four years, but that's for a different time. . .I thank Mr. King for writing this collection of five interlocked stories. As an earlier reviewer remarked, your reaction to these stories will be tempered by your age. That observation is dead on. Having lived through the time period the tales cover, I was profoundly affected by each one. Mr. King beautifully captured a process that each of us who came of age during the 60's and the subsequent end of the Vietnam War went through. Whether you were for the war or against it, you spent a lot of time thinking about it, and for many people, a lot of time acting on it. My own active service was limited to four months Army basic training in 1972. Although I was against the war, my activism was limited. (My college roommate, Jim, described he and I as "apathetic left-wingers", an interesting oxymoron.) Mr. King captured my role perfectly in the character Nate Hoppenstand, Pete the protagonist's own roommate in the "Hearts in Atlantis" novella in the collection. Like me, Nate had strong passions and ideals, but not enough to push us from the periphery into the forefront of radical organizations and active demonstrations. After all, a body could get hurt, or worse, arrested, and how to you explain that to Mom and Dad back home? I don't know a lot about Mr. King's own life, but I have to believe that much of this book is autobiographical; the characters are too real for it not to be. He captured the spirit and the personalities of the time to a "T". Anyone who grew up during this period knows someone that fits the description of each person in the stories. (Except, perhaps, for Ted Brautigan, I suppose.) Paul Simon in "Bookends" sang of the 60's as a time of innocence, and he was right. But it was also a time of turmoil, a time of love, and a time of social and moral upheaval. In other words, it was a time of contradictions. The Doors, Steve and Edye, Jimi Hendrix, Nancy Sinatra, and Sonny and Cher were all on the Billboard Top 40 at the same time - and it was perfectly acceptable to like them all. Gen X'ers, say what you will, but the 60's were the most passionate time to be alive in my lifetime and a great era to be rooted in. As I said, the stories are inter-related, but each is strong in it's own right, and each is moving. The writing is tight, and the time just flies by. After 672 pages, I was not ready for the book to end. I suppose there are some weaknesses - you really never know why Bobby's mother was the way she was, and maybe you had to read the Dark Towers novels to fully understand some of the references. But these are minor points and in no way detract from the overall impact and enjoyment of the stories. This is contemporary writing at its finest. I may read more of Stephen King or I may not. In either case, I'm sure glad I read this one.
Rating:
Summary: A Must For King Fans - Others May Want To Start Elsewhere
Review: I suppose I could ramble on for awhile about this one, but I'll try to keep it brief. First, though, a short autobiographical note: I was born in 1967 and was 8 years old when the last American troops were withdrawn from Vietnam. The reason I bring this up is that I imagine individual reactions to this book will be profoundly colored by the age of the reader. Okay, moving right along... First, the great stuff; the first story, "Low Men In Yellow Coats", and its companion piece, "Heavenly Shades Of Night Are Falling", are wonderful - among the best work King has yet produced. Both pieces are beautifully written, deeply moving meditations on books, reading, love, and life - worth the price of admission by themselves. As a bonus, those like myself who have been eagerly awaiting next installment of King's Dark Tower series will be delighted with these stories' allusions to the world of Roland & Co. Next, the good stuff: the third and fourth stories ("Blind Willie" and "Why We're In Vietnam", respectively) are quite enjoyable - not inspired King, but still King using his not-inconsiderable storytelling craft as well as he ever has. "Why We're In Vietnam", incidentally, also has a (subtle) tie-in with the Stand/Eyes Of The Dragon/Dark Tower cycle of stories (do the initials "R.F." ring a bell?). Finally, the okay stuff: the second story, "Hearts In Atlantis", is a pretty good short novel that is regrettably marred by a banal "I am Spartacus!" climax. Still, a fun yarn for anyone who's ever been a college student, in the 60s or otherwise. In conclusion - if you're a King fan, be sure to pick this one up. If you're new to his work, you may want to start with one of his earlier works - the aforementioned novel The Stand or his excellent Different Seasons collection remain, I think, the best places to start.
Rating:
Summary: Whole > sum of its parts
Review: Five interlocked tales, each quite different from the last. Each with its own strengths and weaknesses, they combine, an an odd sort of way, to be better than any one of them would be individually. The best of the 5 is the first and longest, Low Men in Yellow Coats, itself making up almost half of the book's volume. Familiar King themes are re-visited. His uncanny knack for getting kids just right is again demonstrated. While I have been a King fan for more than 20 years, the Dark Tower fable does nothing for me. Still, the DT references here are innocuous enough that you can read & enjoy the story on its own merits. The Lord of the Flies theme of mob mentality and the violence within each of us is explored in most of the tales, as well. The least compelling story is the title tale: I mean, a bunch of college kids addicted to a card game, who cares? The final chapter provides a loving coda. While there are one or two loose ends I would have liked to have seen tied up (Bobby's mom?), the atmospherics of that last chapter are all right on, & leave you feeling bittersweet, just as the author wanted you. Not horror; no one story is as good as, eg, the Body ("Stand by Me") from Different Seasons; but a worthwhile read.
Rating:
Summary: His best!
