Door into Summer

Author - Robert A. Heinlein ... [Goo?] [Posters]

This Hardcover Book item from DoubleDay was reviewed on 10-Dec-2008.

Search ISBN:9997412052 offer from Abebooks or used books from Alibris. Door into Summer Reference Book. Classifications : General Heinlein, Robert A. ( H ) Authors, A-Z Science Fiction & Fantasy Subjects Books Hardcover Heinlein, Robert A. ( H ) Authors, A-Z Science Fiction & Fantasy Subjects Books General AAS Heinlein, .

Related topics: General. Heinlein, Robert A.. ( H ). Authors, A-Z. Subjects. Books. Hardcover. Heinlein, Robert A.. ( H ). Authors, A-Z.

1) Hardcover Book Door into Summer by DoubleDay. The Door Into Summer was first published in 1956. It involves a "futuristic" inventor in 1970 who, for a variety of reasons, is put into "cold sleep" until the year 2000. The plot itself involves love, betrayal, inventiveness, robotics, and time travel.

The interesting thing about this book is Robert Heinlein´s view of the future. The year 2000 has conquered gravity, making the propulsion of large objects easy. Gold is very cheap. The Six Weeks War rendered some parts of the world uninhabitable. However, CAD programs are very primitive (the main character, D. B. Davis, is an engineer/inventor). "Thinking machines" (computers) aren´t obvious, and world-wide access to information is really limited to asking for records to be searched and hiring private investigators.

D. B. Davis is consumed with the well-being of his cat, Petronius the Arbiter (Pete), and his many engineering projects. Later, he becomes focused on revenge, redemption, and his new love.

And, of course, his inventions.

Read today, this really isn´t that exciting a story. However, as a "historical" sci-fi piece, it is quite interesting. Davis isn´t a particularly likable guy, so the character development subplots are weak.

Intriguing.¤

2) Hardcover Book Door into Summer by DoubleDay. From a personal standpoint I rate it a 5. I recall it fondly from childhood and have enjoyed rereading it multiple times since.

As fiction, a 3. Good story, clean writing, some nice phrases and ideas.

Mostly, it is a period piece now. A view to the gee-whiz feeling of the 50s that honest American engineering -- specifically not science -- could solve any problem.¤

3) Hardcover Book Door into Summer by DoubleDay. This novel is a blast to read. One that you will remember long after you put it down. I´m talking about years. I wish i could read it again for the first time. It´s 2008 as i write this, the book´s fifty years old, so i´m reading a book about the future but that future is now our past, which allows the reader to judge how accuate Heinlein was about his science fiction predictions. We humans aren´t known for our futurism.
Science fiction writes are certainly better at spotting trends than bankers and economists, but they´re not that great either. The Door Into Summer is a fabulous read, a great book. Cat lovers, stock brokers, presidents should all read it.¤

4) Hardcover Book Door into Summer by DoubleDay. "Door into Summer" is excellent, "hard" science fiction. I give it only four stars because Heinlein soon started writing at an incredibly high peak level of writing abilities. I read this novel in the 1950´s or 1960´s (Hey! You try to remember when you first read each of fifty plus books!) and it has held up very well over more than forty years.

Here, Heinlein suggests his version of CAD/CAM, ten or twenty years before the first CAD program. Not Bad! As for robots, we are running very far behind Heinlein´s schedule! And, I could point at another dozen technical thoughts that were decades ahead of real science and technology.

Strongly advised for those who are new to Robert Heinlein´s writing! This is a very absorbing tale and should have been made into a movie, long ago! Unfortunately the time-travel plot used here has been pirated by so many inferior writers that it would, now, get a "boring" rating.

Heinlein was a true master at time-travel science fiction! Read the book. Buy the book! Tell your librarian to buy the book! Give the book as a present to a teenager!¤

5) Hardcover Book Door into Summer by DoubleDay. I am in the process of re-reading many of the SF books I first read in my youth, and The Door Into Summer is among the better ones. It´s a short little book: only 154 pages of actual story text, and it reads more like an extended short story than a full-length novel. As others have pointed out, the book is hopelessly outdated in its visions of future technology, but that does not really detract from it all that much. Dan, the main character, is likable, the story is entertaining and moderately suspenseful, and if you like cats you´ll be charmed by the descriptions of Dan´s fearless feline companion, Pete.

The book´s main weakness is that you, the reader, will pick up on clues about what´s going on long before Dan does... which makes you wonder how smart he really is. And the ending feels a bit rushed - as if Heinlein suddenly had to wrap things up in a hurry. Otherwise, you´d think he´d flesh things out more, since the book is so short.¤

6) Hardcover Book Door into Summer by DoubleDay. With several Hollywood Heinlein adaptations about to be launched (including "Starship Troopers" by the director of "Total Recall"), this SF superstar is shining brighter than ever. To celebrate his success, Del Rey is reissuing the author´s classic works back into the forefront, beginning with "The Door into Summer", the story of a modern-day--and future-time--Rip Van Winkle.¤

Page Updated: Robert N. Goolsby, 7-Jan-2009, 99974120529789997412058, 510-370-640-121-201-529-8

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