The new book recently released by Stephen King is actually two of his short stories put together. The book is only a 130 pages and surprised me with the easy way it read and the quick beginning to end rush unlike most of his books. He really showed me unlike his earlier collection of short stories Just After Sunset that he can swing along a short story just like any other.

The short that is the namesake of the book , Blockade Billy, was one of the best short stories I have ever read. Starting with King talking to George Grantham ,an old man in a nursing home, who was with the New Jersey Titans when baseball was informal and loose we hear the entire beginning to end story of William Blakely and how he played the most prolific and shortest career in the bigs.

The story begins with George explaining how they were in such dire straights at the beginning of the season. With their starting catcher in jail and their scrawny back-up breaking most of his bones in his first home plate collision . They desperately needed a catcher to play until they could make a deal or find something completely suitable. So thats how the Titans ended up with a guy from Iowa named William Blakely.

The opening day was going good from the beginning to the end until all that stood between a game deciding run and home plate was soon to be known as Blockade Billy. From the glove with the ball in it and the turned down shoulder the man flys over his shoulder and lies screaming on the plate. Hes declared out but it only starts from there. The man had a cut achilles and it was also strained but noone really assumes anything. Even though there was a few yells from the other team manager the game was alot rougher back than and noone thought a difference ,but thats where it only began.





Morality

Morality was the bonus story added onto The book. Its a story of Chad and Nora who were living pay to pay check and barely making ends meet. Chad was a substitute teacher and trying to make a book work and Nora a nurse who had been layed off not long ago and was just as quickly picked up as a private home nurse for retired Reverand George Winston who had left the ministry after suffering a stroke three years earlier.

Even though Chad was having alot of hope for his book and they were evenly skimming by when the chance for the money came by they still dashed for it in the hopes of financial stability They quickly took the ministers offer. All they had to do was fulfill the preachers wish of fulfilling a real sin. Nothing too serious but would it be enough to tear them apart?

These reviews are also on my site http://fantasybookreview.webs.com/rev...