Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

Ray Bradbury is considered one of the best sci-fi authors of the 20th Century, though he wrote far more than just sci-fi. I would prefer, if I must, to pigeonhole him under ‘weird tales’; just keep Lovecraft out of your mind.

It was quite late in my reading career that I picked up Bradbury, and to be honest, I didn’t like his style. Reading ‘Something Wicked This Way Comes’, I realised that it wasn’t that I didn’t like his writing, but that his descriptive narrative took me out of my reading comfort zone, as he uses no clichés, and sticks to none of the tropes of a given genre.

If you’re not used to him, this style can make him seem inaccessible and decidedly odd, but just as madness has its own logic, so does Ray Bradbury – just let go of your usual literary anchor points.

Onto the story. Two friends, Jim and Will, were born one minute apart, live next door to each other, and do everything together in small town America. So when late at night, the circus pulls into town, they sneak out to go and welcome it. But this is a circus like no other; the merry-go-round goes backwards, doing strange things to whoever is riding it; the hall of mirrors shows…..something, and leaves even adults crying wrecks; and the evil influence extends to the rest of the town, affecting the minds of everyone. It will test the friendship and characters by exploiting any weaknesses, something they find out it has been doing for a very long time.

A well-crafted ‘weird tale’ that does away with convention, while applying layer after layer of menacing atmosphere.