Something Wicked This Way Comes

With his deep, gentle voice, Stefan Rudnicki lures the listener into this audiobook like the sirens of old. His vocal range and well-paced narration leave listeners trapped in a hypnotic trance as he juggles the dark mood of the story with the light and youthful vigor of protagonists Will Holloway and Jim Nightshade. The smoothness of Rudnicki's performance enhances this haunting tale of a fiendish carnival as it attempts to prey on a local town. With the help of Will's father, the heroes must defeat the evil machinations of the carnival without succumbing to its many temptations. Rudnicki sustains his energy for an encore performance, the bonus story, "A Sound of Thunder." L.E. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine

Part fantasy, part allegory, Bradbury's mad ecstasy of words spews forth like a demented poem. Some listeners may find themselves swamped in the lush, expository verbiage, but Hecht's measured baritone keeps it all from running amok. Slowly he builds the menace of a carnival arriving in the night, with weird calliope music that transforms time itself. The tatooed director and his freaks emerge to lure customers to death, or worse. As Will and Jim follow their 13-year-old appetites of derring-do, Hecht uses a breathless falsetto of wonder and apprehension. In the wrong hands, the symbolism might have wilted into cartoonish platitudes. But Hecht's careful handling delivers the message with dignity. S.B.S. (c) AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine