I’ve been meaning to read this book for some time and now that I have, I’m so glad I did. I recognized the title from William Shakespeare's Macbeth ("By the pricking of my thumbs / Something wicked this way comes.”) and had heard the same phrase used in other popular media such as Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Eventually, I finally gave in to curiosity and just had to read this book.

Something Wicked This Way Comes is a novel by Ray Bradbury that follows the adventures of two 14 year-old boys, Jim Nightshade and William Halloway. They sneak out of their houses one autumn night and see a mysterious carnival set up in town in the wee hours of the morning. The carnival's leader is the named "Mr. Dark" who bears a tattoo for each person who, lured by the offer to live out his secret fantasies, has become bound in service to the carnival. Because of his tattoos, Mr. Dark is frequently referred to as “The Illustrated Man.” Jim and Will surreptitiously learn the fantastical secrets of the carnival and are soon the next in line for The Illustrated Man’s newest tattoos.

What I loved about this book is the combination of fantasy and horror elements. Not a bloody disgusting kind of horror but rather a creeping, disturbing kind of horror where something just feels terribly wrong and there seems no way out of it. From the start of the novel, the expectation is set that the boy’s interaction with this carnival, there is a loss of innocence - a feeling that things will never again be as simple and carefree. At the core of the story though, is a hard look at the conflicting natures of good and evil and how they come into play among the characters. Mr. Dark's malevolent presence is countered by that of Will's father, Charles Halloway, who figures out how to protect Jim and Will from The Illustrated Man and his carnival. Against all odds, Charles Halloway finds the hope and joy that allows him to face his own fears as well as the malevolence and evil of The Illustrated Man.

A very enjoyable, very fast read. Highly recommended.

Edit:
Forgot to mention that my copy also had the short story A Sound of Thunder attached to it.

This short story follows a man named Eckles who recently lost a bid to be President. As a consolation, he goes on a hunting safari through a company that promises the ultimate game - the Tyrannosaurus Rex.

The safari company is careful to choose only animals that die of natural cause so as not to upset the future by changing the past. As such, the hunters are allowed to take pictures with their game, but not allowed to bring it back to the future because even the decomposing bodies of the animals may play some important role in the future.

Despite the precautions, Eckles balks at killing the animal when faced with it in all of it's carnivorous glory. In his haste back to the time machine, he falls of of the levitating trail and into the marshy ground. It isn't until the hunters and guides return that they realize something is wrong. The future is not as they left it. All due to a single butterfly that Eckles crushed on the sole of his boot while carelessly tramping through the marsh.

That's right, this is a story about the butterfly effect - even before the phrase was a thing!

I loved the simplicity and efficiency of this story. Succinct and impactful, it shows brilliance in its brevity. A real treat to have this tagged on to the end of the novel.

Incredible use of the english language. Great story telling lets you experience the events!

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury is a classic horror novel that tells the story of two young boys who discover a sinister carnival that has come to their small town. I decided to read it after the references in Stephen King's Fairy Tale. While Ray Bradbury's book is often considered a masterpiece of fiction, I found it just okay and slogged through the read.

The novel does a good job of building tension and creating a sense of unease, but the actual scares are mild compared to what modern readers might expect.



That being said, "Something Wicked This Way Comes" is still a beautifully written and deeply atmospheric book. Bradbury's prose is poetic and evocative, and he does an excellent job of capturing the mood and setting of a small town in the mid-twentieth century.

In the end, I think "Something Wicked This Way Comes" is a book that will appeal to fans of classic fiction and those who appreciate Bradbury's unique writing style. However, if you are looking for an actual scary story or an engaging book for young adults, you may be better off looking elsewhere... like Stephen King's Fairy Tale.

I cannot imagine a better book for a father and, say, his teenage or even adult son to read togther and discuss. Try this question: what is this "something wicked"? Set in rural Illinois, after the war to end all wars, a father lives with his hidden disillusions and personal failures, while all the while trying to keep the magic and trust alive in his son. (The spirit of this is very much like William Stafford's poem, "To Kit On the Beach, Age 7.")

The father is the town librarian: an outward manifestation of the old man's inner soul. So it is appropriate that the final confrontation takes place here and that here the true character of the father is revealed to the son.

It is autumn: that special autumn of a particular year when decisions were made and life and death seemed to mix together like the multi-colored leaves that blow through the countryside. And into a sleeping village, in the dead of night, came Mr. Dark's Carnival, a sesaonal anachronism that came with an electrical storm and raised the hair on our arms and invited our flesh to crawl. It is autum: that specific season evil encourages men and boys to flee, to retreat, to climb back into the spider's womb.

Here, then, is a wonderful story about how a father and his son face evil together, that particular kind of evil that temts us to turn away from our own end season.

I struggled listening to this book, I found myself stopping after each chapter to digest it. I'm not a big fan of Ray Bradbury so I was surprised at how much I liked this one.

I loved that Will's father believed him when Will and Jim their story.

P.S. The Disney movie was dated. The special effects from 1982 did not stand the test of time. Not to mention that they changed the ending from the book. I liked the book's ending much more.

Writing was hard to follow and plot lines were abandoned and lackluster overall

Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury

*****
”Have a drink?”
“I don’t need it,” said Halloway. “But someone inside me does.”
“Who?”
The boy I once was, thought Halloway, who runs like the leaves down the sidewalk autumn nights.

"And the first boy, with hair as blond-white as milk thistle, shut up one eye, tilted his head, and looked at the salesman with a single eye as open, bright and clear as a drop of summer rain."

