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May 13

The Door into Summer

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If you thought cats and laser pens were fun... just wait for cats and dimensional space bubbles!Click for full image

Stephen Comments: I actually really like the door into summer one so not sure why Im sending it in.
Published 1970

Actually, that cover IS a classical work of art!I would touch it without protective gloves.I've seen worse. Far, far, worse.Interesting, but I would still read it in public.Middlng: Neither awful nor awfully goodWould not like to be seen reading that!Awful... just awful...That belongs in a gold-lame picture frame!Gah... my eyes are burning! Feels so good!Good Show Sir! (Average: 7.53 out of 10)
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24 Responses to “The Door into Summer”

  1. Adam Roberts Says:
    May 13th, 2013 at 9:15 am

    “This … is the voice … of the Mysterons … we know you can MIAAAOW! …”

  2. THX 1138 Says:
    May 13th, 2013 at 9:28 am

    “How can I land on my feet when there’s no floor?!”

  3. Tom Hering Says:
    May 13th, 2013 at 11:30 am

    The Smithsonian today released a study showing that Feral Space Cats kill 1.5 to 3 billion songbirds in the U.S. each year. “Even with that wide a spread in our estimated numbers, this is hard science” said a spokesperson. It wasn’t immediately clear if he meant the Smithsonian’s researchers found science hard to do.

  4. Phil Says:
    May 13th, 2013 at 12:28 pm

    See, even before the internet there was a demand for funny cat pictures. This one also proves the predictive function of SF, as it clearly foretells the invention of Frisbee rival The Aerobie:

    https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=aerobie&client=firefox-a&hs=BMs&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=Fs6QUf3kCcXK0AWu2oGgBw&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAQ&biw=1143&bih=516

  5. Bibliomancer Says:
    May 13th, 2013 at 12:38 pm

    Unfortunately the artist, W.”T.”F. Phillipps, painted the cat from left to right starting with the tail not leaving enough room to paint the left paw, so he faded it out like we wouldn’t notice.

  6. Jaouad Says:
    May 13th, 2013 at 2:16 pm

    Why is that yellow frisbee emphasising the feline’s groin region? Is this some kind of crypto-furry pron?

  7. Rags Says:
    May 13th, 2013 at 4:01 pm

    LOL my goodness what a horrible cover.

    Looks like someone just threw a cat across the room and then painted it! Then in a moment of genius added coloured circles, for what purpose??? The artist is not even trying on this one, shame on him/her/it!

  8. Tat Wood Says:
    May 13th, 2013 at 4:03 pm

    Sadly, this is pretty much the plot. Except the stuff with the hero hiding in a fridge for a century.

  9. Tom Hering Says:
    May 13th, 2013 at 4:22 pm

    Those circles might be jelly bracelets belonging to the 12 year old love interest of the novel’s 30 year old protagonist.

  10. B. Chiclitz Says:
    May 13th, 2013 at 4:41 pm

    @Bibliomancer 5—maybe he’s just opened the door into summer?

  11. Dead Stuff With Big Teeth Says:
    May 13th, 2013 at 5:11 pm

    Maybe it’s one of those online games where you have to click in the centre of the circle before it changes colour & contracts all the way. Stephen clicked on the bottom one as it changed from yellow to orange, and now the animated kitty-cat winces.

    And speaking of games, how long did it take you to see that the blue shape toward s the top isn’t a maze, but a stylized SF?

  12. Bibliomancer Says:
    May 13th, 2013 at 5:19 pm

    @B.Chiclitz 10 – I don’t think he (she?) is opening a door. It looks more like pussycat stuck his missing paw into an electric socket.

  13. David Cowie Says:
    May 13th, 2013 at 5:30 pm

    Hey! Leave my cat alone! And stop highlighting his gut – the vet told me he needed to lose weight, and I’ve been feeding him less, OK?

  14. Tom Hering Says:
    May 13th, 2013 at 6:35 pm

    Where is my eye supposed to go first in this design? The SF colophon? The author’s name? The title? Kitty’s face? The yellow circle? After a few seconds, my eyes feel the strain of bouncing around.

  15. B. Chiclitz Says:
    May 13th, 2013 at 6:51 pm

    @Bibliomancer—that’s certainly a better explanation for the look on El Gato’s face.

    By the way, is “Pan Science Fiction” an identifying tag or a sentence describing what you feel like doing after looking at this cover?

  16. David Cowie Says:
    May 13th, 2013 at 7:12 pm

    WF Phillipps seems to like black backgrounds: here’s his cover for THE FURIES by Keith Roberts, for the same publisher:
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidcowie/79782521/

  17. Scott B Says:
    May 13th, 2013 at 7:52 pm

    “In space no one can hear you MIAOW.”

    Seriously, this cover is a pretty good attention-grabber. But what’s it trying to say about the book’s contents?

  18. JuanPaul Says:
    May 13th, 2013 at 8:33 pm

    The crazy thing is, the cat came back, the very next day.

  19. Phil Says:
    May 13th, 2013 at 8:54 pm

    David Cowie: what a waste! That giant wasp needs to be a daily post on GSS!

  20. Tom Hering Says:
    May 13th, 2013 at 9:50 pm

    Scott @17, see the Wikipedia article on The Door Into Summer.

  21. A.R.Yngve Says:
    May 13th, 2013 at 10:15 pm

    Robert A. Heinlein’s
    THE CAT WHO TRIPS THROUGH WALLS

  22. Anti-Sceptic Says:
    May 15th, 2013 at 8:18 pm

    I think someone was trying to see how many bubbles they could hit by throwing a cat at them, and the artist painted what he saw. I guess he was trying to jazz up the cover a bit my making the bubbles multicoloured.

  23. anon Says:
    October 2nd, 2015 at 8:36 pm

    “Mime, Shoot Ur Rodent”
    (a.k.a. “Tons of Fun with Soap Bubbles, Cats and Slingshots in a Discotheque”)
    by Tinee N. Horrible
    published by Niponi Science Fact

  24. A.R.Yngve Says:
    May 28th, 2018 at 11:44 am

    It just hit me: The cover artist predicted the targeting graphics in Pokemon Go.
    Amazing!

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