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Summary: A writer willing to experiment
Review: This is a great book.Like a lot of reviewers I loved the story Low Men In Yellow Coats.It was King at his best.What King does with Bobby in this story is wonderful.It caught me completely off guard.This story alone makes the book a worthwhile purchase
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Summary: KING AT HIS BEST!
Review: What can be said about Stephen King? This is classic King. He is still and will always be my (not that it counts for much) favorite author of horror. The stories bled easily one right into another. The book had a life of it's own and carried me right along with it. When it's a let down to reach that last page. I know I've had a great read. (It's like great sex your satisfied, but you want more) Hurry up Stephen I'm ready again.
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Summary: Enthralling and Deep, a novel of stories....
Review: I went into this book thinking it was a novel... low men in yellow coats, horror incarnate. The tale woven true and clear, and highly sinister. Typical Stephen King horror, right? But 250 pages into a 500+ page book, the story seemed over, because the horror had ended, and I was wondering where the rest of the thickness was going to lead. Part 2 started, "Hearts in Atlantis", and changed point of view (3rd person to 1st), and also absolved itself of the horror, going into future life crossovers of the characters from part 1. I kept on reading, and the story changed dramatically. Unlike normal SK, of when the horror is over, the story stops, this one, through four "continuity" stories, keeps going and tells you the result of the main character's lives from the first story. Epic and brilliant, I couldn't put it down. Excellent work, I highly recommend it.
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Summary: Pretty Good
Review: HIA is not King's best but is a worthy read. "Low Men In Yellow Coats" was the best part of the story and will considered one of Kings finest stories."Hearts In Atlantis" was more of an emotional story and was written to express an overall message. "Blind Willie" and "Why we are in Vietnam" had important morals in them and gave purpose to the novel, but at times were slow. The last story "Heavanly Shades Of Night are Falling" pput all stories together and was a good, final read. It was a good book and I recommend "The Green Mile", "Misery", and "Different Seasons" as well.
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Summary: Well, the first story was good......
Review: don't get me wrong, i love SK. but this book sucks. the first story "low men in yellow coats" was great, but that was a result of the connection to the Dark Tower series which i LOVE. wizard and glass was one of SK's best books ever! but this book went downhill after low men. i do appreciate SK's attempt at literary acceptance, or whatever it is he wants. but i miss the old, big, huge, monster books he wrote. ones with plots, many characters that you know better than you own parents, etc. hell, the green mile was one of the greater books of the 90's, and different seasons was an excellent collection of stories. if those cannot grant literary acceptance, then SK will be hard pressed to write something that will. and if he outdose those books, i'll be in heaven enjoying every word. SK, finish the Dark Tower! and get well soon!
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Summary: Excellent, as usual from King
Review: The first story was the best, the sinister 'Low Men' in Low Men in Yellow Coats' are the most chilling evil characters I've experienced in a book since the secret police thug and executioner Boris Pugo in the war novel, The Triumph and the Glory--, i'd give this one five stars but Hearts in Atlantis wasn't all that great, the other three stories were OK.
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Summary: Is it possible to only buy half of a book?
Review: I have been a fan of Stephen King since I turned twelve, 18 years ago. His writing is both masterful and intriguing. He possesses an innate ability to delve into the human soul, no matter how dark, and expose it to the light of the printed page. However, with a few exceptions, most of his recent work has been dull at best, derivative at worst. Since Gerald's Game, I have begun to wonder what he's thinking. I still buy his books - loyalty and hope run wide through me - but I am often disappointed. Though rays of distinction do exist (Desperation, Wizard and Glass, Insomnia) Hearts In Atlantis is not one of them. I awarded both stars for the first story in this collection of five. The second story, though interesting, went nowhere. I read the last three because I'm a completist and hate to leave a book unread. King is writing better than ever. No one can spin a yarn so masterfully or entice readers into a plot with as much craft he, but, perhaps due to his early string of precedents for high standards, his novels have slowly become less engaging. Several since and including Gerald's Game should have been short stories. I've always felt that a novel should not just be longer than a short story but should also achieve a higher level of complexity. More than that, though, it should be interesting. During the third story in Hearts In Atlantis, I began to wonder if I should get checked out for ADD. Stephen King's gift for writing seems to be growing disproportionately with his gift for creating unique plot twists. I hope that changes. He is, after all, still the King.
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Summary: Greatest book I've read in months
Review: Finally I found a book I could get lost in again. Every once in awhile a book just grabs you from beginning to end. Of course the switch between two stories in one book is always hard (I wanted to learn a lot more about Bobby Garfield, actually!) but easy to get over. Also, the red line that seems to run through a lot of King's books, The Dark Tower, is fascinatingly woven in this book. I WANT THE DARK TOWER 5! But if he keeps writing books like this one, the wait won't be that long...
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Summary: Much to ponder
Review: Reading books that make you think is much more satisfying than just being entertained. This book has me puzzling out much about what King is saying about the 60's and our national loss of innocence. Is it any coincidence that the three male characters in "Low Men" are named for the Kennedy boys? (John, Bobby, Ted?) This first story seems to be about the decade's literally stealing innocence from that time's youth. "Hearts" may be about, besides a fairly accurate portrayal of the Frosh experience, the Boomer's tendency toward self-destruction,even when all common sense tells us to stop. It also casts a cynical eye towards "causes", implying that it is nearly impossible to stay true to beliefs based upon the inherent cynicism in us all--for an update of this story, see what happened in Seattle last week during the WTO fiasco. "Blind Willie" appears to be a statement both about the Reagan 80's and PTSD's largely unknown effects on combat veterans. The final 2 stories detail coming to grips with the experience of that decade as well as the potential for redemption for us all. Mr. King seems to be telling us that we should not forget what it was like to be a child. These memories can heal and preserve us. This is definitely Mr. King's most personal book...I apologize for trying to read his mind. Not as good as "Bag of Bones", my personal favorite of his, but one can never fault a writer for trying to say something and challenge our perceptions of events and the world around us.
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Summary: My heart is now lost in its pages......
Review: I've read a lot of other King novels and many have been a disappointment because of their endings. After reading the story "Hearts in Atlantis" I can say King has let me live the 60's through his words and I enjoyed every crazy second! I don't think he will write another great piece like this ever again. I've seen a few other reviews that have not been impressed by his work but most of them expected tales of horror. This book is not that at all. The stories are about lost love, lost dreams and lost innocence caused by the experience of the 60's. It will touch your heart and you too will become lost in the pages of this great story.
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