Blockade Billy, by Stephen King

A couple days ago, I sat down and read Stephen King’s novella, Blockade Billy. As a baseball fan and a Stephen King fan, I don’t know how I managed to not hear about this book for so long, but a few weeks ago, I stumbled upon a review and knew that I had to check it out.

Very briefly, it is a story about a young, rookie catcher, William Blakely, as told by New Jersey Titans third base coach, Granny Grantham. Billy is small in stature and a bit slow in the head, but he’s also a phenomenal ballplayer, whose willingness to stand in the way of any baserunner coming down the third base line earns him the nickname “Blockade Billy.” Keep in mind, however, that the writer of this tale is Stephen King, not W. P. Kinsella. I won’t give away the ending, but I will say that it was precisely the kind of twist that one would expect from the author.

It’s not quite as graphic as some of King’s other writing, but his trademark style and voice definitely shine through. That being said, this obviously isn’t meant to be a bedtime story for the kiddos as they get tucked into bed tonight. It does make for an interesting bedtime story for a grown-up, however, as the story is so short, I’m not sure it even qualifies as a “novella.” Even with large print, the book is only 125 pages long, and I was so caught up in the story, it seemed even shorter than that.

If you’re looking for a short, entertaining-but-blood-chilling read, I’d definitely recommend Blockade Billy.