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The Long Rain
"The Long Rain" is a short story by science fiction author Ray Bradbury. This story was originally published in 1950 as "Death-by-Rain" in the magazine Planet Stories, and then in the collection The Illustrated Man. The story tells of four men who have crashed on a planet where it is always raining. As they try to reach the safety of the Sun Domes, they end up being driven insane by the endless rains.
The story was republished in several collections and was incorporated into a film also titled The Illustrated Man.
-- Wikipedia
The story was republished in several collections and was incorporated into a film also titled The Illustrated Man.
-- Wikipedia
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About the author
Ray Bradbury
2,570 books25.5k followersRay Douglas Bradbury was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and realistic fiction.
Bradbury is best known for his novel Fahrenheit 451 (1953) and his short-story collections The Martian Chronicles (1950), The Illustrated Man (1951), and The October Country (1955). Other notable works include the coming of age novel Dandelion Wine (1957), the dark fantasy Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962) and the fictionalized memoir Green Shadows, White Whale (1992). He also wrote and consulted on screenplays and television scripts, including Moby Dick and It Came from Outer Space. Many of his works were adapted into television and film productions as well as comic books. Bradbury also wrote poetry which has been published in several collections, such as They Have Not Seen the Stars (2001).
The New York Times called Bradbury "An author whose fanciful imagination, poetic prose, and mature understanding of human character have won him an international reputation" and "the writer most responsible for bringing modern science fiction into the literary mainstream".
Bradbury is best known for his novel Fahrenheit 451 (1953) and his short-story collections The Martian Chronicles (1950), The Illustrated Man (1951), and The October Country (1955). Other notable works include the coming of age novel Dandelion Wine (1957), the dark fantasy Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962) and the fictionalized memoir Green Shadows, White Whale (1992). He also wrote and consulted on screenplays and television scripts, including Moby Dick and It Came from Outer Space. Many of his works were adapted into television and film productions as well as comic books. Bradbury also wrote poetry which has been published in several collections, such as They Have Not Seen the Stars (2001).
The New York Times called Bradbury "An author whose fanciful imagination, poetic prose, and mature understanding of human character have won him an international reputation" and "the writer most responsible for bringing modern science fiction into the literary mainstream".
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
April 10, 2018
“It was a rain to drown all rains and the memory of rains.”
Tense and compelling, Ray Bradbury’s short story, The Long Rain, is one of the finest among his Mars and Venus stories. It is rich with atmosphere, as four soldiers who have crash landed on Venus, killing two others who had been with them, attempt to survive the constant rains of Venus, and make it through the jungle to the Sun Dome, and safety. Much like in the silent film, The Wind, starring Lillian Gish, Bradbury writes the rains of Venus as a force of nature that can drive men mad.
It becomes a war of attrition against the elements, as one by one the rain claims members of the small party. Their only desire is to escape the rain, to sit and read and drink cocoa and coffee in the warmth of the Sun Dome. Hindered by an electrical storm more like a living thing attacking them than a natural phenomenon, they reach the nearest Sun Dome only to discover the sea-dwelling Venusians have attacked it. The only hope remaining is if this tired, weary, and dwindling group can survive reaching the next nearest Sun Dome…
Bradbury’s description of the rains and the effect it has on the men is marvelous, making the trek for the reader both tense and involving. Will they reach the second Sun Dome only to discover it too has been damaged beyond repair by the Venusians? Or will the constant, torrential rains pick them off one by one, as they give themselves over to something more powerful than themselves?
A masterpiece from the mind of Ray Bradbury that anyone who loves Science Fiction should read at some point. Highly recommended.
Tense and compelling, Ray Bradbury’s short story, The Long Rain, is one of the finest among his Mars and Venus stories. It is rich with atmosphere, as four soldiers who have crash landed on Venus, killing two others who had been with them, attempt to survive the constant rains of Venus, and make it through the jungle to the Sun Dome, and safety. Much like in the silent film, The Wind, starring Lillian Gish, Bradbury writes the rains of Venus as a force of nature that can drive men mad.
