Rating: 
Summary: An Amazing Piece of Literature!
Review: Hearts in Atlantis is one of the best Stephen King books I have read, and I have read almost all of them!!! I could barely put the book down, and constantly stayed up until all hours of the morning until I had completely devoured the book. I can't wait to read it again...something I rarely ever do!!! It really brought the 60s alive for me, considering I am a child of the 80s and 90s. I reccommend it to EVERYONE!!
Rating: 
Summary: Promising but loses it
Review: I am not an avid reader of Mr. King but this book interested me based on the description. It is broken up into 4 short stories and a prolouge. The first two stories were enjoyable and heartfelt. The other two were just riduculous. King was trying to put so much symbolism into it that it became pretentious. I suggest readign the first two stories and then jump to the prologue.
Rating: 
Summary: Yet another good book from the "new" Stephen King
Review: I've always had a soft spot for Stephen King. The first novel I ever read was "Pet Semetary", and that was in the third grade! I even did a book report on it, which must have been very interesting for my teacher to read...she must have thought I was a twisted little boy!Anyhow, to the point... When I pick up a King book, it's like hearing the voice of a long-lost friend. There's very little of his work that I dislike, but some that I definitely like more than others. "Hearts in Atlantis" falls into the latter category (along with "Bag of Bones" and, of course, "The Stand"). King certainly does a great job of scaring folks, but he is best at creating characters with whom we can empathize or at least identify. And even though I grew up in the '80's, I'll be damned if King doesn't make me nostalgic for the '60's! How can that be? The answer: terrific writing. The way that this book is constructed is extremely interesting -- not distracting or pointless, as other reviewers have written. It's as if he took one from the Tarantino guide to unconventional story-telling. The way that he follows the characters throughout the book is fascinating and enlightening. He creates a more complex story with more complex characters by weaving them in and out of the story, and exploring the same situation from different points of view. What he has done --his thesis, if you will -- is to explore the aftermath of "Lord of the Flies", which plays such a large part in the first story in this book, "Low Men in Yellow Coats". Does this have a happy ending? What happens to the children now that they are saved? And, of course, are they really "saved" at all? While many King books dissapoint me with their endings, this one did not (perhaps it's because there were no giant space-spiders!). The ending was perfect, and fit well with his theme. I, for one, really like King's new "literary" style, and hope there's more to come. He has done a marvelous job with "Hearts in Atlantis", and I would reccomend this book to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Helping me to understand my Step Dad
Review: Hearts in Atlantis is a book that every slacker college student should read. For me, you could substitute playing hearts for playing Quake II. Mr. King does a wonderful job painting a picture that relates to today's young adults seemlessly. So you mean to tell me that the baby boomers once felt as rebelious as the youth of today? I guess the seed really doesn't fall that far from the tree. These stories are engaging and provocative, provided you can open your head to the concept of the Dark Tower for one of them.
Rating: 
Summary: A Minor Story, By One Who Writes Better
Review: First off, in fairness to Stephen King, I have enjoyed his previous works. This book is broken into five pieces. "Low Men in Yellow Coats", is set in 1960. Eleven-year-old Bobby Garfield lives with his widowed, controlling, miserly mother in an apartment. Life is humdrum for Bobby until an older neighbor Ted moves in upstairs. Bobby's mother is highly skeptical and suspicious of Ted, and warns Bobby to keep his distance from this new neighbor. In time, Ted introduces Bobby to ''Lord of the Flies'' Bobby grows to admire Ted, despite Ted's "problem" Ted tells Bobby that he is being pursued by "Low men in yellow coats" He hires Bobby to be his sentry, watching for signs of their presence-- lost-pet notices, stray kite tails, upside-down supermarket flyers, etc. Low Men is the best part of this whole book. But just as the story really starts to develop, WHAM! It turns a corner and goes straight off a cliff. "Hearts in Atlantis", or story #2 revolves around a dormitory of several pathetic University of Maine college students whose lives are being consumed by the card game of Hearts. Bobby Garfield doesn't exist in this, the largest segment of the book at all. Several new characters are introduced, and we focus on their addiction to this card game, which is keeping them from studying, sleeping, bringing down their grades, flunking out of school and into the Vietnam War...YAWN...it's unimaginable how much time King wasted on this silly story. It reads like a high school English Lit. essay. King's voice is so overwhelming in this segment, that I honestly thought he had shifted from fiction to autobiography. Like many Baby Boomers, King wallows in nostalgia, and reminisces about his generation. He says: "I like lots of people our age when they're one by one, but I loathe and despise my generation. We had an opportunity to change everything. We actually did. Instead, we settled for designer jeans, two tickets to Mariah Carey at Radio City Music Hall, frequent-flier miles, James Cameron's Titanic, and retirement portfolios. The only generation even close to us in pure, selfish self-indulgence is the so-called Lost Generation of the twenties, and at least most of them had the decency to stay drunk. We couldn't even do that." In the book's two short stories, Willie Shearman "Blind Willie" takes the train from his comfy house and loving wife in the suburbs, to the steps of St. Patrick's Cathedral where he transforms from mild mannered Willie Shearman, into begging Blind Willie. He leads a double life, as passersby don't realize Shearman's sight is intact. The final story features a revisiting character, John Sullivan (Sully) whose haunted, literally, by the war. Plagued with feelings of guilt of a murdered Vietnamese woman, readers discover that Sullivan is frequently visited by her, yet she says nothing, only staring at him. So what's wrong with this book? The separate stories are connected by small threads, a character here, a baseball glove there, but have no real unifying purpose, and lead to nowhere of any significant meaning. I found his characters to be unbelievable. At times it reads very slow, with pointless detail, or story that serves no purpose. I get the feeling that Mr. King is trying to make the transition from Horror story teller, to a Dickens or Faulkner novelists, but instead falls into a chasm. The ending is abrupt, leaving many questions unanswered, and many readers like me disappointed. Maybe King plans to put the missing pieces together in another book?
