• Something Wicked This Way Comes

  • By: Ray Bradbury
  • Narrated by: Christian Rummel
  • Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (6,205 ratings)

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Something Wicked This Way Comes  By  cover art

Something Wicked This Way Comes

By: Ray Bradbury
Narrated by: Christian Rummel
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Publisher's summary

Few American novels written this century have endured in the heart and mind as has this one - Ray Bradbury's incomparable masterwork of the dark fantastic.

A carnival rolls in sometime after the midnight hour on a chill Midwestern October eve, ushering in Halloween a week before its time. A calliope's shrill siren song beckons to all with a seductive promise of dreams and youth regained. In this season of dying, Cooger & Dark's Pandemonium Shadow Show has come to Green Town, Illinois, to destroy every life touched by its strange and sinister mystery. And two inquisitive boys standing precariously on the brink of adulthood will soon discover the secret of the satanic raree-show's smoke, mazes, and mirrors, as they learn all too well the heavy cost of wishes - and the stuff of nightmare.

©1962 Ray Bradbury (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

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What listeners say about Something Wicked This Way Comes

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    3,316
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

OUTSTANDING!!!! THOROUGHLY ENJOYED THIS,!!!

Read this book 30 years ago and forgot how good it was.... Thank you for the memories of when i read it the first time....Audible.......

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Both charming and creepy - very well done

I've heard of this title but never read it, my previous Bradbury experience being Fahrenheit 451 - a good story, but without the lyrical prose and charming reminiscences of this book. I loved it. There is a lot of creepy horror in this book - an evil carnival comes to a small town are starts to ruin some lives and stalk the protagonists - two irrepressible teen boys. That's where the "charming" comes in - Bradbury's descriptions of the actions, dreams, thoughts, and plans of the young teen boys (13, going on 14) in this 1960s small town is lovely. This is a book that's both fantasy and horror, with enough of each that it never gets overpowering.

The boys are flip sides of the same coin - born 2 minutes apart, growing up and living next door to one another - Very much alike in some ways, but still different enough that it impacts their reaction to and affect of the traveling carnival.

For the first hour or so I thought the narrator was merely adequate, but as the book went on, I began to really love his narration. He definitely did a great job and I think added a lot to the experience of the book.

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3 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Loved it, BUT

His writing is too florid. He seems unable to simply tell a story. made me miss the pop vulture of Stephen King. Still, I liked the premise. The narration is masterful.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A Classic you shouldn't pass up

A great story and superb narrator! Good scary fun. Definitely do not pass this one by. This is a must listen!

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2 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Solid reading of a classic

Would you listen to Something Wicked This Way Comes again? Why?

Yes; I liked the narrator's style, and Bradbury has an amazing way with words.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Charles Holloway, of course, is the star of the show. He and Atticus Finch (Mockingbird version) are the quintessential "dad that everyone wants": smart, intelligent, loving, and fair.

Any additional comments?

If you liked Stephen King's Needful Things, this is the original version.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

excellent boy's book

Where does Something Wicked This Way Comes rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

high ranking

What did you like best about this story?

the writing, imagination

Which character – as performed by Christian Rummel – was your favorite?

the father

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

no

Any additional comments?

Though the writing is fabulous, I think this book is really geared toward boys and young men.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Why have I not read this before?

I loved how the author would be so descriptive, it was like poetry! In school I had to read the Illustrated Man...I was young and being tortured by required book lists for Honor’s English. I now wish I had paid better attention and read other Bradbury books earlier in my life. I am rectifying this now though.This particular book was amazing...the performer for the Audible book was fantastic! So much so I looked at his other projects to see if I could listen to him again! I am not sure if any of them will work for me but he did this book justice 100%.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Wow

Liked it when I was younger. Love it now (now middle aged). Love all of Bradbury's books!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

It comes to life

I can't imagine a better narrative for such a fine, engrossing novel. This is a must have for any collection. The story is sometimes endearing often frightening and stayed on my mind every moment I was away until I could get back to it and hear some more.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

The Stuff of Night Terrors!

Creepy and Eerie!! The writing is beautifully poetic and the story unique. I enjoyed the story, although I became slightly bored towards the end.

The narrator was spectacular at creating the perfect mood for this story!!!!!

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