It becomes a war of attrition against the elements, as one by one the rain claims members of the small party. Their only desire is to escape the rain, to sit and read and drink cocoa and coffee in the warmth of the Sun Dome. Hindered by an electrical storm more like a living thing attacking them than a natural phenomenon, they reach the nearest Sun Dome only to discover the sea-dwelling Venusians have attacked it. The only hope remaining is if this tired, weary, and dwindling group can survive reaching the next nearest Sun Dome…
Bradbury’s description of the rains and the effect it has on the men is marvelous, making the trek for the reader both tense and involving. Will they reach the second Sun Dome only to discover it too has been damaged beyond repair by the Venusians? Or will the constant, torrential rains pick them off one by one, as they give themselves over to something more powerful than themselves?
A masterpiece from the mind of Ray Bradbury that anyone who loves Science Fiction should read at some point. Highly recommended.
May 24, 2024
It is interesting to read the stories written before we knew what planets like Venus and Mars were truly like.
Ray Bradbury imagined Venus as a jungle planet with oceans, endless rain, and violent electrical storms. A hellscape but one relatively benign to the one Venus actually is. The root of the story is however more in line with a tale of explores that are isolated like Shackleton or the Arctic explorers or the early Europeans in the jungles of South America or Africa.
As always, it was impeccably written.
Ray Bradbury imagined Venus as a jungle planet with oceans, endless rain, and violent electrical storms. A hellscape but one relatively benign to the one Venus actually is. The root of the story is however more in line with a tale of explores that are isolated like Shackleton or the Arctic explorers or the early Europeans in the jungles of South America or Africa.
As always, it was impeccably written.
March 13, 2025
„Дългият дъжд“ е много хубав и смислен разказ! Бредбъри по лиричен начин е поднесъл мрачната, но и емоционална история на група хора, които са закъсали на планетата Венера. Там вали непрестанен дъжд и условията са страшно сурови, а единствената надежда на героите е да открият тайнствен Слънчев купол...
„— Ох, веднъж да стигнем до Слънчевия купол! Онзи, който ги е измислил, си е знаел работата.“
„— Ох, веднъж да стигнем до Слънчевия купол! Онзи, който ги е измислил, си е знаел работата.“
May 23, 2020
En realidad 3'5,
Tengo la sensación de que este autor no dejará de sorprenderme.
me ha parecido un relato muy original y muy bien pensado y descrito.
Con más ganas de este escritor :).
Tengo la sensación de que este autor no dejará de sorprenderme.
me ha parecido un relato muy original y muy bien pensado y descrito.
Con más ganas de este escritor :).
May 27, 2020
The Long Rain
“How much farther, Lieutenant?”
“I don’t know. A mile, ten miles, a thousand.”
“Aren’t you sure?”
“How can I be sure?”
“I don’t like this rain. If we only knew how far it is to the Sun Dome, I’d feel better.”
“Another hour or two from here.”
“You really think so, Lieutenant?”
“Of course.”
“Or are you lying to keep us happy?”
“I’m lying to keep you happy. Shut up!”
--
“How many million years since the rain stopped raining here on Venus?”
“It never stops raining on Venus. It just goes on and on. I’ve lived here for ten years and I never saw a minute, or even a second, when it wasn’t pouring.”
“It’s like living under water,”
---
Venus bleached everything away in a few months. Even the jungle was an immense cartoon nightmare, for how could the jungle be green with no sun, with always rain falling and always dusk?
--
They all laughed. They reached the door of the Sun Dome, laughing.
Simmons yanked the door wide. “Hey!” he yelled. “Bring on the coffee and buns!”
--
In the luminous night—for the vegetation glowed in the darkness.
“How much farther, Lieutenant?”
“I don’t know. A mile, ten miles, a thousand.”
