Rating: 
Summary: Low Men in Yellow Coats
Review: This was a very strange book to read, because of the shifts in the stories, which kept a previous character from one of the previous novellas and further enhanced our understanding of him/her and the troubles that have besaken him/her later on in their lives. The first story in this collection, essentially a novel(it weighs in at 323 pages),Low Men in Yellow Coats, is one of the most touching and brilliant stories ever made. That is why I am giving this book 4 stars, because really only the 1st and the last story you should read,which I think Mr.King should put into an independent book, as I would assuredly give it however many stars are allowed.Low Men revolves around Bobby and his tenant, Ted Brautigan, and weaves a story of coming of age and learning to love even under the harshest of circumstances.This novel also surprised me with a connection to another one of King's writings, but I want say because it was a genuine surprise to me. After this story it goes downhill, and there is really no point to reading the middle stories unless you want to learn what happens to the characters or just have to read the whole thing( like me), but it is imperative that you read the last story, because it is a very good follow up to the first story. Also after finishing this book, see the also very good movie, with one of the most obvious roles for Ted Brautigan, Anthony Hopkins.ENJOY!!!!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: You probably had to be there
Review: Hearts in Atlantis started out as a very interesting novel. As always, King is superb when dealing with the feelings and thoughts of a child (the main character of part I is an eleven-year-old boy). Everything "realistic" works just fine. The fantasy part of the story, though, did not work for me - and that's probably because although I'm a King fan I haven't read the Dark Tower books, and as a result certain plot details and some of the dialogue felt very unfamiliar to me.
Moving on from part I, I felt less and less interested in this book. Maybe because this particular take on the Viet Nam war and its effects on the US didn't really reach out to me (I'm a Swede). Maybe you had to be there, had to live it, to fully enjoy King's book. I can't say "That's just the way it was" or "No, that wasn't the way it was at all". In short, I'm not sure if King has captured the essence of that era or if he hasn't.
The prose is, as always, terrific, but the novel itself left me feeling disappointed. Not only because I didn't feel it touched me, but also because the first part is decidedly the best part. That's never good in a book.
Rating: 
Summary: SK reaches maturity
Review: In "Hearts in Atlantis" Stephen King reaches the maturity every author tries to achieve during his career. Along the five stories existent in the book, King blends in his fantasy magna-opus with some touching tales about discovering life during the sixties in US, and how some of the people of that generation deal with the aftermath. The book contains five stories. Although they cover a forty-year span, they are all linked together, even if the main characters change in each story. The first story is "Low men in yellow coats", which was adapted to a movie starring Anthony Hopkins. This is the story of a summer in Bobby Garfield's life, in 1960, when he met a strange fellow, Ted Brautigan. Ted is much more than he seems to be, and he is running from something he can't tell Bobby about. "Low men..." is the longest story in the book, and, as previously stated by other reviewers, Dark Tower fans will be delighted to know yet another part of this amazing fantasy saga. Readers who are not aware of Dark Tower may think the story is strange and unbelievable, but it may also be a starting point to get to know Roland and his quest companions. "Hearts in Atlantis" is the second story, and the best one in my opinion. The main character is Pete Riley, a freshman in UMaine, coping with a new reality - the Vietnam war - and its developments: is the war right or wrong? On what side should he be? The portrayal of entering adult life in the sixties is very good and the character development is, once again, excellent. The fantasy elements don't appear in "Hearts...", and this story is as "reality" as it can be. The two next tales, "Blind Willie" and "Why we're in Vietnam" are not as compelling as the first two, and much shorter. In each one of them, there's pratically only one character, and the stories deal with experiences and post-war consciences. "Heavenly shades of night are falling" is the last one, only twenty pages long, and here we meet Bobby Garfield again, now as an adult that comes back to his childhood town. It's a good wrap-it-up story to the book, but could be more developed. As happens with everything concerning the Dark Tower, there are lots of unanswered questions, leaving the reader in near-despair concerning the conclusion of the saga. Stephen King delivers in "Hearts in Atlantis" a different pattern of writing. A step up the ladder. Grade 9.2/10
Rating:
Summary: WHY???
Review: The first story is the only good thing about this book.
For you Dark tower fans, You must buy these book, you will find some information that have to do with the Dark Tower.
About the other Stories they are awful, depend on the perspective you see them, i totally disagree with the Vietnam war, so this will show you how sad, and depress had the Young and old people got, and how they tried to stop and stay out of that WAR.
Rating:
Summary: Inconsistent
Review: "Five stories"?? The first "story" was 282 pages. It started well then slipped into some bizarre fantasy. Originally it captured well the youth of a boy in 1960, but then it went over the edge. The second story is an interesting tale of the awakening of a college freshman in 1968. The next two stories (progressively shorter) deal with two veterans from the neighborhood of the boy (who tangentially come in contact with the college freshmen). The four stories all have a girl in common. She is never a main character, but is always around the periphery. The last story is a feeble attempt to bring all five together that again bumps up against the fantasy. The reason this book gets three stars is that the writing is good and I thought two of the stories were good, one fair and two weak. TO be honest, I do not enjoy fantasy/sci fi, maybe those who do would not be so put off by those aspects.
Rating:
Summary: The best Stephen King
Review: I really, really liked this book; however, despite the somewhat happy ending, I think beneath it all there is a very dark, disturbing message -- we are all basically damned by our own human nature. The bridges to all of the stories is "Lord of the Flies" and Carol Gerber. Carol could have fit right on that island with the rest of the boys in "Lord." Her eventual loss of innocence and descent into violence is very similar to Golding's characters. It also has its genesis in events completely beyoond her control just as the children on the island. Because of the tragedy that befalls Carol, her "ka" is to be at the center of violence for the rest of her life (until her rebirth as Denise). There is nothing she can do about it. She can only go along for the ride and hope that all works out all right. In the end, like all of us, she will make it off the island, but will be much worse off for the experience. Carol is typical of all of the other characters in the book. In one way or another all of the characters fall victim to their most base instincts, and in one way or another, attempt, with varying degrees of success, to overcome the hells they have created for themselves. In the end, none are completely successful and almost all are just one cigarette away from completely spiraling toward a self-destructive end. Another theme running through these stories is that the very people charged with caring and prtecting for children, adults, almost always do harm to those children. This is most clearly embodied in the unseen old men who send other people's kids off to die in wars that have nothing to do with those actually compelled to do the dying. However, a more subtle take on this theme is seen through the Ted Braughtigan character. Ted is certainly not a monster and would never willfully hurt any of the children in the opening story; however, Ted very much did hurt Bobby Garfield. By touching Bobby in spite of his best instincts he opens Bobby up to the true horrors of the adult world to which no child should ever be exposed. On the surface, ted never did molest bobby, but symbolically Bobby is an abused child and develops the behaviors of an abused child. This is Bobby's demon to overcome. There are few truly likeable, decent, adults in any of these stories. All have been molested, and like many of the molested, go on to be molesters themselves. In the end, one has to ask two questions about "Hearts in Atlantis." First, is the ending happy or sad? Second, who will save us (adults) from ourselves? The answer largely depends on your outlook on life. Great book with great words.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Read
Review: I gave this 5 stars and I mean it. I loved this book, and plan to read it again. It's different for King, so people who are looking for his usual stuff may not like it. But it got me back into King's work. The characters and settings are vivid, and the story and writing are outstanding. Some may have differing opinions, but to me, it was a joy to read. Not to mention the book is far better than the movie could ever hope to be.
Rating:
Summary: Starts out good but then it's a fight....
Review: This book starts out really good but severly drops off at then end. I do kind of like how he showed how different people's lives intertwined based on 60's events but overall I think the book lacked. I think if he just would have stayed with the characters in the begining and not gotten into the side stories it would have been a much better book. However I am sure any who grew up in the 60's would probably really like this book, myself on the other hand did not.
Rating:
Summary: A Pleasure to read
Review: I hated Insomnia for the longest time. I had tried to get into it to no avail. Then I learned it tied into The Dark Tower series, and I fought tooth-and-nail to get through. Even though it took a huge amount of effort, I still fell in love with that book. I fell in love with Hearts in Atlantis for completely the opposite reason. To me, it was open and yielding; very easy to fall into, like a dream that you don't want to wake up from. I would probably go so far as to say that this is my favorite Stephen King book of all time. It finally puts to rest any doubts about his talent to write stories other than those about monsters (which are really, end the end, also stories about people). Low Men in Yellow Coats I liked the best for reasons I've already mentioned (*cough* ties-in with The Dark Tower series *cough*), as well as the way it was written -- making even the unbelievable seem believable concerning the low men, and showing strong parental bond that started to develop between Bobby and Ted. I would even go so far as to say Ted is probably my favorite character in any King novel. To me, he's reminiscent of my sixth-grade teacher who instilled in me a great love of literature and language, much like Ted does for Bobby in the story. Hearts in Atlantis (the titled story) tied with the rest in my opinion (it did also make me want to learn to play Hearts). I liked them all pretty much the same. All in all, this is my favorite tie-in book. I also like Black House, but not as much as this one. Words like "complex," "bittersweet," and "haunting" come to ming when I think about this book.
This book definitely gets high marks from me. If any of you out there have always wanted to try some Stephen King, but weren't too big on his "horror stuff" I highly recommend this. I am aware he has written other non-horror stories (being a fan, I would know that), but I'll save those other reviews for another day.
Rating:
Summary: So Much Better Than The Movie!!!!
Review: Hearts in Atlantis consists of five interconnected stories, starting in the sixties, and ending in 1999. Stephen King is at his best writing the characters of Bobby Garfield and his Mother, and of course, the mysterious stranger that moves into the apartment above them. He closes the circle when Bobby returns to his hometown a changed man in some respects, after Vietnam, college, life, etc... This book was a compelling read, I couldn't put it down.
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