Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury (Audiobook Review)

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Title: Something Wicked This Way Comes
Author: Ray Bradbury
Narrator: Stefan Rudnicki
Copyright: 2005, Blackstone Audio
Duration: 9 hours, 16 minutes
Genres: horror, supernatural
Filed in: Audiobook Reviews
Review copy provided by Blackstone Audio.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: In Bradbury's unforgettable modern Gothic masterpiece, Something Wicked This Way Comes, something evil arrives in a small Midwestern town on the crest of the wind one autumn night. A "dark carnival" with frightening attractions and supernatural characters sets up stakes. It is up to two 13-year-old boys, James Nightshade and William Holloway, to figure out a way to save the souls of the town.
Something Wicked This Way Comes ©1962 Ray Bradbury

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes.
Three o’clock in the morning is an hour for young boys. Their parents fast asleep in their beds, it is an hour for explorations, and secret things. Thirteen year olds William Holloway and Jim Nightshade are no exception, but on one particular three a.m. excursion in the month of October, also a magical time for boys, the two adventurers find that some secrets are better left undisturbed.
It is on this particular autumn night that the Dark and Cougar Carnival arrives in their small, Midwest town on an ancient looking steam train. Unable to resist, the two boys follow the carnival train to an empty field just outside the town limits, the wind howling through the exposed calliope like a siren song to their young ears. It is on this night that the two friends get their first look at the mysterious Mr. Dark, also known as the Illustrated Man because of the tattoos that cover much of his body. Their curiosity far from sated, they vow to explore the carnival more thoroughly.
Over the next few days, and nights, the boys learn that this is no ordinary carnival: the hall of mirrors where barely glimpsed figures seem to beckon you ever deeper, the wax museum where the statues look a little too real, and the unusual backward running carousel that literally unwinds a person’s years as it spins. Unfortunately for the boys, their secret, late-night excursions have not gone unnoticed; Mr. Dark knows what they have seen, and he knows their names.
It is young William’s father, Charles Holloway, who begins to shed some light on the matter, although even that light is dark and poses more questions than answers. Rummaging through the old archives at the town library, where he is head librarian, Charles uncovers newspaper advertisements for the Dark and Cougar Carnival, newspaper articles from 1910, 1888, 1860, and 1846, same ads, same names, Dark and Cougar, Cougar and Dark, and always in October. Charles is a middle-aged man who often feels feeble and useless, especially where his young son is concerned, but when Will andJim are captured by Mr. Dark and imprisoned in the carnival, he will have to face his fears and enter the beast’s lair to save them.
In my lifetime, I have read a small handful of books that just scream “Halloween!” to me. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is one, and Ray Bradbury’s classic Something Wicked This Way Comes is another. Bradbury captures some of the magic of childhood masterfully in this book: the kind of magic that young boys find late at night, and especially in the month of October. I don’t know what it is aboutOctober. Maybe it’s the way the earth seems to be preparing for along sleep that really makes you feel alive. Whatever it is, Bradbury knows about it. It seems like a lot of his stories occur in October.
I love the relationship that Bradbury crafted between Charles Holloway and his son Will. Charles married and had a childmuch later in life than is usual, and has always struggled with his relationship with his son, often feeling that he has nothing to offer the boy. Will struggles with it too, seeing other boys with their young, active fathers, and wondering what went wrong in his own situation. It is the Dark and Cougar Carnival that finally draws them together, giving the two a new respect for each other in the ways that they both handle this new evil that has entered their lives.
I can’t think of anyone better than Stefan Rudnicki to read Something Wicked This Way Comes. His dramatic, deep voice lends something of a spectral flair to the spooky tale, and anyway, he’s just one of the better narrators in the business.
I can’t say that I’m a huge fan of Bradbury’s work in general, but he really nailed this one. This is a story about the magic of youth, and the frustration of age. It is about facing your fears and coming to grips with them, and it is about bridging the generation gap. Something Wicked This Way Comes is a beautifully written story, and a must-read for your Halloween reading list.

FILM ADAPTATION: Something Wicked This Way Comes was adapted to film in 1983, and starred Jason Robards and Jonathan Pryce. I haven’t seen this one for a long time so I can’t really say how well the film followed the novel, but I do seem to remember being pretty creeped out when I watched it. I also like Jason Robards quite a lot. He’s got a great voice, I’d love to hear him narrate an audiobook.

CHECK OUT THESE OTHER AUDIOBOOK REVIEWS:
Summer Of Night by Dan Simmons (Audiobook Review)
Golden Apples Of The Sun by Ray Bradbury (Audiobook Review)
The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving (Audiobook Review)

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Get “Something Wicked This Way comes” by Ray Bradbury (Unabridged Audiobook) from Blackstone Audio.

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This audiobook review is based on the unabridged audiobook.
Audiobook review by Steven Brandt
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