What a beautiful writer. the language is exquisite and the story is wonderful, especially if read in the autumn, as the chill creeps into the air and the sound of carnivals lingers on the wind...

listening to this audiobook and totally falling in love with Bradbury all over again. Haven't been this juiced about him since I first read 'illustrated man' 20 years ago.

In order to get in the mood for Halloween, I bought this audiobook and listened to it before I went to bed or whenever I drove. I have read Bradbury before in High School through Fahrenheit 451 but it has been a while.

In order to set a scene, Bradbury was very descriptive almost to the point where I felt as if I was getting nowhere in the story. About halfway through the book however, something clicked and I fell in love with his narrative style and his imagery was fantastic.

The story follows two thirteen year old boys who live in Illinois, William Holloway and Jim Nightshade as a "Dark Carnival" comes to their small town. A big part of the narrative also follows Will's father Charles Holloway who in the end became my favorite character. A lowly janitor in the towns library, he would use his spare time to read whatever he could. As the story progressed and became darker Charles Holloway came out with so many good insights on human history, behavior, and desire. There are a lot of good quotes from Charles Holloway whenever he talks to his son and Jim.

The main antagonist of the story was a tall slender man by the name of Mr. Dark who ran the carnival. At first I was a little put off by his character and his underlings but when he confronts Charles Holloway in the library and the following quote ensues.
Charles: "Damn you! Damn you too hell!"
Mr. Dark: "Damn me?! Ha! I am already damned!
I couldn't stop listening.

The book gives delves into the passion that is human desire, whether it is for an older man to be younger, or a younger boy to be older, the carnival takes advantage of the townspeople as they become willing to sell their souls for something they crave.
"Don't wish to loudly, someone may hear you."

A fantastic read, (or listen) and was definitely proper for Halloween in a couple of weeks. I highly recommend this book.

Bradbury has a way of crafting stories. Something Wicked This Way Comes has a title that makes me smile. It is intended for a younger audience, so its thriller elements will appeal more to them. Nevertheless, I liked how he told it. I liked that, in this story, children aren't left to sort out complex issues on their own. It made me love the dad all the better. It made me like Bradbury better, too.

A Sound of Thunder is a short story that was included. It was interesting, too.

Great story. I really enjoyed this book.

time to pick this up again for the season.

It took me a while to get into the story, but once I was "in", it rapidly became more interesting. I did find myself hoping for "more", but felt that it fell a bit short. I LOVED the short story, "A Sound of Thunder" though.

2nd Witch: By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes. [Knocking:] Open locks, Whoever knocks! [Enter Macbeth:]
Macbeth: How now, you secret, black, and midnight hags!
What is't you do? (Macbeth Act 4, scene 1, 44–49)

Summary:
This classic fantasy/horror tale was originally published in 1963. It revolves around Will Halloway and Jim Nightshade whom are the best of friends and live next door to one another. They are inseparable with Will being the down to earth easy going boy and Jim as the wilder and “darker” of the two.
The setting is a small town in middle America and its October. A scary storm front moves into town along with a mysterious and creepy traveling circus/carnival. As things get a bit wild and go awry the two boys become inextricably involved in the traveling carnival's evil doings. As the story progresses the nature of good and evil and how evil itself may be combated are addressed.
My Thoughts:
I listened to this story in audio format, which was pleasant. I liked its lyrical, slightly poetic style which is characteristic of Bradbury’s signature style. Read by Stanley Kubrik with his deep and resonant voice, where he changes his tone with each character and their moods. It is close to perfect for this story.
Recommended for Halloween/Fall reading for young adults, mature older children, and adults to read to children. Most significant it has the perfect solution for being scared - laughter/humor. There is little or no violence, mild language, yet it is very suspenseful. I give this audio version of the book 3.5 stars. (I liked it a lot.)
Links to GLBT:
This particular book was read for a GLBT challenge and taken from a site which lists it as having these elements. The relationship is however not clear unless one is aware of such nuances – such as the community itself. Once aware it does become subtly apparent as the relationship between Will and Jim is revealed. The boys are obviously very close, and are fairly affectionate which could allude to the possibility of a budding romantic relationship.

Not bad but not mind blowing - forgetting about it already!

The title is a memorable line from Shakespeare's Macbeth. A sinister carnival arrives in a small town shortly before Halloween, and there is sort of a good-evil battle between 2 boys and one's father against the weird somewhat satanic visitors.

A bit too much YA for me but pretty good.

At hour of three in the morning Cooger & Dark's Pandemonium Shadow Show slips into Green Town, Illinois. Will Halloway and his best friend Jim Nightshade have awaited its arrival with both trepidation and anticipation. Late October is an unusual time of year for carnival to visit town. Visiting the carnival the next day they meet one of their seventh-grade teachers, Miss Foley. Miss Foley becomes disoriented after entering the Mirror Maze. When she comes out she’s babbling about a little girl lost in the Maze, a little girl that she thinks is herself. But the most uncanny thing happens that night after the carnival crowd has departed, and boys witness a man ridding backwards on carousel and changing in a way that’s not possible.

So captivating, and descriptively written.