Reviews

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

dmfw's review against another edition

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 against another edition

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

angus_mckeogh's review against another edition

2.0

I wanted to love this book. The movie has always been one of my favorite spooky throw back films. However, the book just fell flat. The dialogue was cheesy and canned. And for some reason I remember much more taking place in the movie but perhaps that's faulty memory. The novel just didn't seem to scare, or to entertain for that matter.

mitzyreads_'s review against another edition

Was not into it at the moment

calebmatthews's review against another edition

4.0

4.5 stars

What a good Halloween read! This is definitely a Stephen, a book Stephen King read before writing It and Fairy Tale. Such a good premise, and so many good lines! This book was written in such a good way that many of it’s core concepts and ideas have since become tropes.

Only 4.5 stars because it to take me a little bit to get into.

Something wicked this way comes

No man is a hero to himself

Death doesn’t make things sad, it makes all the other things sad.

emmaisbored's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

claudiatylr's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

God I love Bradbury! This one was so delightfully unexpected. I assumed going in that I’d be getting another classic Bradbury sci-fi novel. So imagine my surprise when instead I found myself in Cooger and Dark’s world of nightmares. The writing was so poetic, the descriptions deeply bone chilling, while still having childlike-wonder. I don’t know much horror history but I have to imagine this book is a big precursor/inspiration for many modern stories. 

cassieleigh97's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0