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Something Wicked This Way Comes and a Sound of Thunder

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One of Ray Bradbury's best-known and most popular novels, Something Wicked This Way Comes , now featuring a new introduction and material about its longstanding influence on culture and genre. For those who still dream and remember, for those yet to experience the hypnotic power of its dark poetry, step inside. The show is about to begin. Cooger & Dark's Pandemonium Shadow Show has come to Green Town, Illinois, to destroy every life touched by its strange and sinister mystery. The carnival rolls in sometime after midnight, ushering in Halloween a week early. A calliope's shrill siren song beckons to all with a seductive promise of dreams and youth regained. Two boys will discover the secret of its smoke, mazes, and mirrors; two friends who will soon know all too well the heavy cost of wishes...and the stuff of nightmares. Few novels have endured in the heart and memory as has Ray Bradbury's unparalleled literary masterpiece Something Wicked This Way Comes . Scary and suspenseful, it is a timeless classic in the American canon.

Audiobook

First published January 1, 1962

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About the author

Ray Bradbury

2,560 books25.1k followers
Ray Douglas Bradbury was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and realistic fiction.

Bradbury is best known for his novel Fahrenheit 451 (1953) and his short-story collections The Martian Chronicles (1950), The Illustrated Man (1951), and The October Country (1955). Other notable works include the coming of age novel Dandelion Wine (1957), the dark fantasy Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962) and the fictionalized memoir Green Shadows, White Whale (1992). He also wrote and consulted on screenplays and television scripts, including Moby Dick and It Came from Outer Space. Many of his works were adapted into television and film productions as well as comic books. Bradbury also wrote poetry which has been published in several collections, such as They Have Not Seen the Stars (2001).

The New York Times called Bradbury "An author whose fanciful imagination, poetic prose, and mature understanding of human character have won him an international reputation" and "the writer most responsible for bringing modern science fiction into the literary mainstream".

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5 stars
254 (36%)
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248 (35%)
3 stars
141 (20%)
2 stars
44 (6%)
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12 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 96 reviews
Profile Image for aPriL does feral sometimes .
2,185 reviews536 followers
August 7, 2012
Dark is truly a scary monster. I cannot think of a more horrifying image than skin being covered with crawling, squirming images that seethe and move deeper under the flesh and surge out in the next moment. One spider crawling up my arm is enough to give me a fit. In movies, an illuminated man usually is pictured as a tattooed man - but that is not what Bradbury created here. This being's skin literally crawls around because of multitudes of images being alive. (Plus, Dark enslaves souls because he feeds on their suffering, and age is not a consideration - he'll take children as well as men and women.) I know I've become jaded to horrific visual special effects in movies. Under the skin crawlies or burns or bloody tears are common. But I've never seen this holographic/maggoty effect done except for where a tattoo of an eagle or other single creature pulls away from the skin and flies off. The other movie effect is some maggots or similar insect-like creatures which bump around under the flesh. But maggoty-like moving faces that seeth and crawl on the skin? It brought to mind a particular Doctor Who episode, which was also creepy, but I think Bradbury's creation was far worse.

Now that I've completely freaked you out, you should know this is not a gory or excessively violent book. Perhaps sensitive people should avoid it, but it would be a great book for a father to share reading with a son, and then to discuss responsibility in taking action if someone appears to be in trouble, the social boundaries of friendship and relationships, and how seductions into evil behavior are not always so easy to resist or easy to spot. Of course, this depend on what kind of kid you've got, too. Myself, as a child, I read everything I could get my hands on, so I was precocious to a degree and far ahead of my peers AND parents in comprehension and literary pretensions. I've grown out of part of this, can you guess what I still have to a fault?

In this book Bradbury's word choices sometimes run away into thick fogs or overgrown gardens, and sometimes he gets lost exploring a sound/word group of descriptions that he tries to use instead of sentences for atmospheric actions or scenes. He's not as good at this as Dr. Seuss, but then this isn't Bradbury's strength. What he is good at is writing muscular speculative stories with vivid characters who face dramatic ethically challenging situations heroically, which can be read by people of all ages.

I don't believe I would like carnivals at all.

Sound of Thunder was included in my audiobook of Something Wicked. ... Hello, Tyrannosaurus Rex hunt! Cool!
Profile Image for Shellie (Layers of Thought).
402 reviews64 followers
September 24, 2009