Rating:
Summary: Never far from Atlantis
Review: Let me start by declaring that I am not an unconditional Stephen King fan. The 'horror' genre leaves me cold, and it's only when King ventures into more mainstream themes that I enjoy his work. I enjoyed Atlantis immensely. These boomers coming of age in the twilight zone of Vietnam, and living out their inevitable tragic final chapters of that generation are satisfying and fully formed. Their frailties as engaging as their strengths. None of these stories stays in the world of the surreal or what passes for the real world for long. The transition is so seamless that the reader isn't certain where it lies. That is when I love King -- when he blurs that jagged edge of reality!
Rating:
Summary: Stephen King is growing up
Review: Hearts in Atlantis really surprised me. I had expected his traditional horror novel, but instead I read a book where the horror was more subtle and aimed at the heart. I honestly could not put this book down, and believe that even people who don't like Stephen King's earlier works will love this novel. I find it thrilling that he has brought in parts of his other great works into this one. In subtle ways, and not so subtle ways. It seems to me that he is building towards something, that all his works are coalescing into one statement, and I can't wait to read more.
Rating:
Summary: An Okay Airplane Read...
Review: This book was pretty bland and disjointed, but moderately entertaining. The Green Mile was the first Stephen King book I had read in fifteen years and I loved it, so I was excited to pick up Hearts in Atlantis as another "non-traditional" Stephen King novel. It seems like Stephen King had multiple disconnected stories that he then went through unnatural acts to join together in Hearts in Atlantis... It's a stretch to bill this novel as a brilliant meditation on Vietnam when the first half of the novel is a poor excuse for a science fiction/mystery story -- I thought the wrong cover had been put on the book. I was left very disappointed after the hype. Go in with "low" expectations (no pun intended) and expect a mindless, beach book or airplane type read.
Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your time!
Review: I was really looking forward to reading this book, a Stephen King version of Vietnam. From reading the back cover, I was expecting a book that was somehow divided between four decades and illustrating one individual's life from his critical youth years to post-Vietnam reflection and redemption. Instead, you get the first half of a book portraying a tacky round of villains from The Dark Tower series called Low Men in Yellow Coats. Come on, these people feet don't touch the ground when they walk? Just as the main character's life is taking shape, the story gets cut off. And you get thrown into the second half of the book, made up of different stories that basically go nowhere, made up of different characters,leaving you feeling unsympathetic and dry, and in the end feel like you wasted all your time. It's like listening to someone talk about their lifestory with incoherent reflections and philosophies. Boring, boring, boring. The book would have been better if it had taken the main character and challenged what he learned from the old man Ted and Lord of the Flies. It would have been really interesting to have seen how his disillusionment and understanding would carry him through Vietnam and afterwards. I really believe this.
Rating:
Summary: Aces, all around
Review: Bravo to Stephen King who once again re-creates literature. Never one to stick to a rigid formula of presentation, he artfully produces his novels with brilliant creativity. The man blends the real and imaginary into stories that are unique and on the edge. For this alone, he deserves recognition. Hearts in Atlantis is an interwoven tale that will touch your heart if you let it. For those of the nay-sayers, I respect your opinions, but feel you are missing out on some incredible reads. I am saying this as one being very new on the SK band wagon...I started with one novel and was led to another, then another. I caught the rhythm and was intrigued by references to his past stories. Ever alert to new and old material, I adore how King links honored literature and movies within the story content, provoking my re-interest in books I read in high school and all the books and movies that slipped by me over the years since. I feel as if he personally offers me his favorites; a true gift of sorts for the impassioned reader and lover of old movies. Hearts in Atlantis weaves a collection of stories which connect to each other through a selection of characters that, of course, touch your heart, but never allows you the luxury of surmising the outcome. A boy's childhood (Bobby) is revealed , along with the growing pains of adolescence and the heartbreak of being a son without a father . Elegantly portrayed, a lodger named Ted becomes a substitute male figure for this love starved youth. Ted has some secrets of his own, and makes Bobby aware of his fears that he is being stalked by some shady characters. Just as a child's imagination runs wild, the reality of Ted is in fact the truth. He reluctantly takes Bobby into his confidence, and Bobby discovers that life is not as simple as a baseball game. The book revolves around a key set of friends that grow up together. It blends them into a broader representation of what life was like for the generation immediately affected by the war in Viet Nam. In the course of the story past characters and story lines are intelligently interjected, beckoning one to know more, yet satisfied with the story before you. And so, I was introduced to past story lines (Dark Towers) represented in a selection of novels Mr. King has written. Even though I was unfamiliar with them, I was compelled to read them, anxious to know more and to quench the thirst that seems to arise when I read his novels. That I did not know of them made no difference to me in regards to this experience of reading_ Hearts in Atalantis _for the story was delivered well regardless. Simply said, that is the job Mr. King does. He inspires you to wonder , to consider, to beckon the possiblilities he presents. He offers wonderful stories, twisted with magic and the illogic, ever beckoning you to stretch your imagination and just wonder what would it be like to...well experience what he imagines. He touches your heart and raises your pulse. The rest of the outcome is up to you.
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