There Will Come Soft Rains (short story)
"There Will Come Soft Rains" | |||
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Collier's Weekly | |||
Publication type | Periodical | ||
Media type | Print magazine | ||
Publication date | May 6, 1950 (issue date) | ||
Chronology | |||
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"There Will Come Soft Rains" is a
.The author regarded it as "the one story that represents the essence of Ray Bradbury".
Plot
A nuclear catastrophe leaves the city of Allendale, California, entirely desolate. However, within one miraculously preserved house, the daily routine continues – automatic systems within the home prepare breakfast, clean the house, make beds, wash dishes, and address the former residents without any knowledge of their current state as burnt silhouettes on one of the walls, similar to Human Shadow Etched in Stone.
That evening, the house recites to the absent hostess her favorite poem, "There Will Come Soft Rains" by Sara Teasdale. A windstorm blows a tree branch through a window in the kitchen, starting a fire. The house's systems desperately attempt to put out the fire, but the doomed home burns to the ground in a night. The following dawn, all that remains is a single wall, which contains an automated system that endlessly reads aloud the date and time.
Publication history
The short story first appeared in the May 6, 1950 issue of
Adaptations
- An adaptation was broadcast on June 17, 1950 as the 11th episode of Dimension X, a science-fiction radio program.[5]
- In 1953, an adaptation of the story was published in issue 17 of the comic book Weird Fantasy, with art by Wally Wood.
- The story was made into a radio play for the X Minus One series and broadcast on December 5, 1956.[6]
- In 1962, actor Burgess Meredith recorded this story, which was released on LP by Prestige Lively Arts (30004), along with "Marionettes, Inc.", also by Bradbury.
- in 1962, the BBC Third Programme broadcast a dramatization by Nasta Pain, with original music by John Carol Case.[7]
- In 1975, actor Caedmon Records.[8]
- In 1977, August the Fourth, 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains was broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It used the resources of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop under the direction of Malcolm Clarke.[9]
- In 1984, Soviet studio Uzbekfilm produced "There Will Come Soft Rains" as a short animated film.[10] (ru)
- In 1992, Lebbeus Woods adapted the story to the third issue of the comic book series Ray Bradbury Chronicles.
- In 2008, the post-apocalyptic game Fallout 3, which takes place in the irradiated remnants of Washington, DC, featured a robot in a house in Georgetown which, upon entering a command in a terminal in the house, would hover in the bedroom of the occupant's children and recite the poem for which this story is named.[11]
- In 2015, shortly after Leonard Nimoy's death, the concept album Soft Rains was released featuring Nimoy's 1975 reading, set to music by producer Carwyn Ellis under the pseudonym Zarelli.
References
- ^ Bradbury, Ray (1980-11-25). "Ray Bradbury: The Science of Science Fiction". Christian Science Monitor (Interview). Interviewed by Arthur Unger. Retrieved 2020-09-06.
- ^ Murphy, Sean. "Spotlight: Ray Bradbury". Pulitzer Prize Board. Retrieved 2020-09-06.
- ISBN 9780062242266.
- Collier's Weekly. Crowell-Collier Publishing Company.
- ^ "Z-markchampion.website".
- ^ "Z-markchampion.website". Archived from the original on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
- ^ "BBC Radio 4 Extra - Ray Bradbury - There Will Come Soft Rains".
- ^ "Ray Bradbury Read By Leonard Nimoy – The Martian Chronicles: There Will Come Soft Rains – Usher II at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2013-10-05.
- ^ "August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains". Home.wlv.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 2013-10-07. Retrieved 2013-10-05.
- ^ Экранизации произведений Рэя Брэдбери (in Russian). Raybradbury.ru. Retrieved 2013-10-05.
- ^ "McClellan family townhome — The Vault, the Fallout wiki — Fallout: New Vegas and more". Falloutwiki.com. Retrieved 2013-10-05.
External links
- There Will Come Soft Rains title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- "There Will Come Soft Rains (Budet Laskovyj Dozhd)" (1984 Soviet Animated film) on YouTube