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Something Wicked This Way Comes

Something Wicked This Way Comes

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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: An Interesting Concept
Review: I thought the book was very interesting and in fact suspenseful in every way. You never knew what to expect. Will and Jim were two young boys with dreams and hopes like every other boy. They never expected something wicked coming for them. I personally enjoyed the book and think the movie was great as well. The movie and the novel compare and contrast in many different ways. I rate this novel a 3 becuase it is in the mid-point of a great novel. I couldn't relate to it so that's why I didn't rate it a 4. But it is an excellent book to read. When I first read the book I was very confuse about the direction it was going, but in the end it all ties up and connects to each personal character.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Something Wicked This Way Comes By Robert Cortez
Review: A masterpiece of modern literature, Something Wicked This Way Comes is the memorable story of two boys, James Nightshade and William Halloway, and the evil that grips their small town with the arrival of a dark carnivalone Autumn midnight. How these two innocents, both age 13, save the souls of the town as well as their own, makes for reading on timeless themes. What would you do if your secret wishes could be granted by the mysterious ringmaster Mr. Dark? Bradbury excels in revealing the dark side that exists in us all, teaching us ultimately to celebrate the shadows rather than fear them. In many ways, this is a companion piece to his joyful, nostalgia-drenched Dandelion Wine, in which Bradbury presented us with one perfect summer as seen through the eyes of a 12-year-old. In Something Wicked This Way Comes, he deftly explores the fearsome delights of one perfectly terrifying, unforgettable autumn. O

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Perfect
Review: Bradbury has always been a better short story writer than a novelist but occassionally he comes along with something that makes you wonder why he doesn't write more novels. However most of his best novels read like longer short stories and this one is no exception. Not that I'm complaining, mind you, because this one is so good you don't notice how short it is and really don't even care. His classic seems engrained on our collective conscious and most people probably think the phrase "Something wicked this way comes" comes from the title of this book and not from the Shakespeare play (Macbeth?). The one thing I notice that's different about his writing is that it's far more lyrical than normal, he seems to have a better command of the English language and every sentence and paragraphp seems dense with imagery and metaphors. The story itself ain't too bad either, the tale of a carnival that has come to take the souls of the unsuspecting town, and only two boys and a father who doubts himself can stop them. Mr Dark is one of the best villians ever to grace a novel and he exudes menace and pure evil all at the same time. The entire novel feels like a child's dream turned into nightmare and Bradbury's trademark nostalgia is still there, though less prominent than usual. Everything is beautifully constructed and you'll want to savor the writing over and over. Everyone who thought he had left horror should read this, even though it's not in the same vein as say The October Country it's close enough and just as enjoyable.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The best contemporary American novel ever written
Review: If you could check circle 20, it would still be an underestimation of this incredible novel. Something Wicked is without question the finest piece of contemporary american literature to ever be written. Starting as a child's tale or fable, the book expands into a mult-layered, multi-complex novel involving death, life and all parts in between. The dynamic tension of freindship, lost loves and puberty are all dealt with in this amazing piece of work. The premise, a "dark" carnival ariving in a small mid-western town in October is common Bradbury territiry. And there is no doubt of the autobigraphical nature of this work. As the story weaves itself through the town's population, the two boys at the center of the story, are the only ones that sense the approaching darkness that the carnival brings. In classic Bradbury prose, the reader is trasported with eloquent descriptions into the story itself. One of the two climaxes of the story, a confrontation between one of the boy's fathers (an aging man with buckets of regrets and no real hope for the future) and Mr. Dark, the owner of the Carnival is rollercoaster ride of words. In a time where action has displaced writing in novels, this scene is a delight to anyone who enjoys good literature. The film adaptation was atrocious, and looked (as Dinsey films do) only at a single element in a multi-faceted story. This film should not be used to judge this book. So don't be put off because of the film. If you read ANY book this year, make it this one.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Alex's review
Review: In this book, Bradbury's writing is so infused with his style that if you don't like his style, the book is unreadable; whereas if you do like his style, then you are almost certain to love the book. I don't like his style, but many people do. Here's a sample which illustrates the style to which I refer. It is the fourth paragraph in chapter 3:

"What's the answer, he wondered, walking through the library, putting out the lights, putting out the lights, putting out the lights, is it all in the whorls on our thumbs and fingers? Why are some people all grasshopper fiddlings, scrapings, all antennae shivering, one big ganglion eternally knotting, slip-knotting, square-knotting themselves? They stoke a furnace all their lives, sweat their lips, shine their eyes and start it all in the crib. Caesar's lean and hungry friends. They eat in the dark, who only stand and breathe."

If you like that style of writing, or at least don't consider it pretentious, self-indulgent gibberish, then you will probably be able to find a decent read in this book. I was able to make only about one-sixth of the way through before my annoyance with the style overcame my desire to read a good story.


Rating: 3 stars
Summary: really wicked
Review: Something wicked did happen to Will and Jim. Two close friends about the same age wonder around and found something that changed both of their lifes. The carousel they saw by wondering around was a time machine. Both were present to see how the time machine works. They saw how the carousel took many weird people back in time according to their desires. A big disaster was the conclusion of their wondering, they were chased and tempted for looking at people and things they werent suppose to be seen.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Greatsest mystery movie of all times
Review: Something wicked this way comes the movie is a mind puzzeling and an abnormal movie, because of the characters and the events that catch your eyes and mind.This story of two boys who encounter the sinister wonders of Cooger and Mr.Dark's pandemonium shadow show. They will soon discover the show's awful mystery a mystery that will change the life of every person it touches. THis movie is in my opinion one of the greatest mystery movies of all times and could capture your attenion with it's phenonaminal event's and in conclusion that is why I rate this movie 5 stars

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Classic That I Actually Liked! How Could That Be!?
Review: Something Wicked This Way Comes(1962).

Ray Bradbury, author of such renound classics as The Martian Chronicles and Farenheit 451, took a stab at the horror genre in 1962. Much like Mary Shelley(Frankenstein) and Bram Stoker(Dracula), Ray Bradbury helped in the shaping of the Horror genre, now ruled by such authors as Stephen King and Dean Koontz. Combining Horror and Classical Literature, with a plot of Greed and Deception, Bradbury created what today would be known as a Horror Classic, Something Wicked This Way Comes, and also one of the most recognizeable novels in his catalog. Bradbury was the first Horror author to use children, the most unlikely heroes, that Stephen King later used in his commercial smash IT and his short story "The Body", and have been used by numerous other authors and directors of popular culture. Based on a famous quote of Shakespeare, Something Wicked This Way spawned a popular movie of its own, and Modern Day Metal Artist Iced Earth even used it for the title of their popular album. In the next paragraphs, you will read just what made Something Wicked This Way Comes such a timeless classic, and one of the very few classics I can stand!

Plot-
During the time before Halloween, in the cold Autumn of October, a Train seemingly spawned out of hell comes into town, a dark omen of the days ahead. As a calliope crackles mysterious doomy tunes, Cooger & Dark's Pandemonium Shadow Show, a carnival of sorts, unloads their dark materials, tents, animals, and sideshow freaks of equal gruesomeness. Jim Nightshade and Will Holloway, two young curious 12 Year old boys, seemingly are the only ones to hear the hellish calliope(FYI, an organ) music at Three in the Morning, so they set out to see where all the noise is coming from. Soon they find out, and flee back to their homes to await the coming storm. The next day, The Carnival is out in full force, and most of the entire town is there, to view such rides and shows as A Mirror Maze, a Ferris Wheel, seeing Skeleton Men, Dwarfs, Fortune Tellers, Mr. Electro, and Mr. Dark, the Amazing Illustrated Man. Their is also a Merry-Go-Round, but it is strangely Out of Order. After the crowd leaves and the carnival shuts down, the crowds subsided totally and all is quiet, Jim and Will stay behind, hiding, waiting to learn the mystery of the carnival. Soon they are thrusted into a world where their wildest dreams are imaginable, and their worst nightmares are staring them right in the face, and they are the only ones who can subside the Growing Storm...

