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stephibabes's review against another edition
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!
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 against another edition
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 against another edition
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 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
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.
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.
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.