It's the week before Hallowe'en, and Cooger and Dark's Pandemonium Shadow Show has come to Green Town, Illinois. The siren song of the calliope entices all with promises of youth regained and dreams fulfilled . . .

And as two boys trembling on the brink of manhood set out to explore the mysteries of the dark carnival's smoke, mazes and mirrors, they will also discover the true price of innermost wishes . . .

"Ray Bradbury's most poignant evocation of the hopes and frustrations of smalltown life" - The Encylopedia of Fantasy

"A timeless rite-of-passage book" - Washington Post

"The novel is drenched in darkness, every character a slice of night" - Guardian

"A brilliant story brilliant executed. A must-read for fans of dark fantasy or horror, especially horror" - SF Site

"One of our eminent dreamers . . . the Hans Christian Andersen of the jet age" - Brian W. Aldiss