Ray Bradbury has long been considered an American treasure, and his stories would play with reality in such a way to reveal the truth about the world we live in. Most of the time, he delved into themes set in science fiction worlds that only his imagination could have created, but one special story set a darker mood that haunted anyone who read the story, Something Wicked This Way Comes. Yes, the title comes from Shakespeare’s Macbeth in reference to the title character entering right before he speaks with the three witches. It makes the viewer wonder who should be the one that should be trusted much as Ray Bradbury does with his carnival that visits a small American town. What secrets does the traveling freak show hold? Why are so many people interested in what appears to be cheap displays and rides? How are two boys’ lives changed by what they find there? These are the questions that this amazingly dark and creepy tale tells, and there is no way that anyone can read this book without getting creeped out by what happens.
John Collings 