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aaronr's review against another edition
2.0
Okay, let's get this out of the way: the love interest between Dan and Ricky is a major barrier to enjoying this story. Not because it's revolting or creepy but because there is simply no justification or examination of the consequences for the bending of social norms for their relationship. Is it Heinlein's intention just to shock the reader? Maybe more so in the time it was written but in this era it's simply disappointing. Additionally, the protagonist is rather flat which is surprising considering the emotionally charged plot lines. In fact, it's very hard to distinguish between the protagonist and the author for the majority of the book.
I think in the end, The Door Into Summer could have been a very powerful piece - but it suffers from being too short, too simple and too shallow.
I think in the end, The Door Into Summer could have been a very powerful piece - but it suffers from being too short, too simple and too shallow.
joshmorrey's review against another edition
3.0
Fun and well written, as Heinlein always is. It was interesting to see what he imagined would be normal in the year 2001, which was all way off. The story was good, but not very deep. I enjoyed it as an easy read.
kb_208's review against another edition
4.0
A fun and quick read about a man who takes a long sleep to awaken 30 years into the future. The best part of the book is his cat Petronius who has a mind of his own. It takes an interesting turn toward the end, which makes for a good read.
rodakor09's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
chewbazza's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
noteworthy_fiction's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
vincentkonrad's review against another edition
4.0
a quote on the back cover asserts that Heinlein 'has never written a novel that was not thoroughly entertaining'. this is the only one of his books that I've read yet, but based on this very small sample size I'd agree.
ablotial's review against another edition
5.0
ETA: Read AGAIN December 8, 2014-December 13, 2014 as a buddy read with a friend. Still LOVE it, and really enjoyed talking about the different pieces of the novel and how well everything fits together. And another friend picked it up shortly thereafter as well -- mission accomplished! Spreading the love for this amazing book... one of the few books I can read over and over and over and over... Have not yet succeeded in getting my husband to read it though.
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This book is amazing! I had it for a few years before I read it ... I went on a Heinlein kick back then and purchaced a good number of his books. But I'd never actually read this one. Mostly because it's far shorter than most of his others (only 159 pages in my edition) and has a SERIOUSLY horrible tagline scrawled across the cover of my version of the book, "He entered the Future -- bend on Revenge -- and found himself trapped in 2000 A.D." If that's not lame, I don't know what is.
But I finally decided to pick it up, and I am SO glad that I did. It is, of course, masterfully written -- I expected no less from a Heinlein novel. It takes place beginning in 1970, but since the book was written in the 1950s, there are many liberties taken with "history" in the 60s and 70s, and with technological progress at the time. A thing called "cold sleep" or "the long sleep" had been invented, in which you would have your body frozen and revived at some pre-determined point in the future without having aged a day. Many people were using this as a means to earn money - after all, the interest accrued over that amount of time would be wonderful!
Dan, a well-known engineer who created many famous household help products, has been jilted by his fiance and business partner and forced out of his own company. He decides to take the long sleep and go forward 30 years when surely their age compared to his will enable him to take revenge far easier. But of course, things rarely go as planned... There are so many twists and turns in this book, it's amazing. And while I was somewhat embarrassed not to have figured out what the "trick" was much earlier than I had, it was still a great and entertaining read. Even if you're not into gadgets and science fiction, it's still really worth the read so you can see what someone in the 50s thought the year 2000 would be like. It's pretty neat :)
My favorite part of this book was actually the sub-story about Dan's cat, Pete. Originally, Dan had wanted to take the cat with him on the long sleep, but ... events happened such that he was unable to do so, and he was heartbroken. But it all works out in the end :)
Seriously, read this one.
------------
This book is amazing! I had it for a few years before I read it ... I went on a Heinlein kick back then and purchaced a good number of his books. But I'd never actually read this one. Mostly because it's far shorter than most of his others (only 159 pages in my edition) and has a SERIOUSLY horrible tagline scrawled across the cover of my version of the book, "He entered the Future -- bend on Revenge -- and found himself trapped in 2000 A.D." If that's not lame, I don't know what is.
But I finally decided to pick it up, and I am SO glad that I did. It is, of course, masterfully written -- I expected no less from a Heinlein novel. It takes place beginning in 1970, but since the book was written in the 1950s, there are many liberties taken with "history" in the 60s and 70s, and with technological progress at the time. A thing called "cold sleep" or "the long sleep" had been invented, in which you would have your body frozen and revived at some pre-determined point in the future without having aged a day. Many people were using this as a means to earn money - after all, the interest accrued over that amount of time would be wonderful!
Dan, a well-known engineer who created many famous household help products, has been jilted by his fiance and business partner and forced out of his own company. He decides to take the long sleep and go forward 30 years when surely their age compared to his will enable him to take revenge far easier. But of course, things rarely go as planned... There are so many twists and turns in this book, it's amazing. And while I was somewhat embarrassed not to have figured out what the "trick" was much earlier than I had, it was still a great and entertaining read. Even if you're not into gadgets and science fiction, it's still really worth the read so you can see what someone in the 50s thought the year 2000 would be like. It's pretty neat :)
My favorite part of this book was actually the sub-story about Dan's cat, Pete. Originally, Dan had wanted to take the cat with him on the long sleep, but ... events happened such that he was unable to do so, and he was heartbroken. But it all works out in the end :)
Seriously, read this one.
rtebow999999's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
charlibirb's review against another edition
4.0
I never thought I'd actually say I liked a Heinlein book! A long while ago I started reading Stranger in a Strange Land, and really couldn't get into it because he wrote women as stupid idiots, and...well...meh. I also couldn't get into the story.
This book, however, was amusing. I loved the way time-travel was dealt with, and I was tickled by the main character's love of his cate Pete. Pete was probably the most defined character in the book, besides Belle. I didn't really like how the main character, Daniel, dropped all feeling of ill will towards the people who wronged him. Because of the way the time travel worked, the story could really have benefitted from subtle and satisfactory screwing with the baddies, but days after being wronged, Daniel just shrugs it off. Oh well. Revenge opportunity of story wasted.
END OF BOOK SPOILER: I found it super creepy that he came back to meet his little preteen (unrelated by blood) niece at girl scout camp just to propose to her for when she got older and met him in the future. Couldn't he have proposed to her after he'e met her as an adult? Eew and objectification.
This book, however, was amusing. I loved the way time-travel was dealt with, and I was tickled by the main character's love of his cate Pete. Pete was probably the most defined character in the book, besides Belle. I didn't really like how the main character, Daniel, dropped all feeling of ill will towards the people who wronged him. Because of the way the time travel worked, the story could really have benefitted from subtle and satisfactory screwing with the baddies, but days after being wronged, Daniel just shrugs it off. Oh well. Revenge opportunity of story wasted.
END OF BOOK SPOILER: I found it super creepy that he came back to meet his little preteen (unrelated by blood) niece at girl scout camp just to propose to her for when she got older and met him in the future. Couldn't he have proposed to her after he'e met her as an adult? Eew and objectification.