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3.35 AVERAGE
3.35 AVERAGE
This was an entertaining novella about baseball, right and wrong, and choices people make. And all told in a great tale. Highly recommend!
Stephen King has taken the short amount of time, and penned down this short story about a catcher back in the earlier years of baseball. With the usual twist King throws in his stories, the 'too good to be true' guy has a side of him that some people sensed, but never thought could be. Was sort enough would be a great read while waiting at the doctor's office.
It's been many years since I have read anything by Stephen King. Last summer, I saw this new book dealing with baseball, and since I am a fan and I enjoyed _The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon_, I figured I'd give him another try.
I was pleasantly surprised by "Blockade Billy." The narrator rang true to my imagination of an old-timer baseball player in language and tone. I also liked the idea that certain "legendary" players are sometimes erased from the record books. One who pays attention to baseball hears about players with extraordinary skill, but are never recognized from the "better days" of the sport. One also wonders if some players from the steroid-era will be erased similarly, but I doubt it. The character of Blockade Billy had me intrigued the entire time, from his first steps onto the field to his last act of baseball vengeance.
I am reminded of Stephen King's masterful story-telling abilities from this novella. Although the subject matter of his stories have lost their glimmer with me, I am still impressed by his ability to pull his readers along and engage them in the mystery of the worlds he creates.
I believe I will re-read his _On Writing_ sometime in the near future. King inspires me to write.
I was pleasantly surprised by "Blockade Billy." The narrator rang true to my imagination of an old-timer baseball player in language and tone. I also liked the idea that certain "legendary" players are sometimes erased from the record books. One who pays attention to baseball hears about players with extraordinary skill, but are never recognized from the "better days" of the sport. One also wonders if some players from the steroid-era will be erased similarly, but I doubt it. The character of Blockade Billy had me intrigued the entire time, from his first steps onto the field to his last act of baseball vengeance.
I am reminded of Stephen King's masterful story-telling abilities from this novella. Although the subject matter of his stories have lost their glimmer with me, I am still impressed by his ability to pull his readers along and engage them in the mystery of the worlds he creates.
I believe I will re-read his _On Writing_ sometime in the near future. King inspires me to write.
Surprisingly, I truly enjoyed this book even though it wasn't horror and I don't care for baseball. I thought it was plain good story-telling.
This is a cool story with an interesting twist at the end. It is nothing spectacular though. If you buy the hardcover you get two stories the first being Blockade Billy and the second being Morality. If you buy the kindle version for some reason Morality is not included so you only get Blockade Billy.
Nice little tale but don't read it if you don't know the game.
Very enjoyable short read, loved the story and the old time baseball atmosphere.
It's been a long time since I read a baseball story, and this one was good. I actually really want to go to a game in the spring, after reading it. Not for the faint of heart, just as most Stephen King is not. The included short story "Morality" is even less so, and very powerful.
I often find that King's best tales are not that of the paranormal, mythical, or astrophysical, but of ordinary people in slightly unusual situations. This brief collection of two tales fits into the latter category, which makes them that much more interesting.
Don't usually read Stephen King... the baseball aspect of it caught my eye... too bad the whole story was given away on a website when I was trying to find out if this story had any truth to it... it still was a good story.
The second story included in the book was not as entertaining... I'm still shaking my head as to why I even read it!
The second story included in the book was not as entertaining... I'm still shaking my head as to why I even read it!