Something Wicked This Way Comes Written by: Ray Bradbury Published by: HarperCollins Publishers©1962 Mac Smith

Introduction Bradbury’s novel takes place in Green Town, Illinois during the month of October, half of the time in the town and the other half on it’s outskirts at the carnival. Jim and Will, the novel’s main characters, first meet an odd lightning rod salesman who gives Jim a lightning rod to put on his roof. He warns of a “storm” on the way. Jim and Will watch as the train with the carnival on it pull into town. They notice there is something very evil about it.

Protagonist(s) vs. Antagonist(s) Jim and Will Jim is about the same size as Will, his hair is thick and brown. His eyes are green. Will again is similar in size to Jim, his hair is colored white-blond and he has bright clear eyes. Mr. Dark and Mr. Coogar Mr. Dark is tall and thin with black hair, he is covered in tattoos and wears a black suit with a top hat. Mr. Coogar is a small but strong man with red hair and blue eyes.

Central Conflict Jim and Will are the main characters involved in the story, although his dad does play an important role too. Mr. Dark is also the main opposing character, Mr. Coogar does also play a slightly important role. Jim and Will discover that an evil carnival has made its way to their town. Although many in the town, except for the grown men and Will and Jim, can’t sense the danger. The two struggle together to get away from it and try to ultimately destroy its evil. Some possible solutions could be destroying the evil in an unlikely way

Minor Characters Jims Mom- she is a single mom who lost all of her kids except for Jim. Jim’s dad beat her and ran off, she wants to protect Jim but she knows he is going to leave her. Dust Witch- she is blind but she can see and hear things others can’t, she is the carnivals main lookout. Mr. Fury- the lightening rod sales man at the beginning of the book, he is the first casualty of the carnival, as he was turned into a dwarf.

What the Critics had to say: Something Wicked this Way Comes cuts across genres and has inspired people from Stephen King to Alice Cooper and everyone else in between. Bradbury divulges the reader into the day of the dark circuses arrival to Jim and Wills town. The novel cuts across genres to display multiple themes of darkness and coming-of-age tale in charm and in horror. It has much to offer, whether you’re a teen, young adult, or an old person.Something Wicked This Way Comes | Bookreporter.comSomething Wicked This Way Comes | Bookreporter.com Ray Bradbury allows readers to see this carnival of fear through the eyes of two best friends, Will and Jim, on the edge of adolescence. Will and Jim add to the compelling themes celebrated in the novel when their innocence triumphs over evil. Bradbury does a great job of showing us that we all have a dark side, and to celebrate rather than to hide from the shadows. Something Wicked This Way Comes: Ray Bradbury: : Amazon.com: Books Something Wicked This Way Comes: Ray Bradbury: : Amazon.com: Books

What I thought of the book: I really enjoyed the book and consider it my favorite out of this one and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. I enjoy horror, action and mystery, and this book had all of that and then some in it. One thing that I thought Ray pulled off very well was that he went across the genres so it really wasn’t just a horror tale. One thing that didn’t surprise me was that one of my favorite authors, Stephen King, was inspired by it, because their novels share common things with one another. I also read the book because it reminded me of one of my most favorite times of the year, fall, and the nostalgia I had as a kid growing up during the all. I strongly recommend this novel to a fan of horror thinking outside the box when it comes to content.