Blockade Billy by Stephen King is a novella, written in first-person, that blends elements of horror and baseball. The story is narrated by George "Granny" Grantham, the manager of the New Jersey Titans baseball team, and relates the tale of Blockade Billy Blakely, a talented but mysterious young catcher who joins the team in 1957. There are illustrations scattered throughout the book, which I liked. They were simple sketches, but they added a certain charm to the narrative and provided visual cues for some of the baseball scenes.

One aspect I loved about this book was the framing of the story as if it were being told to King by an old man. It created a sense of intimacy, as though the old man were sharing a personal memory, and added a layer of authenticity to the storytelling, making the characters and events feel more real. However, as someone who doesn't know much about baseball, many of the descriptions and references went over my head, which left me wishing for a bit more context or explanation. Admittedly, the target audience at the time would have been American and at least passingly familiar with the game.

One of the novella's strengths is King's ability to create a sense of suspense and tension. However, being acquainted with King's distinctive style, I found myself anticipating certain twists and turns. It didn't detract entirely from the experience, but it did temper some of the suspense.

Overall, I didn't enjoy this book as much as it probably deserves. I loved the writing, as I always do with Stephen King. He's a phenomenal writer with an ability to draw the reader deep into the minds of the characters. Unfortunately, I have little knowledge, and no interest, in baseball, so I didn't often understand a lot of what was going on. I reckon baseball fans would probably enjoy this more than I did. ( )

If you know me personally, you know my favourite author is Stephen King. While I do not actively seek out anything related to horror, his books hold a very special place for me. I’m not sure if it’s his writing style, his versatile imagination, or his ability to make me shiver, laugh, cry, feel any kind of emotion so deeply while reading his books. He’s one of my biggest inspirations, and I own a good number of his books.

My copy of Blockade Billy comes with the short story Morality attached at the end, so I’ll be dealing with both of those in this review today.

Blockade Billy

I’m not a fan of baseball. It’s not even a thing in Malta. We know what it is, but we don’t know the rules, the lingo, nothing. The most popular sports in Malta are rugby and football; anything else is foreign to us. So admittedly, I skimmed through the parts about the game and just sort of took the gist from it. They won, they lost, Blockade Billy was good at what he did. While I wasn’t familiar with the lay-out of the game, I was able to visualize what was happening, completely thanks to King’s ability to describe things in the best detail.

The story is told like a transcript – a man is talking to King himself, telling him about the most famed yet disgraced player American baseball has ever seen. Blockade Billy no longer exists in the history books, with good reason. I won’t tell you what the story reveals, but the whole thing goes against the grain of King’s usual supernatural story telling and instead focuses on the ramblings of one mad man.

I enjoyed reading the story, because while it felt slow towards the beginning, every detail counts, and it’s a quick read for anybody looking for a quick break from reality in the form of a printed novella. Allegedly, King wrote the entire thing in two weeks. Honestly, if he did, that’s a feat to appreciate.

Morality

My favourite of the two stories on offer, the story deals with Chad and Nora, a married couple who are down on their luck and desperately need some cash. Chad is a substitute teacher who wants to publish a memoir about his time working in public schools. Nora is an ex-nurse who now works as a home nurse for an old Reverend. The story details the rise and subsequent fall of their relationship, when they come into a large sum of money through some very unconventional means, that leaves them wondering if maybe they did the right thing or not (or maybe, if they enjoyed doing what they did a bit more than they should have).

The story, I feel, really works with the style King has established over the years. With a few simple words, you can really tell the kind of relationship Chad and Nora have; without revealing too much, King manages to set the stage so wonderfully, so eloquently, that you’re not left gasping for air. Rather, you’re satisfied with what you get, and even though the story isn’t the happiest, I found myself eating it up and enjoying every word.

The short story raises some very interesting questions, and may leave you with a bitter taste in your mouth, but I assure you that reading it is worth it.

Final rating: 4/5. I urge any fans of Stephen King to grab this book ASAP and sit down and just read. You’ll finish it in one sitting, guaranteed. ( )

A lot of people seemed to enjoy this novella, yet it simply was not able to convince me of its ingenuity. I couldn't connect to any of the characters, wasn't invested in the plot, and my lack of knowledge and interest in baseball did not add to my enjoyment. Another one of my failures on my King quest. ( )

I got a free copy of this so I figured I'd read it, even though I tend to find baseball fiction booooring. This was that, but also uninteresting otherwise. The supposed horror elements just were so flatly presented that I wonder if King wrote this in his sleep. I'd say don't bother, unless you like baseball. ( )

I guess this is my first Stephen King (although I've seem quite a few of his movies). I love baseball and I enjoyed this one. Didn't see it coming. ( )