“Aren’t you sure?”
“How can I be sure?”
“I don’t like this rain. If we only knew how far it is to the Sun Dome, I’d feel better.”
“Another hour or two from here.”
“You really think so, Lieutenant?”
“Of course.”
“Or are you lying to keep us happy?”
“I’m lying to keep you happy. Shut up!”
--
“How many million years since the rain stopped raining here on Venus?”
“It never stops raining on Venus. It just goes on and on. I’ve lived here for ten years and I never saw a minute, or even a second, when it wasn’t pouring.”
“It’s like living under water,”
---
Venus bleached everything away in a few months. Even the jungle was an immense cartoon nightmare, for how could the jungle be green with no sun, with always rain falling and always dusk?
--
They all laughed. They reached the door of the Sun Dome, laughing.
Simmons yanked the door wide. “Hey!” he yelled. “Bring on the coffee and buns!”
--
In the luminous night—for the vegetation glowed in the darkness.
April 27, 2017
Love this story. I first read it in a Ray Bradbury collection R Is for Rocket and whilst it's a classic venus-of-the-time story it is also a great short about alien environments and the fragility of man.
October 4, 2019
THE rain continued. It was a hard rain, a perpetual rain, a sweating and steaming rain; it was a mizzle, a downpour, a fountain, a whipping at the eyes, an undertow at the ankles; it was a rain to drown all rains and the memory of rains. It came by the pound and the ton, it hacked at the jungle and cut the trees like scissors and shaved the grass and tunneled the soil and molted the bushes. It shrank men’s hands into the hands of wrinkled apes; it rained a solid glassy rain, and it never stopped.
The Long Rain is one of my all time favourite stories and is Ray Bradburys absolute best story (aside from the other obvious one). You can find it in The Illustrated Man collection of shorts.
Four men are stranded on Venus where it never stops raining. Never. It is enough to drive even the strongest of minds insane. The four men seek shelter in one of the Sun Domes dotted about the planet. But finding a Sun Dome is a job easier said than done.
I still have dreams about The Long Rain. I think about it almost daily, even years after first reading it. The Long Rain is probably the only book I have read over and over and over. It is the stuff of nightmares but it has so much hope too. It explores overcoming insurmountable odds and obstacles to reach your goal. And if your goal might not be as you expected, cross that bridge when you come to it.
Apart from that fact that nothing can actually grow on Venus and that everything gets crushed on entering the Venusian atmosphere, and that Venusian rain is sulfuric acid which can't even rain properly because it evaporates in the upper atmosphere, Bradbury has imagined such an amazing planet. Hell, given the chance I'd probably go to Bradburys Venus and do the pilgrimage to the Sun Domes too, providing it was a guided tour and I had a lot of life insurance.
Even now I look up at Venus in the night sky, blazing out its beautiful orangey-pinky-yellow brilliance, and wonder that both Bradbury and I, 70 years apart, looked at that nighttime beast and marveled at what its treacherous elegance hides. No wonder Hephaestus was so covetous of her. The universe is fucking amazing.
My rating: 5 bleached jungles out of 5
February 22, 2024
A must read science fiction short stories
November 18, 2024
Asombroso, genial y Espectacularmente agobiante!!!
Cuando inicie la lectura de este relato se me hizo un poco igual a otro del autor pero mediante pase las páginas me vi sorprendido por uno de los mejores cuentos que he leído este año.
La historia, el desarrollo, la paulatina caída de la cordura por parte de los personajes, las muertes..... solo puedo decir genial!
Ha sido de los poco relatos que me ha sabido transmitir la desesperación, el agobio y el cansancio de los personajes en cuanto a la lluvia (no volveré a ver esta acción de la naturaleza de la misma manera jaja), me gusto mucho las descripciones que el autor le da al planeta venus.
Al inicio se me hizo un poco enredado saber que personaje hablaba, excepto por el teniente, ya que hasta mas adentrado al relato el autor les da nombre, este sería la única pega al cuento pero nada que afecte sinceramente.
