Something wicked this way comes by Ray Bradbury

That’s friendship, each playing the potter to see what shapes we can make of the other

First impressions

This is the first book from Ray Bradbury. I have to thank the Estella’s Project for finally pushing me to start with him. The book turned out to be part of a series of sorts, all 4 books taking place in Green Town, but I didn’t know this when I first started reading the book. Luckily it feels like they are more of companion novels, so I was able to enjoy this one without reading the other one.

Final thoughts

This book tells a story of friendship, between two boys entering their teenage years James Nightshade and William Halloway, borne only minutes apart from each other, and best friends since forever. This autumn a carnival comes into town, and it comes with fear and evil doing but only the boys are aware of it at first. They see the real power of the carnival, and while it might be able to award the deepest desires of everyone in town, this comes with a price, as it always does in magic.

How convenient that I read Doll Bones about the same time, since they both send me back to the time when I was 12/13 years old. Both a bit creepy and both showing beautiful friendships.

Something wicked carries its name appropriately; reading the descriptions of both the carnival and the characters living in the carnival send chills down my spine, and I was reading this in my patio in the middle of summer, so believe me, this was compelling writing. Considering this books was first published in 1962, it is remarkable how the characters don’t feel dated, not in the way they talk, nor in the situations presented.

The tone, the rhythm and the construction of characters makes for a very fluid read, and so I finished the book in one single day. I did not want to put down the book, and only the fact that I fell asleep made me stop. I would recommend this book to everyone if I could.