The Long Rain

 

Ray Bradbury, "The Long Rain." Originally titled "Death-by-Rain," in Planet Stories, 23 September 1950.

This story is reprinted in The Illustrated Man, R is for Rocket, and several other collections of Bradbury's work. It is worth tracking down if you enjoy gritty science fiction horror.

What is pleasant can be maddening when taken in excess. Bradbury turns the rain into something relentlessly horrifying. But that’s not all; I struggle to think of a story that better illustrates that monsters of horrendous scale are, in fact, real! Bradbury’s craft is on full display, when he gob smacks the reader with the monster of a “thousand electric blue legs.” What was your favorite part of the story?    


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