Venus Remembered

NINE YEAR OLD Margot remembers the sun. "A yellow crayon or a coin large enough to buy the world with. . .a warmness, like a blushing in the face, in the body, in the arms and legs and trembling hands." In Ray Bradbury's revered short story, All Summer in a Day, the last time Margot saw the sun was when she was four years old and still living on Earth. After her family moved to Venus a year later, she longed to see the sun again and to feel its warmth on her skin. On the one day every seven years when it stops raining on Venus and the sun breaks through the perpetual cloud cover to brighten the landscape for a brief two hours, Margot is locked away in a dark closet by her jealous classmates. Readers familiar with the graceful and poetic writing of Ray Bradbury and those new to his literary magic will find themselves empathetic toward a young girl who is kept from feeling and seeing the sunlight by her mean-spirited peers. Jump forward in time and meet Margot at 16. In the story When the Rain Stops, Jason Marchi provides one plausible and satisfying answer to the question left in readers' minds at the end of Bradbury's classic tale of aloneness whatever happened to Margot? Appearing together for the first time in a single book, a classic short story by one of America's most beloved writers and an inspired sequel story by a young writer. Ray Bradbury's All Summer in a Day, which first appear in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1954, became the basis from which Jason Marchi wrote a sequel story 40 years later. Since its original publication, All Summer in a Day has been reprinted in over 75 anthologies. Marchi s sequel, When the Rain Stops, was first published in Verbicide magazine in 2002. Foreword by William F. Nolan, co-author of Logan s Run, one of the most seminal novels in the annals of science fiction. Introduction by Dr. Jonathan R. Eller, Director of the Center for Ray Bradbury Studies at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Discussions section for creative writing students. Bonus letter from Bradbury to Marchi in March of 2002.

"There's life on Venus! See for yourself... in two haunting, spectral stories of cold rain, poisoned jungle, and sickened hearts, penned by Ray Bradbury and Jason Marchi. As refreshing as an out-of-nowhere shower on a sun dazzling day." JOE HILL, New York Times Bestselling author of The Fireman, Heart-Shaped Box, and Horns, among others.

"It's no small assignment to follow in the footsteps of a literary giant like Ray Bradbury, but with 'When the Rain Stops,' his sequel to Bradbury's 'All Summer in a Day,' Jason Marchi succeeds admirably. Deftly emulating the poetry, compression, and psychological acuity of the Master from Waukegan, Marchi crafts an extension of young Margot's tragic day which provides redemption for all and a tender pay-it-forward ethos." PAUL DI FILIPPO, author of The Steampunk Trilogy and others.

WINNER of the NORTHLIGHTS/NORTHERN DAWN AWARD 2020 in the Time-Honored Category, Dec. 2020.
"Ray Bradbury is classic. Jason J. Marchi is ingenious. Together, they’re genius... Venus Remembered is a step back in time with a leap forward. It is destined to become a creative classic." -- Northern Dawn Review Committee


Genre: Science Fiction

"Jason Marchi’s lovely story and loving tribute to one of our favorite writers." - Greg Bear

"Those benighted souls who claim that science and the arts are two separate things should read Jason Marchi’s remarkable work." - Ben Bova

"Jason Marchi is channeling Ray [Bradbury] in his sequel, with a gentle, humane voice, meticulous and lyrical." - Gary Braver

"It's no small assignment to follow in the footsteps of a literary giant like Ray Bradbury, but with 'When the Rain Stops,' his sequel to Bradbury's 'All Summer in a Day,' Jason Marchi succeeds admirably. Deftly emulating the poetry, compression, and psychological acuity of the Master from Waukegan, Marchi crafts an extension of young Margot's tragic day which provides redemption for all and a tender pay-it-forward ethos." - Paul Di Filippo

"There's life on Venus! See for yourself... in two haunting, spectral stories of cold rain, poisoned jungle, and sickened hearts, penned by Ray Bradbury and Jason Marchi. As refreshing as an out-of-nowhere shower on a sun dazzling day." - Joe Hill