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Ray Bradbury – Something Wicked This Way Comes | Review

Title: Something Wicked This Way Comes

Author: Ray Bradbury

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 278

Rating: 4/5

I picked this up as part of a buddy read with Graham Quigley on BookTube, but I’ve got to be honest, I pretty much whizzed through it in 24 hours or so. Graham said that there was something about the writing style that reminded him of Harper Lee, but it put me more in mind of The Night Circus if it had been written by Shirley Jackson.

What’s interesting here is that it was the writing itself that really stood out to me. It was beautifully done, and some of the sentences alone make it worth picking up. At the same time, though, the characters felt pretty fleshed out and the plot was fantastic, if a little weird and occasionally hard to follow.

I was pretty sure I was going to enjoy this before I picked it up, partly because I’ve enjoyed Bradbury’s work in the past and partly because the front cover is blurbed by Stephen King. This is one of those novels that I think every serious writer should read, and horror writers in particular will find plenty here that gives them food for thought.

So all in all, this is one of those classics that lives up to its hype, and I can see why it would be especially formative for writers of genre fiction. I also think it has a kind of widespread appeal that not all classics have, so I’d recommend just picking it up whenever you get a chance. I promise you won’t regret it.

Click here to buy Something Wicked This Way Comes.

Shirley Jackson – The Haunting of Hill House | Review

Title: The Haunting of Hill House

Author: Shirley Jackson

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 252

Rating: 4/5

Shirley Jackson – The Haunting of Hill House

I’ve been meaning to get to this book for a while now, but I just somehow haven’t found the time. Then the Netflix adaptation came out and everyone says it’s great, and I didn’t want to watch it without having read the book first. So here we are.

All in all, I thought this was great, reminiscent almost of a cross between The Turn of the Screw by Henry James and And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. Jackson is a cracking writer, as I already knew from picking up some of her short stories, and her words are powerful here. It’s the kind of book that sticks in your head and gives you an almost physical reaction. It makes your hands go clammy and gives you goosebumps.

I wouldn’t say that this is a book that absolutely everyone should read, but it’s definitely a decent idea if you’re into horror. Jackson was a big influence for Stephen King and after reading this book, I can see why. But you shouldn’t pick this up because King is a fan or because of the Netflix show, even though that’s what I did. You should pick it up because it’s a great book, a short read and a lot of fun. Just try not to let Hill House get inside your head too much. Oh, and sweet dreams.