{"id":20420,"date":"2024-09-05T01:00:04","date_gmt":"2024-09-05T05:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/?p=20420"},"modified":"2024-09-01T02:16:26","modified_gmt":"2024-09-01T06:16:26","slug":"book-blockade-billy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-blockade-billy\/","title":{"rendered":"Blockade Billy"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"book-3065\" class=\"bdb-book-info\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/book_blockadebilly.png?fit=250%2C369&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Blockade Billy\" class=\"alignright\"\/><strong>Title:<\/strong> Blockade Billy<br \/><strong>Author:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/author\/stephen-king\/\">Stephen King<\/a><br \/><strong>First Published:<\/strong> <span content=\"2010-05-25\">May 25, 2010<\/span><br \/><strong>Publisher:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/publisher\/scribner\/\">Scribner<\/a><br \/><strong>Pages:<\/strong> 132<br \/><strong>Genre:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/genre\/horror\/\">Horror<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/genre\/short-stories\/\">Short Stories<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/genre\/sports\/\">Sports<\/a><br \/><strong>Format:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/format\/hardcover\/\">Hardcover<\/a><br \/><strong>Source:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/source\/library\/\">Library<\/a><br \/><strong>Rating:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/rating\/3\/\"><span class=\"bdb-font-awesome-star-wrap\"><i class=\"fas fa-star\"><\/i><i class=\"fas fa-star\"><\/i><i class=\"fas fa-star\"><\/i><i class=\"far fa-star\"><\/i><i class=\"far fa-star\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/7940591-blockade-billy\" target=\"_blank\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/addtogoodreads.png?ssl=1\" align=\"left\" border=\"0\"\/><\/a><br \/><br \/><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong> <p>From New York Times bestselling author Stephen King comes the haunting story of Blockade Billy, the greatest Major League baseball player to be erased from the game.<\/p>\n<p>Even the most die-hard baseball fans don\u2019t know the true story of William \u201cBlockade Billy\u201d 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\u2019s history.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<strong>Get the Book:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3XPZNm5\" target=\"_blank\">Amazon<\/a>\r\n<hr \/><\/div>\t\t<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">\n\t\t\t{\n\t\t\t\t\"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\/\",\n\t\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Review\",\n\t\t\t\t\"datePublished\": \"2024-09-05T05:00:04+00:00\",\n\t\t\t\t\"description\": \"Blockade Billy\",\n\t\t\t\t\"publisher\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"name\": \"Radical Dreamer\"\t\t\t\t},\n\t\t\t\t\"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/pastelgoth.net\\\/blog\\\/book-blockade-billy\\\/\",\n\t\t\t\t\"itemReviewed\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Book\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"name\": \"Blockade Billy\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"author\": [\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t{\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"name\": \"Stephen King\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"sameAs\": \"https:\\\/\\\/pastelgoth.net\\\/blog\\\/book-database\\\/author\\\/stephen-king\\\/\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t],\n\t\t\t\t\t\"isbn\": \"\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"numberOfPages\": 132,\n\t\t\t\t\t\"publisher\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"name\": \"Scribner\"\t\t\t\t\t},\n\t\t\t\t\t\"image\": \"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/pastelgoth.net\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/book_blockadebilly.png?fit=250%2C369&ssl=1\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"datePublished\": \"2010-05-25T00:00:00+00:00\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"sameAs\": \"https:\\\/\\\/www.goodreads.com\\\/book\\\/show\\\/7940591-blockade-billy\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"genre\": \"Horror\"\t\t\t\t},\n\t\t\t\t\"author\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"name\": \"Jamie\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"sameAs\": \"https:\\\/\\\/pastelgoth.net\\\/blog\\\/\"\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t, \"reviewRating\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Rating\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"ratingValue\": 3,\n\t\t\t\t\t\"bestRating\": 5\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t<\/script>\n\t\t\n<h2>Review<\/h2>\n<p>I\u2019ll be completely honest with you all: I know absolutely nothing about baseball and have never been a very big fan of watching sports. So then why would I read a novella about a topic I don\u2019t care about? <strong>Blockade Billy<\/strong> was originally published as a standalone novella to go along with the 2010 MLB season and was later collected in the anthology <strong>The Bazaar of Bad Dreams<\/strong>, which is how I ended up reading it.<\/p>\n<p>It was difficult for me to understand all of the baseball jargon, as expected, and I was just bored out of my mind. It\u2019s not that the writing was bad, in fact it was actually extraordinarily well written and that kept me reading to see where the story was going. I would imagine that a baseball fan would probably appreciate it. The narration gives an authentic 1950\u2019s announcer feel, fast paced and loaded with action, which also makes this an interesting piece about the time period.<\/p>\n<p>Sadly I just couldn\u2019t get past the issue of my lack of baseball knowledge, making the story only lukewarm to me for a large part of it. When the plot really started to get rolling and I got an idea as to where it was going it got really interesting which brought my rating up. It had that touch of darkness that King always brings to his stories.<\/p>\n<p>I wish I could have liked this more, I really do. If I was a baseball fan I probably would have loved this given the superb writing and historical references. For those that do have an appreciation for baseball, however, this novella is definitely worth checking out.<\/p>\n<h2>Quote<\/h2>\n<p><center><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;The game was <strong>played hard<\/strong> in those days, <em>Mr.King<\/em>, with plenty of <strong>fuck-you<\/strong>.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center><\/p>\n<h2>Content Warnings<\/h2>\n<span class=\"ubb-spoiler\"><a class=\"ubb-view-spoil\">View Spoiler &raquo;<\/a><span style=\"display: none;\" class=\"ubb-thespoil\">Violence <a class=\"ubb-hide-spoil\" style=\"cursor: hand; cursor: pointer;\">&laquo; Hide Spoiler<\/a><\/span><\/span>\n<h2>About the Author<\/h2>\n<div class=\"ubb-about-author\">\n<h3>About Stephen King<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/author_stephenking.png?fit=200%2C200&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignleft ubb-about-author-photo\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/author_stephenking.png?w=200&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/author_stephenking.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/author_stephenking.png?resize=75%2C75&amp;ssl=1 75w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Stephen King was born in Portland, Maine in 1947, the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. He made his first professional short story sale in 1967 to Startling Mystery Stories. In the fall of 1971, he began teaching high school English classes at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels. In the spring of 1973, Doubleday &amp; Co., accepted the novel Carrie for publication, providing him the means to leave teaching and write full-time. He has since published over 50 books and has become one of the world&#8217;s most successful writers. King is the recipient of the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to the American Letters and the 2014 National Medal of Arts.<\/p>\n<p>Stephen lives in Maine and Florida with his wife, novelist Tabitha King. They are regular contributors to a number of charities including many libraries and have been honored locally for their philanthropic activities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ubb-author-links\"><a href=\"https:\/\/stephenking.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Website<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/StephenKing\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Twitter<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/3389.Stephen_King\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Goodreads<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3BjWprQ\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Amazon<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UC8q8vu8YIRbbt_bqwS9VrIg\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">YouTube<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Review I\u2019ll be completely honest with you all: I know absolutely nothing about baseball and have never been a very big fan of watching sports. So then why would I&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20419,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9],"tags":[70,3554,748],"book-author":[130],"book-illustrator":[],"book-series":[],"book-publisher":[],"book-genre":[],"book-source":[],"book-format":[],"class_list":["post-20420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-review","tag-american-literature","tag-set-in-new-jersey","tag-set-in-the-1950s","book-author-stephen-king"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/book_blockadebilly-header.png?fit=1080%2C540&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20420"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20420\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20422,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20420\/revisions\/20422"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20420"},{"taxonomy":"book-author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book-author?post=20420"},{"taxonomy":"book-illustrator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book-illustrator?post=20420"},{"taxonomy":"book-series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book-series?post=20420"},{"taxonomy":"book-publisher","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book-publisher?post=20420"},{"taxonomy":"book-genre","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book-genre?post=20420"},{"taxonomy":"book-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book-source?post=20420"},{"taxonomy":"book-format","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book-format?post=20420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}