Rating: 
Summary: Getting better and keeping the edge
Review: Just when you think there's nothing distinctively different, and diverse coming from Mr. King, here comes Hearts In Atlantis. Of course, if you say this to Mr. King, he might disagree. But, the people reading his past books, and short stories might say this. I would say, Mr. King,You Really Are Astute. But, of course, what would you expect from the master!!!! elane sanks @ color-country.net
Rating:
Summary: Potent.
Review: King has always had a fascination with children and adolescents, and they show up in this book as well. Recently he's been interested in older characters and the process of dying, and we get a little bit of that here too. What adds impact to _Hearts in Atlantis_ is the way that certain events in the characters' childhoods reach out and shape the courses of their lives. Growing up in the 50s, living through the 60s and 70s, by the 90s some of them are dead, some are insane, and others appear to have finally conquered their demons.Reading it I couldn't help thinking about the events from my youth that have shaped my life. In that sense, this book is a "true" story, or at least one that gets at the truth inside people.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: King is a very talented writer who knows how to tug the heartstrings as well as how to raise the hairs on the back of your neck. This time around, there's not much scaring going on, but rather an engaging tale of lives lived through some very crazy times in America. I found the book to have a completely different format than what I've become accustomed to with King. There are dissimiliar time periods, points of view, and characters throughout the book. However, there are connections that hold the entire thing together and keep you wondering up until the very end. I've read many of King's novels through the years, and this definitely ranks in the top ten (maybe top five) for me. With over 50 books to the author's credit, he shows no signs of slowing down or getting boring. You should definitely give this one a try.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic & Original!
Review: This book is simply amazing. I took it on holiday and read the whole doorstop of a book in 2 days. Firstly this could be the best characterisation king has done since, er let me think,yeah! thats right 'the dark tower' (what do you mean you havent read it....go on, get off your arse and go buy it) as you feel the characters come alive you the more the story progresses. As many know these are a series of interlinked stories, the emphasis on quantity & quality lies within the first two main stories 'low men in yellow coats' and the second 'hearts in atlantis', the last three are relativley short by S. King's standards and generally tie up events that occured within the first two tales. Low men in yellow coats is a tale I cant wait to read again, I mean there is so much in there, you've got bobby, a wonderful little boy who makes a strange friendship with the new lodger in his mothers rent house, a fantastice bully avenging sequence and loads more. It grows progressivley more supernatural as it develops, and although essentially this book is no where near a horror novel, there is one dream sequence that will certainly have some people widening their eyes and putting their hands over their mouths and saying ,'jeeesus'. I will say no more. Humour is ever present and there is also a 'dark tower' tie in which will leave readers of this book and dark tower fans none the wiser..........cheers steve!. Now on to Hearts in Atlantis. I couldnt help but feel that King put his all into this story as it almost flawless. All the way through this tale I kept thinking back to J D Salinger's 'Catcher in the Rye' as it makes a point of telling us how important it is to get on with the things that matter and growing up, rather than dropping out and thinking that loser behaviour is ok and remaining immature. After finishing this tale I said to my girlfriend, "Darling, our children are to read this when they are 13 yrs old!", (she rolled her eyes to the heavens and carried on reading 'Last Chance Saloon'). The other three as I said earlier tie up the lose ends and if there is a duff tale here its got to be 'blind willie' but its only 10 pages so I refuse to let it spoil the overall quality of the book. Yeah, so thats that, and when I finished this book I started on 'Needful things', which was absolutley brilliant.........what you havent read this either...........!!??
Rating:
Summary: Book of the year!
Review: This is one of the best books I have read by King. He's the most talented Author along side Sidney Sheldon. If you read Lord of the Flies,and loved it then this book is for you. Everyone will understand and love "Hearts in Atlantis".
Rating:
Summary: Another gem
Review: I read Hearts In Atlantis over the Labor Day Weekend and the only part about it that I didn't like was that it had to end. King's strongsuit has always been his ability to develop characters that you actually feel/sense/recognize. He doesn't fail in this book. I also loved the way he wove the different characters throughout the different stories.
Rating: 
Summary: Definitely worth the read
Review: This is the King of yesteryear. A very tight book- well conceived and very emotionally captivating. The book is divided into the three sections of very different lengths. The first section is terrific. The second section was interesting but I wasn't sure where it was going (not as riveting as Section 1). And then came the tidy little ending- the last section- which pulled all of those little loose ends together adding a poignant twist that'll bring a tear to your eye. A touch of the old supernatural from Mr. King. He knows how to do it right.
Rating: 
Summary: Let me know
Review: Can someone tell me what type of book this is? I really don't enjoy horror so therefore hesitate to read Stephen King, however, I read The Green Mile and loved it because it did not scare me. Can someone tell me which of Stephen King's books are not horror novels? Is Hearts in Atlantis a horror novel?
Rating:
Summary: Glimpses of the Dark Tower
Review: Don't let yourself catch by the title of this review. But as I see you did.. Unfortunately there isn't that much about the Dark Tower in Hearts in Atlantis but the long readers of king won't be disappointet anyway. The book, actually I listened the unabridged version of the audiobook, is great. The stories are fresh, deep, funny, sad (really), colorfull and you will get cought by them. And if you were a reader and are, like me, desperatly waiting on some news from the Dark Tower you will get some news of the "crimson king"... listen/read for yourself. Maybe a word to the Audiobook of Hearts of Atlantis... Great. William Hurt and Stephen King are reading. First I thought that maybe William Hurt's reading style is a bit dozy but hey, he takes you in before you know it. The second story is read by King himself and the change of style is big. Anyway, excuse my english, I'm from Switzerland (and not a low man with a yellow coat...)
Rating:
Summary: Very pleased!
Review: I quickly learned that the description on the back of the book did not do Hearts in Atlantis justice. A 70's child, I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to connect to most of the content here. I was in for a pleasant surprise! I was hooked immediately. Actually comprised of different stories (all from people who start out in the same town), it was very interesting to see how things were going to play out. King's observations of the sixties and especially the Vietnam War were amazing. He has such an ability to express ideas and emotions! Was it any accident that I just finished reading (finally) Wizard and Glass right before? As a fan of the Dark Tower series, I was especially thrilled with the "Low Men in Yellow Coats", and how it tied in with the Dark Tower. If there are other readers who are wondering why the tie-in, I'd like to quote from the Afterword from Wizard and Glass: "...I am coming to understand that Roland's world (or worlds) actually contains all the others of my making; there is a place in Mid-World for Randall Flagg, Ralph Roberts, the wandering boys from The Eyes of the Dragon, even Father Callahan, the damned priest from 'Salem's Lot, who rode out of New England on a Greyhound Bus and wound up dwelling on the border of a terrible Mid-World land called Thunderclap." And now we can add the likes of Bobby Garfield to that list. I think that you can still enjoy Hearts in Atlantis without being familiar with the Dark Tower series (if you aren't, just think along the lines of X-Files). This is an excellent book and I highly recommend it.
|