"Jim stood like a runner who has come a long way, fever in his mouth, hands open to receive any gift."

"What was there about the illustrated carnival owner's silences that spoke thousands of violent, corrupt, and crippling words?"

Bradbury's ability to uniquely characterize extends to the carnival, arriving at the dead time of 3 a.m., setting up in the dark:
"For somehow instead, they both knew, the wires high-flung on the poles were catching swift clouds, ripping them free from the wind in streamers which, stitched and sewn by some great monster shadow, made canvas and more canvas as the tent took shape. At last there was the clear-water sound of vast flags blowing."

Then there is the added bonus of the library. Clearly, Bradbury loves libraries and books, which guarantees affection in my book.
"The library deeps lay waiting for them. Out in the world, not much happened. But here in the special night, a land bricked with paper and leather, anything might happen, always did. Listen! and you heard ten thousand people screaming so high only dogs feathered their ears...This was a factory of spices from far countries. Here alien deserts slumbered. Up front was the desk where the nice old lady, Miss Watriss, purple-stamped your books, but down off away were Tibet and Antarctica, the Congo." How perfect.

Other than being a rather creepy story, this novel is also a lament for the passage of time and the ending of things. Consider Jim Nightshade, who at the age of thirteen, has decided not to ever have children:
‘You don't know until you've had three children and lost all but one.'
'Never going to have any,' said Jim.
'You just say that.'
'I know it. I know everything.'
She waited a moment. 'What do you know?'
'No use making more People. People die.'
His voice was very calm and quiet and almost sad.
This passage resonated incredibly strongly with me.

The themes are age old (the struggle between good and evil) and coming of age, but also the importance of being young at heart. The power that things and people have over you is dependent on how much power you invest them with. But the real message is to live life with enthusiasm and zest and an open heart. Evil is defeated by laughter and a smile (if only it were possible). It’s a good read, suitably atmospheric and chilling.
So what am I doing reading it at my age, rather than in my teens? Who knows; I was quite happy to have seen the movie time and again, at the time. I found this novel a simple heart-warming tale that, on the whole has stood the test of time.

The audiobook version by Blackstone Audio contains the short story "A Sound of Thunder" as well, at the end. It was read by the narrator Stefan Rudnicki. At times, Rudnicki sounded very much like much younger (and alive) Leonard Nemoy, straight from the set of Star Trek. But then sometimes, he sounded like a slightly younger Jason Robards. I know this man's voice well, from repeated viewings of the movie. It was rather freaky, and slightly fascinating. The audiobook version is good, if you can handle them.

5 stars for S.W.T.W.C., and 4 stars for S.o.T.

This was my first Bradbury book. I appreciated the 'sci-fi' of the book, i.e. the demonic carnival, the dust witch, the merry-go-round, etc. I wasn't so into most of Bradbury's descriptions. If I were to divide writing styles into only two camps, those camps would be:

Concise. Very little adverbs and adjectives. Short sentences, i.e. Hemingway.

Verbose. Long sentences. Lost of adjectives, adverbs and power verbs (i.e. "NO!" He spat angrily) and long sentences. I.e. Bradbury.

Some of Bradbury's descriptions I found crystal clear. For example, when he described the dust witch's balloon 'as the color of moldy cheese'. I think that was perhaps the best line in the book.

Most of his descriptions I found long and not really clear. They were long and windy and a little over the top. He also liked to use the word 'moth' as a descriptor a lot, which I found kind of weird.

I also found the character of Charles Halloway a little too convenient. I did like how Chalres Halloway didn't become a major character til the end of the book, but then Halloway became our translator. Halloway was able to just explain everything away with very little evidence. I found this frustrating.

Overall I am glad I listened to Something Wicked This Way Comes, but I wasn't that into it.

Also, the short story, A Sound of Thunder, didn't do it for me either.

(This is only a review of Something Wicked This Way Comes. Please add one half star.)

Bradbury's tale of adolescence and aging, curiosity and fear is poetic and frightening, frequently at the same time. Will and Jim, two teenagers, are fascinated when a circus rolls into their small town, so they creep out to investigate it before opening day. And they make an awful discovery that sets the story in motion.

As they uncover more mysteries and more grotesque characters, the boys are always walking a fine line between bravery and fear. Their relationship is so pure and perfect and reminds me very much of the young men Stephen King sometimes writes (I'm thinking specifically of "The Body"). Bradbury captures them, and what they represent, perfectly.

The more developed relationship, though, is between Will and his father, who is the janitor of the town's library (of course there's a library; it's Bradbury, after all). Will eventually comes to depend on him more and their father-son bond thickens over the course of the story. I do wish that Bradbury had not left Jim and Will's friendship on the wayside, because it was so nicely started. I also felt that the hopelessness of youth--especially the frequently ignored youth--could have been further exploited to raise the tension and anxiety in the story.

But it's a creepy tale and perfect to get some of those pre-Halloween heebie jeebies.

This story has stayed with me for many, many years. It's a fascinating short story!

Ray Bradbury has such an amazing vocabulary that you find yourself almost one of the characters in the story. Something Wicked This Way Comes is the stuff of nightmares.
The Sound of Thunder is a short story but makes a good case for the theory that a butterfly flaps it's wings in Australia and creates a tornado in North America.

Amazing. I listened to the audio version on my morning walks and I didn't want it to end! If I were teaching high school English, this would be our October read.