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Something Wicked This Way Comes

Ray Bradbury

Start date: October 1, 2019

Finish date: October 31, 2019

Discussion: Science Fiction and Fantasy

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Aug 16, 2020 Josh Caporale rated it really liked it

4.5 stars.

"Something Wicked This Way Comes" is a coming of age piece that uses the backdrop of a carnival to measure one's perception of youth and the handling of age. In this novel, kids want to be adults, but even as adults come challenges and challenges involving their self-consciousness. Jim Nightshade and Will Halloway are best friends. Jim is a go-getter, while Will is a bit more insecure. They have such a strong friendship and a loyalty to each other that is perfectly described on page 18 4.5 stars.

"Something Wicked This Way Comes" is a coming of age piece that uses the backdrop of a carnival to measure one's perception of youth and the handling of age. In this novel, kids want to be adults, but even as adults come challenges and challenges involving their self-consciousness. Jim Nightshade and Will Halloway are best friends. Jim is a go-getter, while Will is a bit more insecure. They have such a strong friendship and a loyalty to each other that is perfectly described on page 18:

"So there they go, Jim running slower to stay with Will, Will running faster to stay with Jim, Jim breaking two windows in a haunted house because Will's along, Will breaking one window instead of none, because Jim's watching. God, how we get out fingers in each other's clay. That's friendship, each playing the potter to see what shapes we can make of the other."

Cooger and Dark's Pandemonium Show has various attractions from carousels that cause you to age and regress to mirror mazes that depict you in the way you see yourself. Mr. Cooger and Mr. Dark are preying on the attendees in order to spread their horror among them, but in a way that puts them at their mercy, which can be defeated by one's realization and ability to make due with the horrors that they come across. Will's father, Charles, who is 40 years older, is the key parental figure and such a magnificent character. He loves to read, is surrounded by books, and works as a librarian. He also aged with feelings of self-doubt, resulting in his marriage and having Will later in life.

"Something Wicked This Way Comes" has been cited as a direct inspiration to Stephen King's "IT" and the parallels can be made. These predators are craving the insecurities or innocence of the individual, though in "IT," the predator is a clown rather than a carnival operator and the team of "carnies." The lesson, though, is that what we fear as children and even as adults should not consume us in a way that causes lifelong, ongoing damage.

This book is one of Bradbury's greatest efforts as far as his trek into horror fiction is concerned and it does a great job melding the supernatural with what is real. I was fascinated by this piece. I did enjoy "Fahrenheit 451" the most and "The Martian Chronicles" second most, but I still enjoyed reading this book and would highly recommend that others pick it up, especially if they are into good quality horror fiction. This would be a book that I would highly consider rereading again, because I have benefited from rereading the two Bradbury books that I mentioned. There is so much to explore with Bradbury's writing, and this is definitely one such piece. ...more

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Oct 25, 2015 Audrey rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: uf-paranormal-horror, own-hard-copy, audiobooks, classics

I read this thirty years ago, when I was younger than the book’s main characters. A lot I didn’t remember, and a lot went over my head at the time.

I think this story came out of the idea, “What if there was an evil carnival?” It’s nice and creepy but not like modern horror. It’s a classic tale of good vs. evil that’s imaginative and suspenseful.

The writing is excellent for the most part. The main characters, Will, Jim, and Charles, are great, and their relationships are great. Strong friendships ...more

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Apr 03, 2013 Anna Kļaviņa rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: made-into-a-film, read-in-2015, young-adult, north-america, rakstnieks, classic, horror

To me Something Wicked This Way Comes seems overwritten. At first I liked it, but after few chapters it started to annoy me. Nevertheless I could deal with that because there was some very beautiful sentences*, for example

Rain fell softly on town cupolas, chuckled from rainspouts, and spoke in strange subterranean tongues beneath the windows where Jim and Will knew fitful dreams, slipping out of one, trying another for size, but finding all cut from the same dark, mouldered cloth.

but sadly, t ...more

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Jun 21, 2021 Martina Dee rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Another Ray Bradbury's jewel. As usual, he plays with language waving a fabric that entraps the fortunate reader. No spoiler here but, like in each one of his œuvres d'art, expect to be gripped between darkness and exhilaration. And be prepared to never put it down. ...more

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Oct 17, 2019 Adriana Boisen rated it liked it

Beautiful poetic writing and scary, but somehow didn't hold my attention... Also I think Ray Bradbury is sexist, once again no female characters worth much. ...more

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