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Something Wicked This Way Comes

Ray Bradbury

Start date: July 1, 2018

Finish date: July 31, 2018

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Jul 17, 2009 Danielle The Book Huntress rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: good-life-lessons, 2011-reading, audiobook, daddy-hero, gothic-fiction, dark-fantasy, friendship, family, library-checkout, horror

Something Wicked This Way Comes is a dark fantasy tale of the upheaval that a strange carnival of souls causes when they arrive in a small, unnamed town. It delves into heavy themes of regret, longing for lost years, and the desire for maturity and escape from one's lot in the world. You see, the Carnival, ran by Coogar and Dark, feeds on all the wretched, negative emotions that the humans they prey on exude. They will find much sustenance in this Midwestern town.

Our main characters in this stor Something Wicked This Way Comes is a dark fantasy tale of the upheaval that a strange carnival of souls causes when they arrive in a small, unnamed town. It delves into heavy themes of regret, longing for lost years, and the desire for maturity and escape from one's lot in the world. You see, the Carnival, ran by Coogar and Dark, feeds on all the wretched, negative emotions that the humans they prey on exude. They will find much sustenance in this Midwestern town.

Our main characters in this story are two 13 year-old boys, Jim and Will. They have been friends forever, but their friendship will be tried as Jim finds it increasingly difficult to resist the allure of the carnival and the sinister offer it can make its visitor. And their lives are put in jeopardy when they stumble on the very real threat that its merry go round poses.

I liked the lessons in this story, about the importance of treasuring the now, instead of longing futilely for the past or the future. Jim's father, Charles Halloway is a man in his 50s who is feeling his age deeply. He married slightly older than most, when he was 39, and his wife seems to be a bit younger than he, and is content in ways he is not. Mr. Halloway longs for lost youth. In contrast, Jim longs to be older, so he can escape from his single mother's clinging, stifling embrace. Both will have to face their hollow desires head on if they want to survive the threat of the carnival.

Other lessons that this story teaches of are loyalty, and the strong, powerful bonds of family and friendship. The first plays out through Jim and Will's enduring friendship, their intense bond, which helps to protect them and gives them the ability to fight the malevolence of Mr. Dark. With the second, we see the boys rely on Will's father, a seemingly unlikely hero, for their protection. I appreciated that although Halloway might seem like a frail knight in shining armor, he shows true heroism and fortitude against Dark. By means of his bookish ways and his thoughtful personality, he discovers and exploits the fatal flaw that Dark and his sinister folk hold close to their dark hearts.

Unfortunately, I didn't find listening to this story as good an experience as I would have hoped for. It felt a little bit overwritten for an audiobook read. There was excessive use of imagery, similie and metaphor for my tastes. Normally, I love the use of these literary devices, albeit a bit more sparingly. Since I am a very moody reader, it could have been that I just wasn't in the right frame of mind when I listened. But I found the extended descriptions that didn't seem to further the plot as expediently as I hoped, rather tedious.

That is not to say that I didn't like some aspects. Bradbury uses words beautifully, spurring the imagination fruitfully. I just wished that the story was a bit more straightforward. I have the feeling that this book would read a lot better than it served as a listening experience. I do think this story is a nice way to start out the fall season, to get a reader ready for Halloween and the spooky month of October. There were some spooky moments, and the evil of Dark, Coogar, and the Dust Witch give this story a very sinister vibe. Also, its look at the darker aspects of very human nature. I appreciated it from that standpoint. As I mentioned earlier in this review, the message is very good. As a person who sometimes feels her age deeply, I can appreciate Bradbury's gentle warning that humans can put too much stock in how old and how young they are and lose out on enjoying and experiencing every day, the Now. I needed that reminder. So that's for the good with this story.

I am and always will be a reader who enjoys and admires Ray Bradbury. He inspires me as a writer. I think he has a very good imagination and quite a way with words and phrases. I just know now that I should save him for when I'm in the mood for that expansive, flowery language, and a story that relies heavily on allusion and imagery, instead of concise storytelling. Also, I think my yen for the short story medium is very much appeased by his type of writing, so I am glad that I do have several of his short story volumes to read in my book collection. I will definitely attempt to read another one of his novels one day. Maybe not on audio, though.

