Blockade Billy

Product Details

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• ISBN13: 9781451608212
• Ready: New

Description

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.   

 

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.

 

Originally published through Cemetery Dance Publications on April 20, 2010 as a $25.00 limited-edition hardcover, Stephen King and Cemetery Dance have made an arrangement with Scribner to make available a less expensive hardcover edition of Blockade Billy, with an on-sale date of May 25th, the same date the audiobook goes on sale. The Scribner edition will be available in all U.S. and Canadian retail outlets. Both the Scribner book and the Simon & Schuster audiobook will feature a bonus short story ("Morality").

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Customer Reviews

Do you love baseball?
If you love baseball as much as Stephen King, you will enjoy this story. It is more about the game than it is about the character, Blockade Billy. The title character of King's story actually gets short shrift as King makes him so mysterious, the reader knows almost nothing about him (except he has great baseball talent) until the very end of the tale. Not the usual King style of developing the character over the pages and leaving the reader with a much fuller concept of the personality. Perhaps the true protagonist of "Blockade Billy" is the narrator, George Grantham, an old baseball coach waiting out his declining years in an old folks home. But then, where is the conflict and resolution for this character? One might surmise it was simply living the mystery and eventual revelation of just who Blockade Billy actually is. But this plot is not made relevant in King's story. Somehow, King fails in his usually carefully crafted methodology of building the suspense and developing the darkness of the plot. Simply telling the reader there is a dark past means little when the action in the story is not bearing the statement out. I enjoyed this book for the baseball. King's love of the game is what makes the story work for me. It is actually kind of a sweet story with a surprise, shock ending. I would have enjoyed the story if the real mystery of Blockade Billy had never been revealed. Indeed, the revelation seems almost superfluous except as a way of wrapping up the tale. King writes so very well, one can enjoy even a story not so well conceived.

2010-07-28 | Rumpled Writer (San Francisco Bay area) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

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Why Bother?
"Blockade Billy", at least in the form in which I bought it, contains 2 medium-length short stories by Stephen King. I'm afraid I have to confess to being a Stephen King-ophile. I have read everything he has published (including many anthologies in which he has only contributed one short story or novella). Obviously I like the guy's writing - usually. Occasionally I pan his books but mostly I find them to be 4 or 5 star reads. Not this one, I'm afraid. The hardcover book itself is about the size of a standard mass-market paperback and both the margins and the typeface are very large, so volume's 129 pages of text would only take up approximately 60-70 pages in a normal hardcover presentation.

The first story, "Blockade Billy" is, as one can tell from the cover and publisher's description, a summer baseball tale about the heyday of the game in the 1957. It's OK, because SK is a great writer, but the story itself is, well, very disappointing. There is nothing about it that is "haunting", and the back cover implies a "secret" about the "greatest player the game has ever seen". All of this is misleading. Trying for a no spoiler approach to reviewing, I think I am safe in saying that there is nothing of the supernatural, occult, science fiction or paranormal going on here. No hint of "The Natural" here. Just baseball in the big leagues on a fictional team in Newark, NJ, and regular everyday baseball people. And there is a lot that does not make sense. Including the reason that Billy's (rather short) career stats were "erased from the game etc. All-in-all, very disappointing.

The "bonus" short story, "Morality" was also just OK. This one had more of a SK-type feel to it but it was still not even close to any of King's best. And once again, there were several plot holes and characters' actions that didn't make complete sense, at least to me. In particular the Reverend and his particular choice was not compelling or even very logical.

All in all, I guess I'd have to say that this was the worst of everything written and published entirely by Stephen King. 1.5 stars just because of the writing. 0 stars for the story lines. Sorry for the harsh review but there is little here to recommend.

J.M. Tepper

2010-07-28 (Boonton Township, NJ United States) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 2

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The Worst Stephen King ever and waste of your time
I am a Stephen King fan and have been since I read Thinner and have bought each and every hardcover since then. I enjoyed most very thoroughly, others are decent reads, but lately they have been just okay reads, but Blockage Billy is clearly the worst and bottom of the barrel and it is strikingly easy to see why.

First, we start off with a 5" by 8" book, unusually small for a King book, and made worse by having only 132 pages and still worse with the fairly large print. I don't know what the word count is, but it does not qualify for a King Novel and a short story.

Why is this the worst? All of his excellent works have an enthralling story with numerous twists and turns and excellent character development and a complicated plot with numerous carefully crafted characters to carry the unexpected turns in the plot. This is hard to do in a little book of only eighty pages for the Novel(a). There is little plot to Blockage Billy which takes 80 pages. You are kept in the dark almost all the way to the end with a baseball story that holds your interest, barely, and then at the end stalls completely leaving hardly a plot at all. You feel badly cheated if you are expecting something dramatic to happen with developed characters involed, but there isn't and at the end, you wonder why the Blockade Billy (he sudonly becomes a major league catcher and he blocks the plate on a close play at home. The story ends with a whimper and a truly simple plot and you wonder why you even took the time. It is a real disappointment.

The second part "morality' is only 50 of these small pages and has the skinniest plot that was obvious from the start, the skinny plot is even more silly and boring. You get to the end of the story finding out what you already knew and the story ends abruptly with no explanation of why. The most plotless story ever to come out of King's fertile brain. I can't tell any more without giving the micro-plot away except to say that an ageing priest wants to do something of a sin, but wants somebody else to do it. Why!! Not even at attempt to explain. The story ends so suddenly that you can't believe it because almost nothing happen at all.

It is a total waste of your reading time (which is thankfully short), but you will feel like you sat down to a nice dinner and ate air and then the dinner was over. Wha!

Avoid this because you will be disappointed in Mr. King and wasted about 90 minuts of your time that you can never get back and you feel cheated.

I felt cheated.

2010-07-28 (Las Vegas, NV USA) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 1

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With a few exceptions, I NEVER read this guy!
Blockade Billy isn't as good as The Shawshank Redemption, but few writings are. It is, however, an excellent story. One doesn't need to be a baseball fan to enjoy this well-crafted short-srory, but it helps. Other reviewers have been all over the map 5 stars down to 1, a 1 from even an apparently dyed-in-the-wool King fan. I don't understand how. I'm a tough sell, and this story sold me!

2010-07-26 | nada | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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Way Cool!
Baseball plus Stephen King plus a twisted ending. It just doesn't get better than this.

2010-07-26 (Nashville, Tn United States) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

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Under the Dome: A Novel

Product Details

• Notes: BUY WITH Conviction, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and serving to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
• ISBN13: 9781439149034
• State: New

Description

STEPHEN KING “RETURNS TO HIS GLORY DAYS OF THE STAND” (New York Daily News) WITH HIS NEW #1 BESTSELLING EPIC

 

Just down Route 119 in Chester’s Mill, Maine, all hell is about to break loose. . . .

On an entirely normal, beautiful fall day, a small town is suddenly and inexplicably sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field. Planes crash into it and rain down flaming wreckage. A gardener’s hand is severed as the dome descends. Cars explode on impact. Families are separated and panic mounts. No one can fathom what the barrier is, where it came from, and when—or if—it will go away. Now a few intrepid citizens, led by an Iraq vet turned short-order cook, face down a ruthless politician dead set on seizing the reins of power under the dome. But their main adversary is the dome itself. Because time isn’t just running short. It’s running out.

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Amazon Exclusive: Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan Reviews Under the Dome

Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan share their enthusiasm for Stephen King's thriller, Under the Dome. This pair of reviewers knows a thing or two about the art of crafting a great thriller. Del Toro is the Oscar-nominated director of international blockbuster films, including Pan's Labyrinth and Hellboy. Hogan is the author of several acclaimed novels, including The Standoff and Prince of Thieves, which won the International Association of Crime Writer's Dashiell Hammett Award in 2005. The two recently collaborated to write the bestselling horror novel, The Strain, the first of a proposed trilogy. Read their exclusive Amazon guest review of Under the Dome:

The first thing readers might find scary about Stephen King's Under The Dome is its length. The second is the elaborate town map and list of characters at the front of the book (including "Dogs of Note"), which sometimes portends, you know, heavy lifting. Don't you believe it. Breathless pacing and effortless characterization are the hallmarks of King's best books, and here the writing is immersive, the suspense unrelenting. The pages turn so fast that your hand--or Kindle-clicking thumb--will barely be able to keep up.

You Are Here.

Nobody yarns a “What if?” like Stephen King. Nobody. The implausibility of a dome sealing off an entire city--a motif seen before in pulp magazines and on comic book covers--is given the most elaborate real-life alibi by crafting details, observations, and insights that make us nod silently while we read. Promotional materials reference The Stand in comparison, but we liken Under The Dome more to King's excellent novella, The Mist: another locked-door situation on an epic scale, a tour-de-force in which external stressors bake off the civility of a small town full of dark secrets, exposing souls both very good...and very, very bad.

