Blockade Billy

By: Stephen King

Narrated by: Craig Wasson

From New York Times best-selling author Stephen King comes the haunting story of Blockade Billy, the greatest Major League baseball player to be erased from the game.

Even the most die-hard baseball fans don't know the true story of William Blockade Billy Blakely. He may have been the greatest player the game has ever seen, but today no one remembers his name. He was the first - and only - player to have his existence completely removed from the record books. Even his team is long forgotten, barely a footnote in the game's history.

Every effort was made to erase any evidence that William Blakely played professional baseball, and with good reason. Blockade Billy had a secret darker than any pill or injection that might cause a scandal in sports today. His secret was much, much worse... and only Stephen King, the most gifted storyteller of our age, can reveal the truth to the world, once and for all.

©2010 Stephen King (P)2010 Simon & Schuster

Critic reviews

" Blockade Billy works as well as it does for a couple of reasons. The first is the narrative voice that King has conjured up for Granny Grantham. Funny, sharply observant and casually profane, it is the voice of a quintessential baseball insider who happens to be a natural raconteur. Equally important is the lovingly detailed evocation of the game as it was played in 1957…King's descriptions of these tough, hard-bitten men and the hardscrabble contests they engaged in add both a dash of nostalgia and a touch of gritty reality to this dark, absorbing portrait of a vanished era." ( The Washington Post)

"As King's fiction goes, this suspenseful short is a deftly executed suicide squeeze, with sharp spikes hoisted high and aimed at the jugular on the slide home." ( Publishers Weekly)

Very good short stories

Blockade Billy was a very good, fast paced story that I enjoyed very much. I am a Stephen King fan and with the exception of the ending to Blockade, which I found brief and somewhat anticlimactic, there were unique elements in the story that I thought were terrific. Morality was equally good, a little shocking and scary, as you would expect. Overall very good and enjoyable stories.

Nice story

Good listen! 2nd story was slow but was interesting. Enjoyed it. Try it…you’ll like it!

Another Great Story from Stephen King

Would you listen to Blockade Billy again? Why?

Not only have I listened to Blockade Billy again I have several times. I enjoin this story and it is well done. Though not your normal Stephen King it still has the King twist at the end.

What other book might you compare Blockade Billy to and why?

If you enjoy this one, you will also enjoy 11-22-63, it's extremely well done and it flows. Craig Wasson does a wonderful joy with that one as well. You will be listening to it over and over.

Which scene was your favorite?

The first and only time "Billy" notices the crowd and tips his hat.

One Book 2 Stories

It's actually a 2 story book, Blockade Billy and Morality(a short story). I enjoyed it

Two Short Great King tales

Stephen King can still write a short story that packs a wallop. He does it twice here. "Blockade Billy" particularly appeals to me, since it's a baseball story, and I'm a huge fan, as King is.
He creates a baseball team in dire need of a catcher-and a catcher who will be one-no matter the cost.
Cost is a factor in the second story, "Morality," to be exact, the cost of a woman's soul. She and her husband are in desperate need of money, but the act they commit to get it is more than the lady can handle.
Blockade Billy is read by Craig Wasson, who is as good as it gets and clearly loves his baseball.
Whoever reads "Morality," it's a good yarn too.

Wonderful story

I felt transported back to the 1950s when my dad would take me to the Cleveland stadium to watch the Indians play the Tigers. This is a story full of sweet memories despite the dark ending.

Not one, but two great short stories

I had put this book off for some time because I am not a huge baseball fan. I thought the the baseball part of story would annoy me. To my delight, it did not. On the contrary, it was the perfect backdrop for the creepiness that King is so good at. As a bonus, this audiobook includes a second short story entitled "Morality." It's a great, troubling little story that bothered me terribly while listening to it. Of course, that made it so great. At only two hours for two stories, there's simply no reason to not listen to this book!

Just Ok?

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

It was awfully short, but worth the listen.

What about Craig Wasson’s performance did you like?

Captured the character well.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

As a couple of stories this book is decent, but as a Stephen King book, it tends to fall a bit short.

Old-school

I really love this story I'm a basketball fan and I love storytelling and to hear all the references to traditional baseball and kind of a retro look at what used to be a slightly different kind of sport when you think of what you see on TV today it helped take you back really enjoyed it

Baseball fans will want to read

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would recommend this to a friend, because it was an engaging and well-narrated story.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

I think Billy's story was the most interesting. Perhaps less interesting were some of the baseball facts. Necessary, but not necessarily interesting.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

I thought the narrator was a good choice. There wasn't anything I disliked.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Definitely.

Any additional comments?

If you like baseball, you'll enjoy a good ball story with that eerie Stephen King twist.