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3.35 AVERAGE
3.35 AVERAGE
I listened to an audio edition which contained the additional short story, "Morality."
Both of these stories were classic King, in that they took something ordinary and everyday and put a creepy spin on them. In this case, it's not inanimate objects coming to life or being possessed. There isn't even a supernatural element in either story. The stories are no less chilling for the lack of an unexplained monster, though.
Blockade Billy is about a miraculous catcher who shows up for a New Jersey team in 1957. He earns his nickname because he's very, very good at not letting runners past him. He's also clearly not all there in the head. It's set within a frame story of a man in a nursing home telling the story to Stephen King, years after it happened, which adds an intriguing layer to the text. Much as I love Stephen King's voice, I admire how he can make it sound like someone else is telling the story.
"Morality" starts with the question of what a person will do for $200,000, and the discovery of what a person's conscience is worth. It was a bit heady for a Friday afternoon listen, and I should probably go back to it when I can wrap my mind around it.
The 4-star rating is an average of the two stories. I would rate the top billing 5 stars, and "Morality" 3 stars based on the fact that I had to wash my mind out with some YA right after it.
Both of these stories were classic King, in that they took something ordinary and everyday and put a creepy spin on them. In this case, it's not inanimate objects coming to life or being possessed. There isn't even a supernatural element in either story. The stories are no less chilling for the lack of an unexplained monster, though.
Blockade Billy is about a miraculous catcher who shows up for a New Jersey team in 1957. He earns his nickname because he's very, very good at not letting runners past him. He's also clearly not all there in the head. It's set within a frame story of a man in a nursing home telling the story to Stephen King, years after it happened, which adds an intriguing layer to the text. Much as I love Stephen King's voice, I admire how he can make it sound like someone else is telling the story.
"Morality" starts with the question of what a person will do for $200,000, and the discovery of what a person's conscience is worth. It was a bit heady for a Friday afternoon listen, and I should probably go back to it when I can wrap my mind around it.
The 4-star rating is an average of the two stories. I would rate the top billing 5 stars, and "Morality" 3 stars based on the fact that I had to wash my mind out with some YA right after it.
Edizione che comprende i racconti Blockade Billy e Morality. Il primo mi è piaciuto molto, anche se per apprezzarlo al meglio sarebbe consigliabile una conoscenza (che mi manca) almeno discreta del baseball e del suo gergo; il secondo proprio non mi ha convinto.
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Included with this story is a bonus story called "Morality" which I actually found more interesting than the macabre Blockade Billy story.
Not sure if I would've gotten more out of this if I understood baseball, but clearly an ode to the sport less than a stand-alone story, I think.
Not a baseball fan. Interesting enough story, but I liked the extra tale "Morality" read by one of my favorite voices Mare Winningham MUCH more than Blockade Billy. I'd give that 4 maybe 5 stars. Billy gets 2 maybe 3.
A good short story from King. Definitely heavy in the “old timey baseball” department- which I liked in this case. I would not call this “horror” but there were some suspenseful moments. Overall the story had a good vibe, and was an entertaining couple of hours.
My first audio book, and my friend says it counts as a book I read, seems a bit like cheating, but I'll take it anyways. My number of books per year should be increasing. :)
This was a short book, a novella. For baseball fans, for sure, which I happen to be.
It kept me wondering, what's Billy's story? That kept my interest, and kept me listening.
I still like The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon better as a Stephen King baseball book.
This was a short book, a novella. For baseball fans, for sure, which I happen to be.
It kept me wondering, what's Billy's story? That kept my interest, and kept me listening.
I still like The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon better as a Stephen King baseball book.
A rare sports/horror mashup, Blockade Billy is a lot of fun for baseball fans, though I can see how someone unfamiliar with the game would find some of the baseball scenes tedious. I found the story to be well-paced, surprising, and an good sports read with a dark ending. One of the more fun stories in King's Bazaar of Bad Dreams.
While I enjoyed "Blockade Billy" while I was reading it more than the "other" story -- "Morality" -- I think that Morality is the one that'll stick with me longer. What I liked best about Blockade Billy (even better than the suspense of what was happening) is the storyteller's voice. The story is told by the third-base coach from Billy's days on the baseball field but years and years later. I would listen to any tale that voice wanted to tell. Morality, though, gives me a lot to think about. I read recently that in any good story, a character has to make at least one bad decision: this story shows one character making a decision about an action -- I noticed that the characters in the book know what the action is many chapters before the reader does, discussing it as known but never specifying what it is -- and the consequences that follow. How would things have been different if a different course had been chosen? I do wonder if the portrayal of what follows is realistic, though. I think many people compartmentalize better than the character here.