Talking Scared
Talking Scared
Neil McRobert
The Dark Tower Deep Dive #11 – Hearts in Atlantis
2 hour 48 minutes Posted Nov 3, 2026 at 12:28 pm.
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Show notes
Deep dives don’t go any deeper than lost Atlantis!
 
In this latest station of the Dark Tower readalong, we head back to the 1960s for Stephen King’s Hearts in Atlantis – a book closer to my heart than almost anything King has ever written. As such, this gets a little contentious and arguments ensue. I will not back down!!
 
We talk about how this capsule of the USA’s most turbulent decade links directly to the Dark Tower. We spot hints of Randall Flagg. We talk peace and love, cynicism and hope, and we celebrate one of King’s greatest ever pieces of character work. Chris meets Low Men for the first time (or is it!?) and Nat gives us his take on the anti-boomer despair at the fulcrum of this novel.
 
It’s a lot. Hence the 2.45 running time.
 
Hope you enjoy it.
Koko (1988), by Peter Straub
First Blood (1972), by David Morrell
From a Buick 8 (2002), by Stephen King
Matterhorn (2009), by Karl Marlantes
The Sorrow of War (1987), by Bảo Ninh
 
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