En mi opinión considero el relato como, aparte de terror psicológico, terror cósmico o lovecraftiano si lo vemos desde cierto punto de vista. La insignificancia del ser humano frente a la naturaleza, en este caso proveniente de otro planeta y algo tan común como es la lluvia, la caída a la locura por parte de los personajes y sus finales crudos son los que me hacen considerar esta historia con esa etiqueta.
Por último, algo que me gustó es que el final es ambiguo y deja a la interpretación del lector que le pasó al teniente. En mi opinión todo lo que vio al final fue producto de una alucinación y su final caída a la locura, contribuyendo esto al terror.
Cuando inicie la lectura de este relato se me hizo un poco igual a otro del autor pero mediante pase las páginas me vi sorprendido por uno de los mejores cuentos que he leído este año.
La historia, el desarrollo, la paulatina caída de la cordura por parte de los personajes, las muertes..... solo puedo decir genial!
Ha sido de los poco relatos que me ha sabido transmitir la desesperación, el agobio y el cansancio de los personajes en cuanto a la lluvia (no volveré a ver esta acción de la naturaleza de la misma manera jaja), me gusto mucho las descripciones que el autor le da al planeta venus.
Al inicio se me hizo un poco enredado saber que personaje hablaba, excepto por el teniente, ya que hasta mas adentrado al relato el autor les da nombre, este sería la única pega al cuento pero nada que afecte sinceramente.
En mi opinión considero el relato como, aparte de terror psicológico, terror cósmico o lovecraftiano si lo vemos desde cierto punto de vista. La insignificancia del ser humano frente a la naturaleza, en este caso proveniente de otro planeta y algo tan común como es la lluvia, la caída a la locura por parte de los personajes y sus finales crudos son los que me hacen considerar esta historia con esa etiqueta.
Por último, algo que me gustó es que el final es ambiguo y deja a la interpretación del lector que le pasó al teniente. En mi opinión todo lo que vio al final fue producto de una alucinación y su final caída a la locura, contribuyendo esto al terror.
January 31, 2020
I've been listening to the audiobook for Ray Bradbury's short story collection called The Illustrated Man and this story has come and gone and I figured I'd write a review for it.
This story was quite engaging and very fascinating as well. It follows a squad of soldiers who have crash-landed on the planet Venus which is plagued by never ceasing rainfall. The soldiers are on a mission to reach buildings known as sun dome's which are safe zones spread across the planet to keep people safe from the rains.
The story becomes quite intense as the story progresses and the rains eventually wind up causing each of the soldiers to go completely nuts as well as losing the feeling in their limbs and even losing their ability to hear.
The premise of the story was fascinating because this was the first time I'd ever come across a sci-fi book/story that featured this kind of scenario. I also can't help but feel it'd make a rather intriguing premise for a horror based video game as well.
It's a very atmospheric and rather terrifying book, which is not something I was expecting given that rain has always been rather calming to me. This book proved that even something calming can be absolutely terrifying given the right circumstances, props to Ray Bradbury on his excellent writing skills.
This story was quite engaging and very fascinating as well. It follows a squad of soldiers who have crash-landed on the planet Venus which is plagued by never ceasing rainfall. The soldiers are on a mission to reach buildings known as sun dome's which are safe zones spread across the planet to keep people safe from the rains.
The story becomes quite intense as the story progresses and the rains eventually wind up causing each of the soldiers to go completely nuts as well as losing the feeling in their limbs and even losing their ability to hear.
The premise of the story was fascinating because this was the first time I'd ever come across a sci-fi book/story that featured this kind of scenario. I also can't help but feel it'd make a rather intriguing premise for a horror based video game as well.
It's a very atmospheric and rather terrifying book, which is not something I was expecting given that rain has always been rather calming to me. This book proved that even something calming can be absolutely terrifying given the right circumstances, props to Ray Bradbury on his excellent writing skills.
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January 14, 2020Ray Bradbury’s short story, “The Long Rain ” is about a group of men that crash in Venus and try to get a Sun Dome, which is a safe place where there is an artificial sun and is protected from rain and Venusians (aliens from Venus that attack the Sun houses). The Long Rain has similarities and differences with “All Summer in a Day, “ which is also written by Ray Bradbury.
A similarity that The Long Ran and All Summer in a Day have is that they both take place on Venus where there is no sun, and it never stops raining. The evidence can be shown in both stories. “A thousand forest had been crushed under the rain and grown up a thousand times to be crushed again. And this was the way life was forever on the planet Venus.”( All Summer in a Day,1 ). “It never stops raining on Venus, it just goes on and on. I’ve lived here for ten years, and I never saw a minute, or even a second, when it wasn’t pouring.” ( The Long Rain,1 ). This means that the rain never stops in either of the stories.
A similarity that The Long Ran and All Summer in a Day have is that they both take place on Venus where there is no sun, and it never stops raining. The evidence can be shown in both stories. “A thousand forest had been crushed under the rain and grown up a thousand times to be crushed again. And this was the way life was forever on the planet Venus.”( All Summer in a Day,1 ). “It never stops raining on Venus, it just goes on and on. I’ve lived here for ten years, and I never saw a minute, or even a second, when it wasn’t pouring.” ( The Long Rain,1 ). This means that the rain never stops in either of the stories.
February 22, 2026
in the '50s, a team at Harvard did an experiment on rats. they placed rats in beakers full of water and forced them to tread for a few minutes. some of the rats panicked and exhausted themselves, almost drowning quickly. The researchers running the experiment picked the rats out, let them rest a bit, dried them off, and then put them back in the water for a second round of treading water. the rats in round 2 were able to tread water for many hours. they had hope. true hope can manifest supernatural physical feats
the men in this story are just like the rats in the experiment - this is a story about the power of Hope, believe in others, and the degree to which we can push ourselves beyond the limits we thought physically possible. Bradbury paints haunting imagery, a master of dystopia. As always, Bradbury provides a sprinkle of tragedy to keep you grounded..
the men in this story are just like the rats in the experiment - this is a story about the power of Hope, believe in others, and the degree to which we can push ourselves beyond the limits we thought physically possible. Bradbury paints haunting imagery, a master of dystopia. As always, Bradbury provides a sprinkle of tragedy to keep you grounded..
October 23, 2019
This gripping, emotional story can be interpreted many ways. My first thought was we endure hardships and learn from them but after it’s over, we forget so soon.
We often live in the moment. “The water from his uniform pooled at his feet and he felt it drying from his hair and his face and his chest and his arms and his legs. He was looking at the sun. It hung in the center of the room large and yellow and warm. It made not a sound and there was no sound in the room. The door was shut. The rain only a memory to his tingling body. The sun hung high in the blue sky of the room. Warm. Hot. Yellow. And, very fine. He walked forward tearing off his clothes as he went.
We often live in the moment. “The water from his uniform pooled at his feet and he felt it drying from his hair and his face and his chest and his arms and his legs. He was looking at the sun. It hung in the center of the room large and yellow and warm. It made not a sound and there was no sound in the room. The door was shut. The rain only a memory to his tingling body. The sun hung high in the blue sky of the room. Warm. Hot. Yellow. And, very fine. He walked forward tearing off his clothes as he went.
June 10, 2025
Bradbury's writing is always picturesque. He is a master of suspense. But this story did not age well. I couldn't help but be critical of the descriptions of Venus. The description of a planet with endless rain was well done, but little things bothered me. Why take cigarettes to a rain planet? Why not take chewing tobacco? Of course the entire problem of not having "space suits" makes the story, but it is also what makes it so unrealistic. We know more about Venus now than then. The story would have been better on a fictional planet. Yet, somehow this doesn't bother me when the stories are about Martians.
January 3, 2021
I don't know what to think after reading this chilling story. Did it really have a happy ending since he made it to the Sun Dome? It prompted so many questions into my head: What would life be like if there was perpetual rain? Or may be perpetual heat! Can a persisting situation in our lives lead a man to madness, suicide or depression? For sure I'd say. But there will always be those few people who chose not to give up, who can defeat the persisting darkness and deflated spirits and find that light at the end of the tunnel. Spooky read!
March 26, 2024
Almost a tone poem more than a story. Humans on Venus have to find shelter from the unrelenting rain before it drives them mad. Saying much more than that would spoil the story. Atmospheric and engaging, but rather depressing throughout.
[Yes, we know now that Venus's clouds have nothing to do with rain, but this was written before that, when all we knew was that there was cloud cover.]
[Yes, we know now that Venus's clouds have nothing to do with rain, but this was written before that, when all we knew was that there was cloud cover.]
May 20, 2018
One day it started raining and it didn't quit for 4 months. We've been through every kind of rain there is: a little bit of stinging rain, and big ol' fat rain; rain that flew in sideways, and sometimes rain seemed to come straight up from underneath... This one day we was out walkin' like always, and then - just like that - somebody turned off the rain and the sun come out.
April 27, 2021
Even though it's a short story, it feels as long as its title suggests, thanks to an amazing description, courtesy of Ray Bradbury, who imbues the narrative with details so vivid I even started hating rain for a moment.
October 20, 2021
A fantastic survival story characterised by willpower, hopelessness and dread. Ray Bradbury was a master storyteller whose prose was beautifully descriptive. Although the story is surreal, his writing makes you feel as though you live vicariously through the characters.
December 19, 2022
This short story was written for those of us living through La Niña far before it’s time, haha. Trigger warning that if you’ve dealt with damp and mold and mental health from all the rain the last couple years you’ll feel this one in your bones…
August 29, 2025
The Long Rain by Ray Bradbury
Language: 1/10 (almost nothing)
Scary/Horror Level: 1/10 (a bit of psychological horror)
TW: (potential spoilers)
Synopsis:
rest of rtc
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Language: 1/10 (almost nothing)
Scary/Horror Level: 1/10 (a bit of psychological horror)
TW: (potential spoilers)
Synopsis:
rest of rtc
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
September 18, 2025
The Long Rain certainty has an interesting setup with several captivating moments of description. Unfortunately the story as the whole didn't work for me and after three disappointing reads, I might have to accept that Bradbury isn't an author for me.
November 13, 2017
Some things, such as pain and suffering, should be accepted as what they are. Some things don't need to have a deeper meaning. This was painful story, but it was a good one.
December 21, 2018
Not my favorite, but there’s still something surreal about the writing.
July 22, 2019
I found the ending quite disappointing. I was looking forward to seeing where this story went and it never went anywhere.
August 21, 2020
The one thinkg I liked about this one was the rhythm.
“...Pickard, walked in the rain, in the rain that fell heavily and lightly, heavily and lightly; in the rain that poured and hammered and did not stop falling upon the land and the sea and the walking people.”
Simple story of four men trying to reach a destination.
“...Pickard, walked in the rain, in the rain that fell heavily and lightly, heavily and lightly; in the rain that poured and hammered and did not stop falling upon the land and the sea and the walking people.”
Simple story of four men trying to reach a destination.
March 26, 2021
4.5 stars
Creepy, tense, a little disturbing, and very compelling. I really like this story, it’s eerie and makes you think.
Creepy, tense, a little disturbing, and very compelling. I really like this story, it’s eerie and makes you think.
December 12, 2021
Read this in my early teens and never forgot it. It as remained me as one of the most tense and bleak things I've ever read. Beautiful in taking one along for a different ride.
November 29, 2022
Shirt and sweet
December 1, 2022
A horror short story where the antagonist is rain.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews