Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962) (edit title/settings)

• Rated 3 stars

“Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
3 *'s

The story of two boys, neighbors & best friends, Will & Jim and what happens when Halloween comes early. A carnival rolls into town in the middle of the night and the lure of the midway is strong. The boys sneak out and see firsthand the evil that the carnival holds. They also see how it's affecting the townspeople and realize that this has been happening for many, many, many years. They try to resist, but the carnival and it's proprietor have other plans.

I have had this book on my shelf for a long time and was really excited to read it. I have to say, it was a little disappointing. There was much to much description, a lot of times so much that you weren't even sure what they were talking about. As a previous reviewer stated, the use of metaphors was excessive and mostly unnecessarily so. Sometimes a great picture was painted and you were clearly able to see what was being described, yet most times, it was just flowery words to describe, I don't even know what. It was distracting to say the least. I do think the story was a good one, the concept of it was brilliant, quite original for its time. I think though, that a lot of times, the descriptions were too much and took away from some of the action. I found myself skimming things, then thinking "wait, did they just get out of there?". This was my first Bradbury and I will try more of his, but not in the too near future.”

• Rated 3 stars

“Will and Jim are next door neighbors and long-term friends from Green Town, Illinois. Blond haired Will was born one minute before midnight on October 30th and dark haired Jim, one minute after midnight on October 31st thirteen years ago. When a circus comes unexpectedly to town, boys being boys, they sneak out of their respective homes to experience the seductive and alluring circus life. However, they soon discover that the circus’ innocent façade belies a malevolent and rapacious evil. When they discover that several of the town’s citizens have been transformed, aged or made younger, and enslaved by the mysterious Mr. Dark as members of the circus, they enlist the aid of Will’s father to fight the circus denizens.

I have read many of the recently deceased Bradbury including Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles but didn’t find these works as difficult to read as this one. Although I was able to follow the thread of the story, I found myself at times lost in Bradbury’s use of metaphors. Metaphorical lines such as, “Somewhere, a storm like a great beast with terrible teeth could not be denied” created the right atmosphere; however others such as “They ran in urine smell of shadow, they ran in clean ice smell of moon” left me scratching the top of my head. Overall, a good book but not his best work.
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• Rated 2 stars

“2.5 stars. I really wanted to like this book but the majority of the time, I had no clue what the author was talking about. I liked the general idea of the story though.”

• Rated 4 stars

“This is the story of Will and Jim, best friends for as long as they can remember. One night, a carnival comes to town. But something about this carnival is not quite right and the boys are determined to find out what.

This is a fantastic story. It is about love and friendship, good versus evil. It is about our desires and our fears. It has wonderful descriptions, but the writing is a little difficult at times and interrupts the flow of the action. Were it not for that, this would be a five star book. Definitely a recommended read.”

• Rated 5 stars

“Loved it!”

• Rated 4 stars

“Something Wicked This Way Comes was a very interesting read for me. I don't think I've ever read a book quite like this before (this is my first Bradbury novel).

The novel itself it beautifully written—at times, almost magical. Bradbury's prose is more along the lines of poetry at many points. This is a positive and also a negative. On the positive side, I think it adds an eeriness to the story. On the negative side, if you aren't used to reading this style of storytelling, it could very well hinder the story and cause disinterest. At first, I was put off by the poetic style. However, the more I read the more I began to enjoy it.

I love the “evil carnival comes to town” theme. I liked the main characters, two kids named Will and Jim. I loved the relationship Will has with his father.

As much as I liked this book, I couldn't give it 5 stars. I thought the ending was a bit, well, cheesy (for lack of a better word). But, even with that it was a really good novel and I enjoyed it tremendously.”

• Rated 5 stars

“Reminded me a bit of The Night Circus; though quite different in several aspects, of course.”

• Rated 5 stars

“From begining to end this incredible novel grabbed my attention not just by the power of the story being told but in the manner of its telling. The English is so modern, even now, it cuts you as you read it.”

• Rated 2 stars

“I listened to a dramatized version of this book (didn't mean to), so that may have an influence on my rating. Maybe someday I will actually listen to the book itself and like it a bit more. All I know is that I want to punch Jim in the face. ”

• Rated 5 stars

“The language, it burns! So brightly. Just wonderful.”