Despite the popularity of writers like H. G. Wells and Jules Verne, science fiction was not wellregarded by critics at the time "There Will Come Soft Rains" was published in the early 1950s. Though science fiction movies and books abounded, most received little or no critical attention. Bradbury was an exception to this trend, and indeed his popularity has given rise to the permanent acceptance of Science fiction. Little criticism has focused specifically on the story "There Will Come Soft Rains," however, The Martian Chronicles, the collection in which it appeared, has been the subject of numerous articles. Edward J. Gallagher calls it "one of those acknowledged science fiction masterpieces," in the book Ray Bradbury. William F. Touponce talks about Bradbury's work in general, praising it for "its rich imaginative vision, and. . . for the way in which it links up with the larger literary movements of...