Something Wicked This Way Comes
#5853.89 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 1 book Status Complete 1962 Reading commitment Low Ray Bradbury Last reviewed 2026-09-24
Overview
Ray Bradbury's 1962 novel follows two thirteen-year-old boys, Will Halloway and Jim Nightshade, after a sinister traveling carnival arrives in their small Illinois town, Green Town, days before Halloween, led by the enigmatic Mr. Dark. It stands as a darker, coming-of-age counterpart to Bradbury's more nostalgic Green Town novel, Dandelion Wine (1957), sharing its setting but no direct narrative continuity.
Dark fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (1 work) counts toward ranking
Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962) core · 3.89 (159,599 ratings); A dark carnival arrives in the small Illinois town of Green Town days before Halloween; two 13-year-old best friends discover its sinister, supernatural nature and the temptations it offers the townspeople.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Something Wicked This Way Comes? Something Wicked This Way Comes's Core Canon is 1 book.
- Is Something Wicked This Way Comes finished? Complete (1962).
- How much reading does Something Wicked This Way Comes take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 1 Core Canon book · ~293 pages).
- How is Something Wicked This Way Comes ranked? #585 in this site's official ranking, based on 159,599 reader ratings across 1 Core Canon book. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #585?
Ranked #585 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.89 across 1 core book.
- Backed by 160k reader ratings.
- Less than 0.01 behind #584, Tooth and Claw (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
- A single standalone novel: ranked on that one book alone.
Why explore this universe?
Rated · 1 book · Complete · 160k ratings · Ranks #585 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment dark fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
A single Core Canon work: no sequencing question to resolve.
Awards (verified)
- No award could be confirmed for this novel.
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- The Ocean at the End of the Lane Dark fantasy / Mythic fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.01
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.89 across 159,599 ratings on 1 Core Canon book. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Canon extension: Something Wicked This Way Comes (Ray Bradbury) accepted 2026-09-24
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-09-24
Rule: Core Canon = Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962) only, standalone.