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Summary: King reminds me of Bill Cosby. HUH! you ask....
Review: Give Cosby's first half-dozen standup albums a listen, and you will find that the theme of childhood predominates his work. But while Cosby's stories of his own childhood make a fun time out of his urban upbringing, King reminds us what a chamber of horrors childhood can be. Those of us who shake our heads at how our kids make a big deal out of "meaningless" things forget how very real such things were to us at that age. This is what makes this book a worthy successor to "It". What we get here is a set of stories that are so related to one another that King could have claimed they were "Book I", "Book II", etc. of the same novel. The common denominator here is a girl named Carol, but the two novellas are not from her perspective--but from the perspectives of two guys involved with her at different points of her life. There's a mysterious elderly stranger who's on the run from agents of a mysterious enemy called the "Crimson King" (I find myself wondering if that's some myth separate from this story--the early progressive band King Crimson seem to derive their name from it, as well as the tile of their first album "In the Court Of the Crimson King"). There's also a semi-allusion to the movie "Storm Of the Century" where a character says the same thing at one point that "Storm's" main character keeps saying throughout the movie: "Give me what I want and I'll go away" (I still wish King had made that one into a book). But although there are mysterious demons here like in King's other books, our heroes suffer just as much at the hands of other mortals. Like three ordinary bullies beating on Carol with a baseball bat, dislocating her shoulder, for instance. Cosby's lesson is that no matter how tough your childhood was, your buddies were pretty funny. King, however, reminds us of childhood peers that we did well not to turn our backs on. Well, Nietsche put the same point about as well: "I find that I owe more to the hard times of my life than I could ever owe to the easier times."
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Summary: A long way to go for little reward
Review: Put me among the loyal lovers of King who have to admit this this effort isn't worth 600+ pages. Like most, I felt Low Men was the best of the bunch, but even that ended with major holes. Does anyone have any idea what was the deal with Bobby's mom? Surely an affair doesn't explain all of her actions. What really happened between her and Bobby's dad? I'm close to King's age and just don't remember the 60's quite the way he does. Maybe life was that different on the East coast? While I thought Hearts in Atlantis did a good job of showing how an era changed (from "what is it" to peace signs everywhere), ultimately I didn't care about these characters and was only mildly interested in what happened to Carol since the teenage version wasn't too well fleshed out. My advice is to borrow this one from the library. Stephen has enough money that he won't be hurt financially, and maybe it'll send him a wake up call that you can't slide just anything past your readers. I find myself wondering if the reviewer who suggested that King does the same thing his writer in Bag of Bones does (revive old discarded stories to publish), isn't right.
Rating: 
Summary: Wow. Crawl inside this book and live awhile.
Review: This short story cycle is packed with vivid, real characters that seem like you've known them all your life. King embodies different viewpoints masterfully, plausibly capturing the perspectives of innocent children, college revolutionaries, vietnam vets, and baby boomers.The first story, "Low Men in Yellow Coats," kicks off the action but is the weakest of this strong set. It's too tied into the Dark Tower series to seem as real as what follows. That said, it's still scary and moving, it just won't be as accessible to those who haven't read the Dark Tower series. The remainder of the stories concentrate on real people in real situations with only a smattering of the supernatural. That's not to say there's no horror -- Vietnam certainly qualifies -- but this is the closest King's gotten to straight fiction. What surprises literary types (and doesn't surprise those who've actually read King) is how well he pulls it off. He gives us social commentary, believable, complex characters, and engrossing storylines without a single vampire or undead cat. I read this book in two sittings, then closed it and wiped away tears. King is not merely a fine horror writer, he's a fine writer, period.
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Summary: Great Read
Review: King has done it again. This book captivated me from the first page an I never looked back. He, as always, so vividly descibes the characters and their surrondings so you would swear that you were sitting in the same room. Even though I did not live through the sixties, King did a great job in coveying what the sixties were about to the young adults who lived through them. I recommend this book ALL readers looking for a good book.
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Summary: Continuing to grow--
Review: I can't say that Stephen King gets better with every book, but Hearts in Atlantis makes a definite leap forward. King has always been fairly good at creating characters, but the characters in Hearts in Atlantis are individual, distinct, and humanly complex. Yes, there are elements of the supernatural here, and references to his Gunslinger series might slightly confuse the reader unfamiliar with those books. The supernatural element, though, no matter how well it works--and I think it works very well--yields in importance to characterization and, even more, to a vivid and disturbing sense of an era. King has almost always been a better writer than his general reputation might allow, but The Green Mile stepped out of the genre and this book leaps out. King may well yet be the author most remembered from our time.
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Summary: Apollo's arrows
Review: The work of a very few artists -- writers, musicians, painters, in whatever medium -- has an absolute authenticity that strikes through everything straight to the heart of the observer, like the arrows of Apollo. Johnny Cash, Bruce Springsteen, and Janis Joplin are among those musicians who have this quality; among painers, Salvador Dali is one such. And among writers, certain names leap to mind: Sophocles, Euripides, Shakespeare -- and Stephen King. Lest you laugh over this comparison of an American pop author to some of the greatest writers of all time, think about this: quality or not, King fills precisely the same niche in our culture that Sophocles and Shakespeare did in theirs, as messengers from the Gods of those cultures to their people, revealing to them the terror, joy, misery, and wonder of life and the Gods Who make their lives possible. Stephen King does this for us in spades -- or, perhaps, I should say "hearts." When you read his books, his stories, you know he's been there, somehow he's been there -- and reading him, you are there, too. And you can't ever again kid yourself into believing you weren't there with him, in the midst of all life's raw horror and glory. Here are the 1960s, in all their wonder and horror, and here are the 1990s that grew out of the 60s. And somehow, reading HEARTS IN ATLANTIS, we do go home again.
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Summary: Regulating the Desperation in Hearts
Review: The only reason Hearts even got one star from me is that it was written by Mr. King. The literary content was worth the read but not the story. Although I felt the way all three stories overlapped (reminicent of The Regulators and Desperation) was clever, the story just didn't do it for me. Believe me when I say that I was so hoping I'd love it! I read a Carrie paperback in the fall of 1974 wrapped in a blanket, curled up in a chair on our porch and have been King-hooked ever since. Many of his books have made it past my eyes twice and now, since a lot are on tape, I have "listened" to many of them again and again. His books are so character driven that it's like visiting with old friends when I reread them! Usually I hate getting to the end of a King book because I have to "say goodbye" to those I've met within but with Hearts in Atlantis, I never really felt like I knew any of the characters at all. Don't worry, Mr. King, I am still your greatest fan (although no stalker as in Misery) and cannot wait for your next novel. I'm sure you are writing up a storm (er, pardon the pun). I have downloaded The Plant (sent the $1.00 and everything!) and find your unconventional style in that quite interesting. By the way, Carlos Detweiller could be a distant relative of mine! So, to all the other King fans out there, by all means read Hearts in Atlantis! It certainly may be your cup of tea even though it wasn't mine. dd
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Summary: Dawning Of The Age Of Stephen King
Review: I wasn't a big Stephen King fan before this book. Infact i had never read any of his books, yes i'd seen a few of the movies based on his books, but hadn't read any books. I had no expectations, and being only 27 (born as Vietnam War was ending) obviously missed the sixties. I thoroughly loved it! The first story "Low Men.." was superb. In a way reminded a bit of "Stand By Me". A movie about childhood and how one summer all can change, your first kiss, your first adult book, etc Bobby Garfield is an engrossing character and one you want to succeed. His friendships with the other characters, S-J, Carol, Ted and his mum that summer change his life forever... The second story, also reminds you how all can change in one year at university (heck! it did for me) and how you can get trapped in a downward spirial with no escape! Ok, so i wasn't around for Vietnam and "first time i saw the peace-sign" but i was around for other wars and scandals. The characters are brilliant, you love some and you hate some. When the book ends, you miss the characters. A fascinating book about a boy and his friends growing up, through five short novellas. I'm all set to read his other thirty or so books! Wish me luck (especially with his earlier horror works)
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Summary: One of King's greatest
Review: When I first read Hearts in Atlantis I was deeply touched. It had - has - a way of getting under your skin, it both terrifies you and makes you wanna cry. Although it's not a horror novel, it is classical King. This novel and its author deserves high literary acclaim.
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Summary: Great book not like King's other works
Review: I really enjoyed this book especially Low Men in Yellow Coats Which has something to do with the Dark Tower and Blind Willie a story of a Vietnam vet who walks around acting like he's blind to get money. The only story I wouldn't give 5 stars to is the title story Hearts in Atlantis which i thought was kind of boring. Why We're in Vietnam is a good story about Bobby's friend John who is haunted by a woman killed in Vietnam. The last story Heavenly Shades of Night Are Falling was a good story were we find out what happens to Bobby and Carol when they attend John's funeral. In this story King has put believable characters in an unbelievable situation. Great book
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