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3.35 AVERAGE
3.35 AVERAGE
“The game was played hard in those days, Mr. King, with plenty of fuck-you.”
I'm continuing my journey of reading all of Stephen King's work and thought that I'd read Blockade Billy as it's only ~100 pages or so.
Blockade Billy was not what I expected. I'm not a huge fan of baseball so I found myself losing interest in the beginning of the story. As 'Granny' tells the story of Blockade Billy to Stephen King, the story eventually has a sharp, dark twist. Things aren't always as they seem,
Regarding the short story at the back of the book, Morality, this was a gruesome story that I quickly became interested in. The basic premise is that a dying old woman (I believe) asks the main character to commit one sin before she dies. If the sin is committed, she will receive $200,000 and likely be undisturbed by the police. After committing the sin, the main character develops a taste that she can never seem to fulfill.
My only criticism for the short story was that the ending didn't hit the landing for me.
Worth the read for any baseball fans, mystery fans, or Stephen King fans.
adventurous
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I read this book because of the Stephen King book club, this is actually one of the books that I haven't even considered reading before then!
As it may not be a well-known fact, I am not a sports person nor do I know much about it which is why I was a little hesitant to try reading it but I can say that I wasn't disappointed. It started off a little slow but dare I say, it picked up a little in the end and I'm glad that I was able to get to it!
Probably my favorite quote from the book was within the starting chapter, "My advice for you Mr. King, don't get old!" And I like how instead of talking to the audience we are in a way, Stephen King listening to this man. Another part that I loved is how he tries to interact with us as he is talking like when he asked for water maybe this is just a speech pattern but he does say, "You see," a lot while explaining.
And when we get a little over halfway through we are now looking at the lives of Nora and her husband, the reveal was not what I was expecting for the most part but as it is a Stephen King book there will always be a twist.
This was a nice light read and I can confidently say that I enjoyed it.
As it may not be a well-known fact, I am not a sports person nor do I know much about it which is why I was a little hesitant to try reading it but I can say that I wasn't disappointed. It started off a little slow but dare I say, it picked up a little in the end and I'm glad that I was able to get to it!
Probably my favorite quote from the book was within the starting chapter, "My advice for you Mr. King, don't get old!" And I like how instead of talking to the audience we are in a way, Stephen King listening to this man. Another part that I loved is how he tries to interact with us as he is talking like when he asked for water maybe this is just a speech pattern but he does say, "You see," a lot while explaining.
And when we get a little over halfway through we are now looking at the lives of Nora and her husband, the reveal was not what I was expecting for the most part but as it is a Stephen King book there will always be a twist.
This was a nice light read and I can confidently say that I enjoyed it.
I'm glad I checked this out from the library because, while a fun read, it is not worth its $25 cover price. This story (although it says it is a novella, don't be fooled) would have been better published in one of King's collections as opposed to a separate publication. Personally, I feel this is another ploy for the publisher's to make money off of Stephen King's name by slapping a hard cover on one of his stories, increasing the font, and marketing it as an "original, never-before-published novella," as if attempting to make it seem like a rare gem that all Stephen King fans must have.
The story is a good one, especially if you are a fan of the classic, nostalgic days of baseball. The story of Blockade Billy is written as if told to Stephen King by a former baseball coach of a team that has been erased from the record books, the New Jersey Titans. This gives the story a "realism" element that would be more believable if the narrator had created a more vivid picture of America in the 50's. Although I knew the story was taking place in the 50's, it rarely felt like it. The dialect was too modern and there were very few descriptions of the atmosphere and the people. The only place I really felt that was when the narrator was arguing with the umpire and says that a woman in the stands covered a boy's ears and gave him an "oh-you-nasty-man" look.
I was also disappointed because, although the book is about baseball, I did not feel like King treated it with the same kind of adulation as he did in [b:The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon|11564|The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon|Stephen King|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166480184s/11564.jpg|1836389]
It was worth the read, and I am a Stephen King fan. Too often, though, I feel as if he allows his publishers to exploit his name by approving all kinds of expensive publications like this one. If you're interested, check it out at the library or wait for a copy to show up in a used book store somewhere.
The story is a good one, especially if you are a fan of the classic, nostalgic days of baseball. The story of Blockade Billy is written as if told to Stephen King by a former baseball coach of a team that has been erased from the record books, the New Jersey Titans. This gives the story a "realism" element that would be more believable if the narrator had created a more vivid picture of America in the 50's. Although I knew the story was taking place in the 50's, it rarely felt like it. The dialect was too modern and there were very few descriptions of the atmosphere and the people. The only place I really felt that was when the narrator was arguing with the umpire and says that a woman in the stands covered a boy's ears and gave him an "oh-you-nasty-man" look.
I was also disappointed because, although the book is about baseball, I did not feel like King treated it with the same kind of adulation as he did in [b:The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon|11564|The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon|Stephen King|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166480184s/11564.jpg|1836389]
It was worth the read, and I am a Stephen King fan. Too often, though, I feel as if he allows his publishers to exploit his name by approving all kinds of expensive publications like this one. If you're interested, check it out at the library or wait for a copy to show up in a used book store somewhere.
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
tense
fast-paced
Good fast paced quick read. I liked the twist at the end.
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
This was really boring and confusing, I had to read a lot of paragaphs two times because I just didn't get who King was talking about. This is probably because I'm totally not interested in sport and therefore als basebaI. But still, there was more sports talk than character development! Would not recommend!
dark
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes