Something wicked this way comes

 

- Something wicked this way comes. Ray Bradbury. 

To the quaint Green Town, Illinois, a strange carnival has come, bringing Halloween with it at least a week earlier. For most of the residents, it means something delightful… perhaps even tempting —it offers certain things they badly desire. For two boys, it is a nightmare come true. And for one of the boys’ weary father, it may well come to represent something else…

Seminal dark fantasy novel by Bradbury; a book whose influence is writ large in so much latter fiction. From latter 20th century classic horror / fantasy authors (ranging as diverse as Stephen King, R. L. Stine and Richard Matheson) to more general fiction for children. A mix of horrific, sentimental and even subtly erotic. 

However, the novel itself is undeniably dated. The sentimental parts now and then feel corny, to say nothing of eyebrow-raising (that last chapter in particular…). The characters’ motivations can often feel unpleasantly moralistic. And to top it off, it’s a rare case in which Bradbury’s ornamental prose sometimes gets in the way of his own tale, often obscuring rather than emphasizing. 

Sometimes it even feels like other books closely tied to this one —such as the short story collection “The illustrated man” —hold up much better. 

Still, a classic that is worth a look for both historical value (genre history especially) and as part of Bradbury’s multi-faceted world. 

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