Writing-
Since this is my first Ray Bradbury novel I've read(And probably not the last), I won't compare Something Wicked This Way Comes to his other works, but instead rate his writings as my observations as a reader. The most memorable part of Bradbury's writing, is his descriptive writing, which, even such a simple act as running, Bradbury lets you Feel, Hear, See, Taste, and almost makes you think you can reach out and touch what isn't there. Although many times his descriptions run-on for too long, other times he hits the right notes in the right amount of space, and his genuine talent for writing and descriptions bring the story and the characters alive. Something Wicked This Way Comes, along with Stoker's Dracular, is one of the few classics I can stand, because too much emphasis in other classics is placed on descriptions rather than plot, but Bradbury's plot is deftly place Center-Stage here, and the Reader never feels bored or let down.Many times his ideas may seem unreasonable, but against the other material it doesn't take too much away from the book to me.

Overall, Something Wicked This Way Comes left a strong impression on me for Bradbury, and this won't be the last book I read by him. If you noticed the 4 star rating, it's mostly because of the things that plague classics so much for me. Overlong descriptions. I must emphasize though Bradbury isn't nearly as inconsistent as many authors, so this is just minor. Also some of his plot ideas seem odd and leave the reader thinking "Huh?", but most of the time the plot is easy to follow.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! A GREAT HORROR AND CLASSIC NOVEL NOT TO BE
MISSED BY ANYONE! BRADBURY MAKES THE CARNIVAL SEEM MORE EVIL THAN
IT DOES IN REAL LIFE!

Also Recommended-

Farenheit 451- Ray Bradbury
IT- Stephen King
Dracula- Bram Stoker

Thanks For Reading!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Amazing
Review: Something Wicked This Way Comes, is one of the most amazing books ever written ever! "By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes." Every time I hear that saying I think of this book written by Ray Bradbury. Also I think that it was kind of odd how Mr. Dark used the diguise of being the lightning rod salesman, and how Jim and Will found out all the secrets of the mirors and the mazes and the fariswheel. All that Mr. Dark and Mr. Cooger were trying to do were to take the peoples souls and trade them for what they (the people) wished for the most as in their sins. To all that haven't read this book should really read it because it will make you interested in it more and more...page after page. This book is one of the best ever written and it will make you more interested in it because of all what happens it makes you wander whats going to happen to Jim and Will next, so it keeps you gessing, and it makes you wander if Will and Jim will make it out alive or dead!! Who know till you read it, so go out and read it for my sake and for yours.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: By the pricking of my thumbs Something Wicked This way Comes
Review: That Bradbury is the living legend of fiction so profound that it can move you for life is a well known fact. What is not known is that his stories are not just fiction. Rather every word he writes comes out of the experience he had in this life or last or may be next.
Something Wicked This Way Comes explores the deepest, darkest desires of human heart. 2 Boys stumble upon the secret of a "dark carnival", its mysterious carousel and even more mysterious Mr. Dark, the ringmaster, the granter of all wishes.
How the boys resist the evil of the carnival and all those lurking in its dark depths, how they temp their fates and struggle to survive makes a wonderful reading experience you won't find anywhere else.
Whether you like Gothic fiction or not one thing is sure, you will like this book for its wonderful prose and extraordinary plot.
CONCLUSION : A masterpiece. BUY IT.
RELATED BOOKS: October Country, From the Dust Returned
OTHER GOOD BOOKS : Death is a lonely Business, I Sing Body Electric, Farenheit 451, Illustrated Man, Martian Chronicles.


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