Something Wicked This Way Comes

By: Ray Bradbury

Narrated by: Christian Rummel

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.

It was October, a Rare Month for Boys . . .

Long before the haunted and haunting horror of Stephen King's carnies and rides of "Joyland" (2014), the electrical magic of Charles Jacobs in "Revival" (2014), the fear engendered by a single stray balloon in "It" (1986), and even the dark enchantment of Leland Gaunt of "Needful Things" (1991), there was Ray Bradbury's "Something Wicked This Way Comes" (1962). Bradbury's Will Halloway and his father, Charles Halloway; Will's best friend, Jim Nightshade; and Mr. Dark, the Illustrated Man, are the literary kith and kin of some of King's most memorable characters.

Bradbury (1920 - 2012) was a fixture of the Los Angeles literary scene for more than half a century - and yes, scratch the Hollywood silver plate and glitter and you'll find the best. He dedicated my small town's new library in 2009, and people still talk about that. I remember seeing Bradbury walking by at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books one year. I stopped dead in my tracks in the hot sun, one kid in a stroller and the other tugging at my hand, wanting to go see Barney. I was awestruck knowing that they were just feet away from one of the greatest writers ever. It's Los Angeles, and the polite thing to do is ignore the A-list movie star/director at In-and-Out Burger, but seeing Bradbury left me speechless. I didn't have the nerve to stop him and ask him to pose for a picture with kids and my really neat new camera that was digital - can you believe it? - digital.

Bradbury's especially lyrical in "Something Wicked This Way Comes." I've re-read the book at least every decade since I was a teenager, and this time, I realized its better as a listen than as a read. Take this quote, for example,"The train skimmed on softly, slithering, black pennants fluttering, black confetti lost on its own sick-sweet candy wind, down the hill, with the two boys pursuing, the air was so cold they ate ice cream with each breath." Christian Rummel's performance makes a passage that's a bit of a non sequitur as a straight read into frightening poetry as chilling as Pulitzer Prize winning poet Wallace Stevens' (1879-1955) "The Emperor of Ice Cream" (1922). Bradbury was so prolific and so influential for his other works - like the dystopian Fahrenheit 451 (1953) - that his sheer elegant craftsmanship in fantasy/horror is sometimes overlooked. One of my favorite characters is Charles Holloway, the heroic father who worked as a janitor at the town library so he could spend his insomniac nights reading.

This is a great performance of a great work.

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This book gave me nightmares!!

A delight of fright! I could not stop listening to this book. A timeless story of lasting friendship and the enduring love of a father.

Almost Didn't Listen

The narration almost stopped me in my tracks of beginning this book. It was too dramatic...until I gave it a chance, as I tried to remember what caught me and urged me to buy this book. My first experience reading Ray Bradbury. Then I remembered the fact that the boys were born a day apart (one the day before Halloween and the other on Halloween) and they lived next to each other. Then I got used to the voice and found it fit perfectly reading the poetic verse of Mr. Bradbury. Found much meaning - will reread sometime, I am sure I didn't get it all. Christian Rummel knows how to read/narrate this book.

An absolute classic

If you could sum up Something Wicked This Way Comes in three words, what would they be?

It reaches into your soul and makes you contemplate your own morality, good and evil and that sort of thing. Screw that 3 words crap.

What did you like best about this story?

I like the carnival atmosphere and the simple setting of the small town.

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

People getting older and younger on the carousel.

Any additional comments?

I have to forgive the flowery language and style that Bradbury uses. It belongs in a book like this, but at the same time one can overdose on it. You keep thinking about this book long after it is done, and that is the hallmark of great literature. It moves you. It stirs your soul. It does something that is just hard to explain.

Great story with a life lesson

I usually hate coming of age stories, but this was very well written & held my interest. It was a story of good & evil for all ages. I really enjoyed the journey it took me on.

'The Twilight Zone' in novel form

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Yes. Fans of vintage science fiction will enjoy this book. Bradbury is at times over-poetic (in my opinion) but the major themes and the characterization are executed expertly. I am surprised that this book is not better known.

Ray Bradbury's writing was at time exceptional - eloquent and captivating. I didn't expect to like it as much as I did.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Something Wicked This Way Comes?

The scenes of father-son bonding are especially touching. Also, all of the scenes with 'The Dust Witch' were fun and creepy.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

I think the narrator was to over-bearing. It was distracting for me and took away, somewhat, from the otherwise excellent drawn atmosphere of the book. His omnipitent voice was too 'sports talk' and his boy's voices were too 'little kid.' It was a broad swing from one extreme to the other and I almost wish I would have read the physical book instead.

Was Something Wicked This Way Comes worth the listening time?

Umm....yes and no. I feel like I have a new appreciation of Ray Bradbury, but I also think that the story could have been cut in half and perhaps been more powerful because of the brevity.

Any additional comments?

Good story, narrated in an overly heavy-handed way. Would rather have heard it told by a British narrator with a more mature and consistent style.

The best kind of creepy!

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

I Loved this book. Bradbury is a true master of character, atmosphere and tension building. Perfect late October read!

Great performance of a Bradbury classic

This was my first time listening/reading this book and it was quite enjoyable. Bradbury uses prose to build a intricate dark autumn atmosphere; and tell the tale of a father and two friends navigating the arrival of a dark carnival. The narrator does a superb job of conveying this theme. The prose occasionally feels like it stunts the flow of the story; however I feel that it is a trade off that is well worth it. The author kept it to just the right length to build and complete the story without dragging it down with filler. This is a classic for a reason and if you are a fan of Bradbury, dark adventures or just good writing you will also enjoy this one.

Time is our friend.

A lot of beauty here. Reflections on growing up; ideal for any age. Performance gets one star less only because Rummel doesn’t know the tune to “Swanee River”, which as an American I feel personally offended. :P Fantastic masterwork by a favorite author.

GREAT fun and thrills!

What a great story! Thrilling, properly exciting and risky, perfectly written and read. I forget just how much I love Bradbury, and then I read a story like this and am blown away. It makes me think of a more sinister Alfred Hitchcock movie with kids.