My recommendation: Don't read this on audio if you don't care for expansive description and flowery language. This a book best experienced on paper. ...more

35 likes · Like · see review

Sep 08, 2010 Gaijinmama rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, classics, fantasy

Ray Bradbury was a brilliant writer whose gift with the language goes beyond genre. This book is generally classified as a dark fantasy but his style is definitely Literary. I would not call this a page-turner. I had to keep going back to really savor the words and let them sink in.
There are a lot of Big Issues here: good vs. evil, nostalgia for childhood, fear of death and the unknown. The main characters are Will and Jim, two 13 year old boys in a small town, but I would say the real focus is ...more

6 likes · Like · see review

Oct 14, 2012 Circa Girl rated it really liked it

Shelves: classics, horror, fantasy, surreal, fuck-yeah

There's something about Ray Bradbury's writing that is like freaking magic for the mind and soul. Jim and Will are one dimensional characters but somehow this ends up working out perfectly for the themes of the story and as an offset to Charles Holloway's complex inner conflict and self-esteem. The horror aspect of the story is much more bold in its foreshadowing than it is in its content, but the "evil carnival" is not what will keep you captivated anyway. It is what the Cooger and Dark's Carni ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Jun 28, 2012 Ben rated it liked it

Summary: Two young boys are forced to grow up fast when a sinister circus comes to town and starts messing with the townsfolk.

Things I liked:

Language was poetic and musical.

The way he used the two boys characters to illustrate two versions of humanity.

The setting underlined the characters and provided a real sense of menace when necessary.

Things I thought could be improved:

I didn't really find the carnival people scary enough. (view spoiler) ...more

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Oct 22, 2023 Alisha Marie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, three-star-books, read-in-2023, horror, books-i-own-that-i-ve-read, fantasy

Something Wicked This Way Comes read like a Mike Flanagan show to me...It sometimes has great and deep things to say, but other times it chokes itself in endless monologues, using a whole bunch of words to say something incredibly simple when three words really would've sufficed.

Something Wicked This Way Comes does atmosphere really well. You get spooky October vibes throughout most of this book...It's also vastly overwritten. Yes, Bradbury does gorgeous writing well. But he also writes things ...more

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Oct 01, 2014 Cynthia rated it it was ok

Shelves: gothic, 2014

Time for a Halloween read. And also to keep me busy until AHS: Freak Show begins.

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Feb 06, 2008 Kathy Jo marked it as to-read

Shelves: consider-to-read

Mar 12, 2008 Terri marked it as to-read

Sep 03, 2008 PandaRanda marked it as to-read

Oct 22, 2008 Angie rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Feb 01, 2009 Jason Raymond rated it really liked it

Apr 13, 2009 Janice rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Aug 25, 2010 Tim Goebel marked it as wishlist

May 09, 2011 Marla marked it as to-read

Shelves: horror, mystery, classics, young-adult, celebrate-halloween

Aug 07, 2011 Kay rated it really liked it

Jan 03, 2012 Michelle Krems marked it as to-read

May 25, 2012 Pandy marked it as to-read

Feb 28, 2013 Meghan marked it as to-read

Jun 27, 2013 Emma rated it really liked it

May 01, 2014 Orla Walker marked it as to-read

Jun 13, 2014 Holly marked it as to-read

Shelves: classics

May 25, 2015 šhαñnÿń marked it as to-read

Aug 16, 2016 Miss Amelia marked it as accidentally-unfinished · review of another edition

Dec 28, 2016 Samantha wickedshizuku Tolleson rated it liked it

Shelves: 2016, 1001-books-to-read-before-i-die, male-lead, 3-stars, not-manga, paranormal, need-to-review, why-do-i-do-this-to-myself, science-fiction, title-s

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