Reviews

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

the_color_of_the_wheat_fields's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

emmabirli's review

1.0

rasista, f americana
nu stiu pt cine e cartea asta, e prea convoluted pt copii prea outdated ca sa te pierzi in univers si mult prea simplista pt adulti. ray bradbury a luat ideea de binele invinge raul and went with it, cam fad.

mfeezell's review

4.0

Its always interesting to read an older book and realize just how influential it was to contemporary media you've already consumed. This book was haunting and creepy, yet also comforting in a strange way.

stephibabes's review

4.0

This has sat on my bookshelf for probably a decade or more. Which is pretty wild. Having read The Martian Chronicles earlier this year and loving it, I decided that come October I would read Something Wicked This Way Comes. As the nights get darker and colder I thought a spooky read would be fitting.

I certainly enjoyed it. The rich descriptions of Bradbury felt like poetry at some points. And in fact I would say my only criticism - and as ever it is probably a critique of myself as a reader - was that I got swept up in the embellished prose so much so that I lost the thread of the plot and had to tell myself to concentrate.

Spooky is generally not a genre I reach for often, but I think I probably should do. Or I should make it an autumnal tradition. It really did make me feel the creepiness all the more.

As I am unlikely to re-read this book (only happens with a handful of my favourites), I will donate this to my local book swap. Allow someone else to get swept up in this tale!

kbebo's review

dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

muertango's review

adventurous emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

dmfw's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

writinwater's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

3.75

erasmios's review against another edition

4.0

Reading Something Wicked This Way Comes feels like entering a mesmerizing dream. There's something about Bradbury's dreamy, poetic prose that does it for me. No other author has managed to put me in a trance half as deep as Bradbury. This book was much heavier, bigger than I thought it'd be. It took me a while to figure out where Bradbury was going with this novel. I don't mean to say it's a slow-burn, rather I wasn't able to see the bigger themes in play until I was maybe halfway through the book. (They're pretty obvious now that I think about it, I just kind of assumed the book would've been more about two-boys-visit-a-scary-circus than time and death, good and evil.) This novel didn't captivate me quite as much as Fahrenheit 451 did, but I'd still recommend it to anyone interested in ornate prose and fantasy-horror. If you have a chance to read the Folio Society edition don't miss it. The illustrations are amazing.

maddieden's review

challenging dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5