Something Wicked This Way Comes!

By: William Todd

Narrated by: Ben Werling

Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's Summary

August 1888. Jericho Mannion is the captain of an old, cash-strapped steamer named the Orion. He's been steadily losing money to his competitors, the railways. When he finds out from his first mate, Tal MacTavish, that the next passage across Lake Erie has only a few passengers, his hopes sink of ever getting out of debt. But Providence has smiled upon him. Though the passenger list is small, they have almost a full cargo hold, thanks to William Ross and the university he works for.

Ross is the team leader of a university archeology dig tasked with retrieving the debris from a meteorite crash in western Ohio. He is quite anxious to get his find back to the university for study and is willing to pay Jericho double the fare for his team and cargo for a straight shot across Lake Erie from Toledo, Ohio to Buffalo, NY. Jericho becomes suspicious when Ross refuses to divulge the contents of his cargo and the haste in which he wants to cross. Desperately needing money, Jericho reluctantly agrees when Ross finally offers him triple the fare; he will take him and his cargo on the nonstop 14-hour trek across the lake.

But what few people on the ship know is what was initially thought to be a meteorite crash turned out to be an alien craft. The crates in the cargo area hold the remains of the ship. And what no one knows, not even the university team, is that something in those crates is still alive.

Now, in a growing storm, alone in the middle of the lake, people are turning up dead. Who will survive the crossing when something wicked this way comes?

©2019 William Todd (P)2019 William Todd

Great Surprise!

So, I actually downloaded this wanting to read Ray Bradbury's "Something Wicked This Way Comes" and hoping for a sort of vintage horror feel. Not actually knowing what Bradbury's was about, I was halfway through this book before I realized it wasn't his.

This book had all the classic horror-y feels I wanted. The story was interesting, well-told, had interesting characters, and creative writing.

I'll be reading more of Todd's books.

The only negative was that the narrator read too quickly. His voice was great, but for the first time ever, I had to slow the speed down to .75 (and I am a voracious audiobook consumer).

Excellent spooky tentacular shipboard story!

I decided to read this book based on how much I have enjoyed other books by William Todd; I didn’t even bother to read the book blurb. And I was not disappointed. This is another great bit of fiction from William Todd.

We start off with a mysterious meteorite that hits a small farm. The POV then switches to a ship navigating across Lake Eire on a dark and stormy day-turned-night. The tale is a slow, delicious burn as the suspense is built and the characters fleshed out. Then, a tentacle! Argh!

OK, so I didn’t freak out over one tentacle. No, the freak out came later as we learn just how deadly the owner of that tentacle is.

Anyhoo, my favorite characters were Charlotte, Tal, and Billy. There are few ladies in this story and for the most part, they don’t get to do anything. But Charlotte almost makes up for that weakness in the story-telling. She’s got a full personality, is independent, and has some very useful skills. I quite liked her. Tal is capable in his own right and also a little bit of a rogue. I liked how he took charge when it was necessary, and without raising the hackles of the captain. Admittedly, Billy’s character arc is a bit cliched. However, I still liked him and I was very pleased with how things turned out for him.

Back to the creature – it’s unlike anything the characters have ever encountered before. Professor Ross is dead set on trying to communicate with the creature, seeing an opportunity for humanity to grab the stars by prying technological knowledge out of this deadly being. I did wonder though if this creature is the equivalent of some deadly pet that got loose on the spaceship and caused the crash and therefore, wouldn’t be able to divulge technological advances in the first place.

The pacing keeps ramping up the tension as one person after another disappears. Finally, all the remaining characters are on high alert, but few have any clue what they are on alert for. The ending is properly dramatic and satisfying. A tiny epilogue left me with a good feeling for the remaining characters. I secretly hope William Todd gives us a sequel. I think Lake Erie’s reputation would get a boost for being a source of a tentacular invasion! 4.75/5 stars.

The Narration: Ben Werling gives a great performance. I particularly loved his Scottish accent for Tal and his steady and sometimes-cheeky voice for Charlotte. Werling’s little boy voice for Benny was good too. All characters had distinct voices and the ladies sounded like ladies. Werling captured the determined arrogance of Professor Ross quite well also. The pacing was perfect and there were tech issues with the recording. 5/5 stars.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by William Todd. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

Something Wicked This Way Comes

I found Something Wicked This Way Comes to be a fun and thrilling ride. I was entertained throughout the book, especially listening to Ben Werling narration. I believe he brought perfectly brought this tale to life and portrayed the characters just the way the author had intended them to be. The story is full of action, adventure, and suspense filled. I never knew what would happen next. I enjoyed the author's writing style. It was unique and refreshing.
I am giving Something Wicked This Way Comes four stars. I would love to read more by this author in the future.
I received the audio version of this book from the publisher. This review is 100% my own honest opinion.

A good horror story =D

This is your traditional horror story: isolated people, and a monster threatening them. A thrilling survival story, with interesting characters. Yes, some of them are predictable (the obsessive Uni's professor, for example), but they are interesting, nevertheless.

The story is well-paced and I enjoyed the author's style, from whom I most certainly will be reading more.

Ben Werling does an astounding job with the narration, particularly with the different accents =D

I received this audiobook at no-cost from Audiobookworm Promotions. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.