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.
Profile Image for Ginger Vampyre.
525 reviews8 followers
July 10, 2015
I am not a big fan of Bradbury, he is a bit dry and verbose for my taste. That being said, this is an interesting story of human nature. In a small midwestern town a circus comes to visit, but this circus is anything but ordinary. Two boys get caught up in the age old battle of good versus evil. But instead of battling monsters, the fight is with their selves.
Profile Image for Lizze Miller.
200 reviews7 followers
April 10, 2015
Fantastic and horrifying. I've not read a book before that's scared and thrilled and inspired to courage. Note: begin it on October 1.
Profile Image for Laura.
647 reviews67 followers
November 5, 2012
(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.
Profile Image for Douglas  Donaldson.
10 reviews18 followers
August 5, 2008
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.
Profile Image for M.J. Heiser.
Author 5 books58 followers
May 20, 2011
Exceptionally spooky and filled with the ghouls and monsters of your deepest nightmares, Something Wicked This Way Comes is one of Ray Bradbury's masterpieces for a reason. The themes are epic: the innocence and potential of youth are forced into combat with spiritual and moral corruption. Freedom is brought up against indentured servitude. In the simplest terms, good is pitted against evil. The halls of this madhouse are decorated with Bradbury's eternally capable and magical prose, and instead of being forced to deal with the nightmares in an overly gory way, you are gently shepherded through it. Nothing is hidden, but nothing is forced. Despite the epic themes, the story is dispatched capably and efficiently without seeming overwrought.

No wonder this man has influenced so many.

Oh, and I would be remiss in neglecting a mention of the short story "Sound of Thunder" at the end of the book. :)
Profile Image for Courtney.
587 reviews544 followers
December 20, 2006
Two boys, close friends but different as night and day, have left summer behind and have begrudgingly started a new year of school. One fall night, in the wee hours, a carnival comes to town...something about it doesn't seem quite right, and something creepy is happening to the townspeople.

This book is a great, quick read - themes of friendship, growing up, the dark side of human nature.
Profile Image for Andrea.
273 reviews17 followers
March 28, 2007
This is one of my all-time favorites. It's a beautifully written story about two best friends and what happens to them when a carnival comes to their small town. It was an intense, moving, frightening read. Ray Bradbury is at the top of his game here.
Profile Image for Ariana.
615 reviews
October 2, 2020
Probably would have liked this better if I had read it. At first I thought it was a boy and a girl that were best friends due to a really girly voice. A bit of cussing in this.
Profile Image for Genevieve.
61 reviews
dropped
December 27, 2019
Stopped reading at 29%. Didn’t like the writing and had a hard time figuring out what was going on. Tried reading it with Jeff.
Profile Image for Richard K. Wilson.
745 reviews129 followers
February 7, 2025
STILL after 60 years it is just as good as it was when I first read in 1974! FLAWLESS! Bradbury's best novel of his career IMO. This review is for the most AH-MAZINGLY narrated ever audiobook!

Will Halloway and Jim Nightshade are the BEST of friends and they are both October boys! They have grown up right next door to each other and one night in October in the middle of the night.....they hear music. CREEPY music of an old calliope. They both tell each other that it could not be a carnival this late in the season.....but they are wrong! And the carnival that is coming into town this late October is one that will push the boys and their fathers and small town to the limits of the BIZARRE!

When the lightning rod salesman approaches the boys and talks them into believing that one of their houses is going to get struck fatally by an approaching lightning storm if they don't purchase one to put ontheir roof, the boys don't think anything of it....they buy it and the boys climb on the roof and attach it to the roof point. What they dont know is that they are marking themselves to be tormented and drawn to the Crueger and Dark Traveling Carnival and what they discover will make them look at their friendship, their family's and LIFE in a way that they will never forget!

With Will's Father being 54 he has always 'felt too OLD' to be Wills Dad, but not Will, he is his father that he adores. He works as a janitor in the evenings at the local library. Jim's family is completely different; they are young parents and Jim has always taken things kinda for granted. When the boys start to watch the carnival set up at 3 in the morning, they witness some of the most creepy and yet fascinating characters ever. And believe me, these characters are ones that you will both fear, and love at the same time. Only Bradbury could have written this story in the early 60's.....and with the Walt Disney motion picture of the same name, they are both Classics in their own ways. My favorite part of this classic is the horrifying and very creepy Carousel.....and this is one that takes you on a ride that can either make you older or younger; depending on which way it turns! YES! You are in for the ride of a lifetime, and if you are going again, you will love it as much this time as you did if not MORE than that first time you experienced 'Something Wicked This Way Comes'! Ready to go to the Darks traveling 'Creep Show!?' Let's Go! HIGHLY recommend this coming of age Horror, suspense, and emotional read.

5 SCREAMS all the way thru October!
Profile Image for Kaye Mallory.
717 reviews5 followers
November 17, 2025
After listening to the audiobook of Something Wicked This Way Comes, I read many of the reviews here before I could decide what to say about it. I must have missed a lot of the themes and symbolism mentioned by other readers. I found the story overly long.

I wonder if Stephen King read a lot of Bradbury books because the styles are quite similar. They are both really long winded. For example, if it's a cloudy day, he writes it like, "The day was cloudy and dark. Dark - like when you were a child and hoped it would snow, so that school would close and you could have the day off, but you were disappointed because it didn't happen - grey. The boy stepped outside."

The other similarity King shares with Bradbury is waiting to find out if that 'thing' is a man, or a monster, or a man that changes into a monster, etc.

The other short story, A Sound of Thunder, was much better. It's an interesting futuristic time travel story where hunters could go back in time to shoot any animal the company marked for shooting. Just do NOT leave the path!
94 reviews2 followers
August 5, 2025
The whole time I was reading this book I was thinking, “I’d like this better as a movie”. Written by Ray Bradbury, it’s an eerie story of a carnival that mysteriously arrives in a small town in the middle of the night. Two boys stay late one night and accidentally see something they shouldn’t have seen. Suddenly, they’re being hunted by a few of the carnival workers. With the help of one of the boy’s dad, it turns into a game of survival. It’s a classic tale of good vs evil. The moral of the story is good and even though the events are a bit far-fetched, it’s all still believable. I just really struggled with Bradbury’s style of writing. He likes to use lots of words, and lots of explanations, and lots of descriptions. According to google, there’s a 1983 Disney movie based on this book. I’d recommend just watching that instead.
Profile Image for Britt.
1,070 reviews2 followers
November 5, 2018
Bradbury is one of my favorite authors yet this book always falls short for me. I’m not a big fan of the fight evil with love plot (like in a Wrinkle in Time). It just seems an oversimplification of the complexities of life. I do like some of the themes in the book, but it’s nothing like Bradbury’s other stories that take place in the same town. With that being said, I still read this book most Octobers as it’s good ambience for the season.

This was my first time getting the Sound Of Thunder included. I found that more interesting of a read. What will rich people do in 2055? Travel back in time to do big game hunting of Dinosaurs. But don’t step out of line, you change the course of history!
Profile Image for RACHEL.
65 reviews
June 26, 2021
I listened to the audiobook and I'm not much of an audiobook person.

This was kinda rough for me. The story sounded like something I would be really into if I were reading with my eyes instead of my ears but maybe not so much to go back and wait for the ebook or a physical copy to be available.

A supernatural/evil carnival tale of children caught in a web of temptation. Clearly a major influence of one of my favorite books, Johannes Cabal: Necromancer. I wish I'd been 1) in the mood for that type of story (autumn instead of summer reading) and 2) I HAD BEEN READING WITH MY EYEBALLS.

Would recommend but definitely be into spooky/demonic and unexplained forces, carnivals coming to town, children having growing pains.
Profile Image for Mark Drinnenberg.
Author 1 book6 followers
April 30, 2023
I read a physical copy of this book last year and had a hard time with the poetic language. I found it difficult to understand and frustrating to read. "Just write what you mean!" I said out loud a number of times. At the time, I thought about giving the book one star but knew that Ray Bradbury and his highly acclaimed novel must be worthy of more than that, so I gave it three.

Several months later, I decided to listen to an audio version to see if I would think differently about the book. Boy, was I surprised! Stefan Rudnicki's reading of the book is fabulous and allowed me to see (or hear) what a great story this is. Five stars all the way!
Profile Image for Alexis Maillet-Rust.
40 reviews
October 17, 2025
I felt like I was reading a book assigned through high school 😂 not a completely terrible thing but I did sometimes find the story a bit difficult to follow. Maybe just because writing styles were different back then? Maybe slightly too heavy on descriptors? Now reading the blurb of the book, it is described as being poetic which is not what I was expecting. If I were to attempt a reread, I might enjoy it more knowing that and I might try reading a physical copy rather than doing the audiobook again.

I did however quite enjoy the short story at the end. I would give A Sound of Thunder 4 stars ⭐️
Profile Image for Karla.
708 reviews
January 7, 2025
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.
Profile Image for Katie Knight.
327 reviews
November 6, 2025
Book 120 of 2025. November. Audiobook.

Not sure how I've never read this before.There is just something about the character Mr. Dark that just worked for me. Also, a carnival that feeds on fear... I'm in. This story touches on aging, temptation and the battle of good and evil in all of us. The ending is deeply human and is a story that will sit with you for awhile.
Profile Image for Bookwarrior.
276 reviews
March 2, 2019
This was a cool story and very dark and very good. The short story that came after Something Wicked This Way Comes is one of my favorites of all time. I love how it deals with what would happen when you change the past.
Profile Image for Andrew Steele.
518 reviews1 follower
January 31, 2021
Very enjoyable. Bradbury's descriptive language is really amazing.
The story, is fairly short, but I definitely got into it pretty quickly.

Sound of Thunder is good for a short, short story (30+ minutes on audio) predictable but good.
Profile Image for Tommy.
17 reviews2 followers
October 20, 2023
Great writing style, very descriptive and easy to follow. Unfortunately, I just didn't find this story that interesting or entertaining hence the 2 star rating.

This book was probably geared more toward a younger crowd.
5 reviews
November 3, 2024
Writing was hard to follow and plot lines were abandoned and lackluster overall
Profile Image for Nancy.
260 reviews1 follower
December 7, 2024
I liked it but it took me a while to get into. Creepy story.
Profile Image for Kim Kolleck.
11 reviews
April 16, 2025
I love this author but really struggled with how slow it was. The final wrap up was very well done but painful getting there.
186 reviews3 followers
September 16, 2025
My first book by Bradbury and it's a great one! The longing of the young to be old and the old to be young. Very creepy. Loved it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 96 reviews

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