Yes, "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street," but there is so much more this time. The expansion of King’s diorama does not simply take a one-street fable and turn it into a town, but finds new life for old archetypes, making them morally complex and attuned to our world today. It makes them relevant and affecting once again. And the beauty of it all is that the final lesson, the great insight that is gained at the end of this draining journey, is not a righteous 1950’s sermon but an incredibly moving and simple truth. A nugget of wisdom you'll be using as soon as you turn the last page.

This Is Now.

Along the way, you get bravura writing, especially featuring the town kids, and a delicious death aria involving one of the most nefarious characters--who dies alone, but not really--as well as a few laugh-out-loud moments, and a cameo (of sorts) by none other than Jack Reacher. Indeed--whether during a much-needed comfort break, or a therapeutic hand-flexing--you may find yourself wondering, "Is this a horror novel? Or is it a thriller?" The answer, of course, is: Yes, yes, yes.

"...the blood hits the wall like it always hits the wall."

It seems impossible that, as he enters his sixth decade of publishing, the dean of dark fiction could add to his vast readership. But that is precisely what will happen...when the Dome drops.

Now Go Read It. --Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan

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The Story Behind the Cover
Click on image to enlarge

The jacket concept for Under the Dome originated as an ambitious idea from the mind of Stephen King. The artwork is a combination of photographs, illustration and 3-D rendering. This is a departure from the direction of King's most recent illustrated covers.

In order to achieve the arresting image for this jacket, Scribner art director Rex Bonomelli had to seek out artists who could do a convincing job of creating a realistic portrayal of the town of Chester's Mill, the setting of the novel. Bonomelli found the perfect team of digital artists, based in South America and New York, whose cutting edge work had previously been devoted to advertisement campaigns. This was their first book jacket and an exciting venture for them. "They are used to working with the demands of corporate clients," says Bonomelli. "We gave them freedom and are thrilled with what they came up with."

The CGI (computer generated imagery) enhanced image looks more like something made for the big screen than for the page and is sure to make a lasting impact on King fans.

Meet the Characters

Dale Barbara Barbie, a drifter, ex-army, walks with a burden of guilt from the time he spent in Iraq. Working as a short-order cook at Sweetbriar Rose is the closest thing he’s had to a family life. When his old commander, Colonel Cox, calls from outside, Barbie's burden becomes the town itself. Julia Shumway The attractive Editor and Publisher of the local town newspaper, The Chester's Mill Democrat, Julia is self-assured and Republican to the core, but she is drawn to Barbie and discovers, when it matters most, that her most vulnerable moment might be her most liberating. Jim Rennie, Sr. "Big Jim." A used car dealer with a fierce smile and no warmth, he'd given his heart to Jesus at age sixteen and had little left for his customers, his neighbors, or his dying wife and deteriorating son. The town's Second Selectman, he’s used to having things his way. He walks like a man who has spent his life kicking ass. Joseph McClatchey Scarecrow Joe, a 13-year-old also known as "King of the Geeks" and "Skeletor, a bona fide brain whose backpack bears the legend "fight the powers that be." He’s smarter than anyone, and proves it in a crisis.

Chester's Mill, Maine (click on image to enlarge)

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Customer Reviews

King channeling Dickens
This book has everything SK constant readers expect in his "big" novels: small stories stitched together into larger stories that quietly turn into epic stories. The only other author I can think of who did this so well for so long and so successfully was Charles Dickens. Someone needs to do a comparative treatise on the similarity between the authors' work. Quick, compare and contrast Pip's story in Great Expectations to Harold's in The Stand!

Like many others, I've been reading SK books since the mid-seventies and the quality continues to impress me. There were elements I loved (ex. the dome, the drug lab and the numerous pivotal points it plays in the story, the abrupt uses of violence by the "bad" guys who were quicker to recognize the opportunities the dome created) and elements I absolutely hated (ex. the source of the dome, Junior's and Senior's fates, the precognitive flashes various characters have without point or purpose).

More than anything, I loved how this story kept me guessing and speculating about the characters and their plight. Even when I was annoyed about certain developments, I was surprised that I CARED what happened. That's the real reason SK's constant readers are legion.

2010-07-28 | Steve M (Irvine, CA USA) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

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Great Read
I really enjoyed this book though the last quarter of it seemed to drag a little. I thought the ending was great and the writing and use of characters was fantastic. I highly recommend it to someone that like's Stephen King Novels or needs a good wrist workout (1200 pages).

2010-07-27 | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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Go and read Gone, then we'll talk
Last summer, I read Gone, a young adult novel and was thrilled with the premise - a town trapped under a dome and what happens after that. Then in the winter, along comes this novel, also about a town trapped under a dome and I was struck by how similar this was to Gone. I know King says that he started this book 26 years ago, but put it away. but when another book is published with the same theme, he decides to finish his. Hmmmm . . .

2010-07-27 | flyingmonkey (Lawrence, KS United States) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 3

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Over Long and Under Whelming...but kept me reading...
1,074 pages of Stephen King is supposed to be a great thing. Easy home run! And yet...

Under the Dome is an OK novel (and trust me, I'll take "bad" Stephen King over "no" Stephen King) but it could have really been a terrific novel. The story revolves around a small town that is cut off from society by an unknown force and essentially breaks off into factions.

The good parts...
*Stephen King!
*Some interesting scenarios!
*Lots of pages to lose yourself in days of reading!

My problems with the book...
*The general premise feels recycled from Lord of the Flies (removed from societal laws...humans break into tribes)and even The Stand (Good faction vs. Evil heavily armed faction) with more realism and less sci-fi elements.
*Religion...can a positive religious character EVER exist in a Stephen King novel? Even the priests doubt and completely give up all faith in God...always!
*The villains...in this novel the bad guys outshine the good guys...and the sad thing is that the bad guys are portrayed as pretty stupid and low-level...shows you what the good guys amount to.
*Pacing...the novel took a long time to deal with Day #1 of the Dome (maybe too much time) and then at other parts things seemed to race along far too quickly when more time would have been appreciated (the conclusion perhaps)
*Lots of pages...I thing the overall story could have lost 300 pages, gained momentum, and lost nothing of relevance.

Under the Dome gets 3-stars from me. I enjoyed just enough of the book as a "constant reader", however I didn't enjoy it enough to pass it along or praise it to my fellow readers. Stephen King is capable of delivering better.

2010-07-26 | MacGyver of the Books (Detroit, Michigan) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 3

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Under the Dome
Good story. Too many characters to keep track of however. Sometimes not sure who was who. If you're a thorough reader you might want to make a character list to keep track. I just continued to read on, skimming through the little side conversations, to get to the main parts of the story.

2010-07-26 | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

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Full Dark, No Stars

Description

A new collection of four never-before-published stories from Stephen King.

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UR

Description

 

FIRST TIME ON AUDIO...

An Unabridged Novella Unavailable In Any Collection!

Tapping into our primal fears of modern technology that made Cell a #1 bestseller, Stephen King sets his sights on the latest high-tech gadget in UR, in which a mysterious e-book reader opens a disturbing window into other worlds.

Reeling from a painful break-up, English instructor and avid book lover Wesley Smith is haunted by his ex-girlfriend's parting shot: "Why can't you just read off the computer like everyone else?" He buys an e-book reader out of spite, but soon finds he can use the device to glimpse realities he had never before imagined, discovering literary riches beyond his wildest dreams...and all-too-human tragedies that surpass his most terrible nightmares.

From vintage cars (Christine and From a Buick 8) to household appliances (Maximum Overdrive) to exercise equipment (Stationary Bike), Stephen King has mesmerized us with tales of apparently ordinary machines that take on lives of their own. UR gives this classic theme an up-to-the-minute spin, resulting in a horror masterpiece for our time and for the ages.

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Since his first novel was published in 1974, Stephen King has stretched the boundaries of the storyteller as a writer who constantly redefines his readers' experience by working in various genres and formats . Whether in an epic horror novel, like THE STAND, a serial-novel like THE GREEN MILE, or a novella like SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, King is able to deliver a reading experience like no one else can. As quickly as a spider spins its web, King reminds us why he's the master of the novella - a format which, up until now that is, one might have thought is fast disappearing.

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Customer Reviews

A Decent Read
For the price, this was a decent read and one of King's better work for engaging the reader. The whole parallel dimension/changing the future story is an entertaining concept, and King demonstrates a mastery for the formula.
However, the story does have its problems: the moment that the English professor finds out what his Kindle can do insofar as going to parallel worlds, he immediately begins growing sick to his stomach and feels as though he has lost his mind. While this technique may have worked had the professor had more time to work with the device and see its consequences, at this stage it was premature. I felt that King dove too fast into the darkness of it. Also, as with other King works, this story was awkwardly tied into the Dark Tower series at the end (I won't say how so as to not spoil it). While it serves aptly to bring together a taught literary universe, it bogs down the story. I do feel though that the story was good for the $3.19 price-well worth the time invested to read it.

2010-07-21 | bookman1 (CHESTERFIELD, VA, US) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

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A fun "listen"
I really enjoyed listening to this short story by Stephen King. The reader was engaging and the story typical of Mr. King's prowess with "new-fangled gadgets." Loved it!

2010-07-20 | NanO (Rockwall, TX, USA) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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Make this an URgent Kindle Purchase
I received my Kindle earlier this week and after perusing through what was available, i wanted to make a cheap, short purchase to test her out. This story is an absolute must for a Kindle King fan. It's got a great premise with the Kindle and it reads quite quickly and the last chapter ties into other King works quite nicely. Well worth the $3.

2010-07-18 | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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Ur going to love it
This was my first purchase on my new Kindle. 3 dollars is a steal for this story. King has treated his readers to a story that is unique and engrossing. And for the hardcore fans, you will love where the story goes. Highly recommended!

2010-07-14 | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

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UR
UR is my favorite Stephen King offering of the last decade. He is at his best when writing short stories and novellas. But the cynic in me doubts that there could ever be a happy ending for our hero.

2010-07-03 | sugarlandmom | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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It

Product Details

• Fettle: New
• Notes: BUY WITH Assurance, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and rite to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
• ISBN13: 9780451169518

Description

They were just kids when they stumbled upon the hidden horror of their hometown. Now, as adults, none of them can withstand the force that has drawn them all back to Derry, Maine, to face the nightmare without end, and the evil without a name.

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They were seven teenagers when they first stumbled upon the horror. Now they were grown-up men and women who had gone out into the big world to gain success and happiness. But none of them could withstand the force that drew them back to Derry, Maine to face the nightmare without an end, and the evil without a name. What was it? Read It and find out...if you dare!

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Customer Reviews

The benchmark for horror novels
King has a natural (maybe supernatural) talent of writing horror novels. Everyone knows that. What a lot of folks don't know is he is one of our generations greatest writers period taking genre out of the equation. I've never read a novel that jumps back and forth to two timelines that I've enjoyed...until now. King does it effortlessly and fluidly. Also the story itself is so absorbing I had a hard time putting this book down each night. Childhood and childhood fears are two things King does great with and this story is no exception. The young characters come to life instantly. Its easy to picture each one. With all that said, this is perhaps the scariest novel I've ever read. One novel comes to mind that trumps this one in the scare department and its not King. It was immensely spooky because it dealt with not only childhood fears, which we can all relate to, but an evil of magnitudal proportions. Yes, this book is long but every paragraph is needed to build this story. Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy if you've never read this.

2010-07-27 (FWB, FL) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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My favorite of King's. Probably his strongest work
Let all preconceptions of this novel brought on upon by the horrid miniseries be dropped forever. This is a fantastic book. It is less about an evil clown-monster living in the sewer and more about life. About the hopes and fears of childhood, the anxieties that come with adulthood, the quirks and the nuances that stick with you your entire life. It is about racism, prejudice, abuse, kindness, friendship and human experience. It is populated by characters and emotions so spookily human it will seem as if you're reading about yourself, or at least someone you know very well.

Amidst a cloud of drugs and alcohol, King outdid himself. As bizarre and flawed as it may be, I do not think he has written a better novel since. The ending is a little out-of-place, yes, and the explanation given as to the nature of the 'It' is very strange. But the monster is less the novel's focal point and more the instigator of a vivid and very haunting display of young humanity against the towering unknown, not just externally but internally. The novel also leaves a very wrenching denoument, though it has nothing to do with clowns or werewolves or spiders. It leads you to reflect upon your own childhood, to realize how much of it has been lost in time, what happens to it as you make your way into adulthood.

For those who complain about its meandering length, they need to give it time. They need to try and appreciate this tome for its detail and not just for its scattered scenes of action and horror.

"IT" is one of those few novels I can pick up and read at almost any point in time. For me, it is one of those Very Good Books that seems more like a good friend than a pile of pages. I may have hammed things up in this review, but few books this side of Steinbeck, Hemmingway and McCarthy have ever evoked this kind of emotional response from me. Everyone should give this book a shot.

2010-07-25 (South Dakota) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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42 hrs long on audio
IT, by Stephen King, is a very excellent book extremely long but enjoyable. He jumps back and forth between 1958 and 1985, tying the two separate time periods together. He weaves an excellent tale of seven friends banding together to fight a shape-changing monster. It lurks in the darkness....It hides beneath the ground...It feeds off the children...But no one really knows what It is, or shape it will be the next time!!!!!

Derry, Maine is your typical, ordinary, small east coast town. Every 27 years, the unexplainable happens. It starts with the odd sightings, and then comes the string of murders, most of the victims are children. It had been happening for hundreds years, yet no one has figured out the mystery. Was it to scary to, or the people just chose to ignore it. Whatever the case, the summer of 1958 was different.

Seven ordinary children became extraordinary that summer. They were all alike in the way that they had all nearly escaped It, at some point that year, and this is what keeps their friendships together and helps them conquer It. And that summer, they kill It....at least they think they do.

A few reviews have stated there are a few parts of this story they will never forget. Nor will I!!!

Chinese fortune cookies I will never look at the same way without remembering Stephen Kings IT.

Drains in a bathroom wondering if voices are coming from the drains. I was staying in a motel when I got to that bit and there were strange sounds mixed with the sound of the shower exhaustion fan that made the noise sound like voices coming from the floor drain. Anyone who has read this book will know exactly what I mean. Parts of this story will stay with me forever, its definately not for the faint hearted.

2010-07-17 | Audio Books only (Sydney Australia) | Helpful Votes: 2 | Rating: 4

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One of my alltime favorites
Fantastic story and super creepy. I loved this one from the first page to the last.

2010-07-08 | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 5

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Poorly Edited Version of a Great Story
While this is an excellent title from Stephen King, one of his best, this is a terrible copy. It has an appalling amount of typos. If I had bought the actual book, I would return it.

2010-05-16 (Austin, TX United States) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 1

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Riding The Bullet: The Deluxe Special Edition Double

Description

A Stephen King ghost story in the grand tradition, Riding the Bullet is the ultimate warning about the dangers of hitchhiking.

A college student's mother is dying in a Maine hospital. When he hitches a ride to see her, the driver is not who he appears to be. Soon the journey veers off into a dark landscape that could only be drawn by Stephen King.

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Customer Reviews

Stephen King
I am a constant reader. And will continue to be so. Have never been disappointed by anything Mr. King has published.

2010-05-31 | muse (Arizona) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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Misleading Item Description
Although the story was enjoyable, I based my purchase of the Kindle edition on the Print Length of 400 pages listed in the item description and was disappointed to discover that, rather than a full-length novel, I had received a short story.

Amazon, please correct your misleading item description!

2010-05-11 | Helpful Votes: 2 | Rating: 2

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S'okay, but it's a short story
Since the description of this book says it has 400 pages, I was a little surprised to find the digital version has just about that many 'locations' ... the DTB must have VERY LARGE TYPE or HUGE MARGINS. It's a so-so story, but awfully short. I had to go back to see what I'd paid for it. Too much: $3.99 for 400 locations while 'Infinite Jest' with more than 25,000 locations was $9.99 - what's up with *that!?

2010-04-30 (Western Mass.) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 2

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Along for the ride!

As a "Constant Reader" I found Riding the Bullet to be in the typical SK character developement with the always present twisted end. Well worth the time and money it took to purchase this Audiobook. So stick out your thumb and take the first ride to the world of SK!

2010-04-02 | ipodhead (michigan) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

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Publishing Pioneer
On March 14, 2000, shortly after his nearly fatal accident, King published Riding the Bullet as an e-book, exclusively, as his introduction to electronic publishing. Simon and Schuster worked with Softlock offering the 67-page novella for $2.50, payable by credit card.

On the first day the demand for download was so high that Softlock suffered a lockup, preventing eager readers from accessing Riding the Bullet for a few days. Loyal King readers complained that availability was limited to those with credit cards, e-readers, and pcs. Mac owners couldn't download the book. Barnes and Noble and Amazon offered the download for free.

In 2002 Riding the Bullet was published as one of 14 short stories in Everything's Eventual. In 2004 a movie version was released.

2010-01-12 | Eclectic Reader (McLean, Virginia) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

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