Review: As a former Stephen King fan I have found his more recent books weaker than the novels of his first period. But this one is possibly his best! Born myself in 1944 I grew up in Germany and our problems may have been slightly different from those of of our American contemporaries. But the context was the same. It starts with the music and ends with the card games - on the surface. And knowing the spirit of that time I feel that everything in this book is genuine. A troubled post war generation is shown: in their youth they were educated by stubborn elders and had to flee into books like "Lord of the Flies" and others to see themselves and their dark sides mirrored in them. Their dark sides, which also emerged in a war which was not theirs but which ruthlessly destroyed many of them morally, psychically and physically. Their dark sides, which came into the open in a desperate fight for a better world, in which they destroyed themselves and their humanity when they became dehumanized terrorists and criminals. But they could not avoid becoming members of the establishment after all and probably now make the same mistakes of their parent generation all over again. So the ending is not a typical King ending, but it is reflective and perhaps marked by a certain resignation. King describes his era as an insider, as member of our generation, and this makes him so good. In addition, he speaks the language of his generation perfectly because he has listened to them all his life. A compelling study of our Western culture, a literary must, an excellent book!
Rating:
Summary: Another From The Master With A "TOWER" Teaser
Review: Bravo Mr.King! I believe one of the reasons Stephen King novels enjoy such phenomenal success lies in the authors ability to put the reader into the scene wholeheartedly. He has lived such a life as to be a common man with uncommon talents. In HEARTS IN ATLANTIS we move from a tough-times 1950's (and remember those are the supposed 'good old days') to the gritty, over-idealized 1960's and beyond into the confusion of the media event laden decades to follow. King never loses his focus on what the book is about. I loved the first part of the book as a DARK TOWER fan because SK seems to tease us a lot lately with tid-bits and innuendo. Note to other DT fans, see INSOMNIA. His revels in 60's Maine on the University campus are priceless looks into what feels like an autobiographical whimsey. There are some genuinely crazy characters in this work. Mr. King's characters seem never to come to a resolution with their ghosts-of-the-past, but it is important to note that most always they reach a living agreement with them. Thanks for another glimpse of the gunslinger, and the rose petals from the field at End World. HEARTS IN ATLANTIS is a multi-faceted work, and every face shines from within. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: HEARTS shows little heart here for me.
Review: I love Stephen King and I can appreciate when he writes a "non-horror" novel -- Hell, I enjoyed EYES OF THE DRAGON -- but HEARTS IN ATLANTIS just didn't do it for me. As per the book jacket, there is no mention that it is made up of several short stories that don't really connect so I kept waiting for the pay-off. Also, I didn't read THE DARK TOWER series (which the Men in Yellow Coats section pertains to) so I didn't "get" the significance of their existence in the book. I don't want to trash this prolific author because of his importance in American literature and because of his humility when talking about his own level of writing. King knows he's not the best and I admire that. And someone who has written as many novels as he has is surely allowed a "stinker" every now and then ... I just think this is one of them. I don't believe (as some do) he's lost his touch, because BAG OF BONES was truly a great read. Here's hoping his next one is better.
Rating:
Summary: An interesting compilation of novellas
Review: I purchased this novel for specific reasons to be honest. I had been informed that one novella had specific relations to the Dark Tower story, which was more than enough for this avid King reader. However, after reading the entire book I saw that the Dark Tower aspect was totally eclipsed by the sadness I felt by Kings attitude toward the Vietnam conflict. As always Mr. King was able to thread the stories together with my favorite being "Hearts in Atlantis." Mr. King's switch between third and first person perspective also added to the allure of this collection. Compared with his other novella collections Different Seasons and The Bachman Books it is not any better or worse, just different and new. I think that we can expect one of these stories to appear as a film and I hope that Frank Darabont, who has done the best book to film transitions for Mr. King, gives the stories in this publishment a good deal of consideration.
Rating:
Summary: Twilight Twine Time
Review: Stephen King continues to grow as a writer with this excellent 60s flashback with five interlocking stories rooted in incidents that occurred one confusing summer in 1960. King has been quietly tackling some very meaty subjects over the past five years (e.g, recovery in "Desperation/The Regulators") and his writing has begun to approach poetry in some passages ("Bag of Bones," "Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon"), while still delivering the chills and breakneck narrative flow his readers salivate for amidst the metaphysics. "Hearts in Atlantis" is one of his most ambitious efforts to date, dealing with the effects of the 1960s on the generation that came of age during the Vietnam War, seen through the eyes of five characters linked not only by that one summer but by Vietnam itself. The first story, more a novella really, "Low Men in Yellow Coats, is classic creepy Stephen King and is the most viscerally successful. The title story and "Why We're in Vietnam," while accurately capturing the flavor of the time, are less compelling. "Blind Willie," detailing one Vietnam vets' manner of coping with the past, is a real page-turner and eyebrow-raiser. It is, however, the brief final story, "Heavenly Shades of Night Are Falling," that demonstrates King's genius and growth. It is so sweet, so poignant, so full of regret and wisdom, that it brought tears to my eyes. I have read all of Stephen King's books, and enjoyed every one. He continues to surprise, and "Hearts in Atlantis" is no exception.
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