Something Wicked This Way Comes (Green Town #2) by Ray Bradbury

"Halloween comes a week early to Green Town, Illinois. In the form of "Cooger and Dark's Pandemonium Shadow Show". It's a Carnival, led by the delightfully terrifying Illustrated Man and when Will and Jim stumble upon its secret, things go from hypnotizing to horrifying. The epitome of good versus evil told as only Bradbury can tell it."

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Pros: Bradbury's writing is truly immersive, you are right beside Jim and Will through the whole insane story/The Illustrated Man is one of my all time favorite literary villains.

Cons: Bradbury does have a way with words but sometimes, that way can be very long and a little bit rambly/The ending when read at face value is simply silly.

Full Review:

Tom Fury, the seller of Lighting Rods, can feel the storm brewing. He can tell, it's going to be a monster. He happens upon two boys, lounging in their yards and decides to warn them of the danger.

They are William Halloway and Jim Nightshade. Will, born one minure before Midnight, Jim, one minute after. They are light and dark, Jim running and Will always keeping up. They listen to Fury's spiel, that he's convinced one of their houses will be struck by lightning this very night! And so they buy his wares and nail the Lightning Rod to Jim's house, just in case.

The night passes and they run about town, as boys on the cusp of teenagedom will do. They notice that some of the regulars, Mr. Tetley, the Cigar store salesman, and the Mr. Crosetti, the Barber, seem distracted and almost sad. They try to ignore the old men's mutterings about smelling cotton candy and hearing carousel music on the wind.

It isn't until they're staring at a handbill for "Cooger and Dark's Pandemonium Shadow Show" do they understand. A Carnival's come to town, but this late in the year, well into October, it just seems strange. Will is cautious and wary but Jim, is eager and intrigued. When the Carnival arrives and they see something they shouldn't, the Freaks, led by the terrifying Illustrated Man, go on the hunt.

Bradbury, as usual, touches upon the deeper themes of life, death, age and the inevitabel passing of time, all in his beautiful, lyrical way. Though there were times where he could get a bit rambly and the end was really, rather, underwhelming, overall, it's a great read. This will always be one of my favorite Bradbury reads.

Comments

Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury

"Obviously targeted to writers but honestly, anyone could benefit from Bradbury's practical yet poetic advice, this was a collection of esasys by Bradbury about his writing process and reflections on some of his greatest works." ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Pros: Bradbury, duh, though I'm biased, to me, the man's prose is pure poetry, every word beautiful/Since writing is not my career, it was an interesting way to view Bradbury's life. Writing was his job and he was the only income. If he did not produce material, he would not get paid. It help put things into perspective. Cons: The man can go on for a bit 😂/Bradbury's insane work ethic and endless endurance to just produce story after story seems insane and overwhelming but then again, this was his livelihood, so I'm sure it was insane and overwhelming. If he didn't write and get paid, they'd starve, so, it was a life or death situation. Full Review: This was essentially a collection of essays written by Bra...

Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King

“The tale of Andy Dufresne and how he served his time at Shawshank prison, as told through the eyes of his friend and fellow inmate, Red. Dark and disturbing but also compulsively readbale. I finished it in 2 days. Also enjoyable is Frank Darabont's 1994 film adaptation, "The Shawshank Redemption." ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Pros : Red has a soothing, drawl, making the reading easy and flowing/Since I saw the film first, I couldn't help but compare the book though I was pleased to find that the two were very similar. Cons : Things got a bit rambling a bit at the beginning/Since I saw the film first I couldn't help but compare the book but this ended up not being a con. Full Review: The state of Maine has a prison. Shawshank Redemption. And Red is the guy that can get you things. He also happens to be the only guilty man in Shawshank but that's netiher here nor there. He meets Andy Dufresne for business purposes at first and he finds him to be a calm, cool man and Red likes him i...

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick

“Rick Deckard is a Bounty Hunter who's on the trail of six "Andys" (Androids) who have come to Earth illegally. His job is to track them down and "retire" them. Something he found easy to do until he met her, Rachael Rosen. The Android that does the impossible, passes the "Voight-Kampff" test. The story quickly devolves into a slow, drawn out and frankly boring mystery that was putting me to sleep by the end." ⭐⭐ Pros: I was more interested in comparing it to the film, "Bladerunner."/At first I kind of liked the drab, dreary atmostphere but it soon became soporific. Cons: I had no real idea what was going on with Mercerism/The end there had me blinking in bewilderment, like with Herbert's 29th Dune Book/There was a lot of idle chit-chat while they were in murderous/intense situations, it just seemed odd. Full Review: Rick Deckard, a Bounty Hunter, contracted with the San Francisco Police Department hunts down and retires rogue ...

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