The Apocalypse Door

By James D. Macdonald

Book Overview

Peter Crossman is a man with a mission . . . and his boss is literally out of this world.His world is a dangerous place . . . and it's Peter Crossman's job to protect it. Men of the cloth can only do so much. Against ancient evils, you need the ancient strength of faith. That's where Peter Crossman, Knight Templar in modern America, comes in. Crossman's world is yours and mine. Governments and businesses squabble, people go out for coffee, folks meet and fall in love, and the Red Sox will win the World Series when Hell freezes over. But that last just might happen if Crossman doesn't get his latest assignment right. The Apocalypse Door is a spy story with a truly unique twist. On a routine mission from his order to discover the whereabouts of some missing UN peacekeepers, Peter Crossman discovers a plot that points to the uncovering of a very unholy artifact. An object of such power that it might very well open a portal to damnation and beyond, bringing some unsavory people a whole lot of power . . . or bring about the destruction of the universe.And with the unlooked-for aid of Sister Mary Magdalene of the Special Action Executive of the Poor Clares, Peter Crossman will begin a journey to try and track down just what is being unleashed in the world and try like hell to stop it . . . or maybe stopping Hell here on Earth is more like it.But, fortunately, demonic magic isn't the only source of Power in the world . . . and Peter Crossman's power comes from Above. The Apocalypse Door is a smart, funny, and sexy spy caper with a touch of the sacred from a very talented writer.You like Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Or want to be her?Then The Apocalypse Door is for you. . . .

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312869886
• ISBN13: 9780312869885
• Release Date: November 2002
• Publisher: Tor Books
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.7" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Sometimes it pays to step outside of your personal norm

Perhaps that is a universal axiom that all of us should not ignore. For example, I never think to consider exploring within the fantasy/thriller genre. I don't know why this is. I read other things; so many books, so little time, I guess.After reading Apocalypse Door, I feel somewhat foolish, as though I've wasted time being so narrow in my previous reading choices. All I can say is, it was a fun ride, full of twists and turns and dotted with intriguing references that immediately made me desire to dig further. Right off the bat, the premise of a Priest/Knight Templar/Covert Agent knocked me off axis. Throw in a Nun/Hit Person and I felt as though I'd been cast off into unknown territory without familiar signposts to guide me home. Although a working knowledge of the Book of Revelation gave me at least a leg up. From the first page I admit I felt a certain discomfort and yet I couldn't stop reading it. Consumed almost entirely in one lazy Sunday afternoon, I was forced, by circumstances, to stop just short of the last chapter. A week later, freed to resume, I finished up with absolutely no clue how the author would clean up the mess and satisfy my need for a clean wrap. By the last page I was not only no longer uncomfortable but I was compelled to do some research about the references to the Knights Templar so cleverly used by the author to weave his intricate story. I have a good track record for visualizing certain works of fiction as screenplays. I've done it before, casually thinking to myself, "I'll see this one on the big screen one day."This is one of those works. I've already cast the characters. I see Pierce Brosnan possibly Bruce Willis as the protag Peter Crossman and possibly Angelina Jolie as Sister Mary Magdalene. Read it for yourself and tell me I'm wrong.

Good thing I persisted

After reading the first dozen pages, I was rather disappointed. I kept telling myself, "Oh, well, at least I bought it used," but even so I was tempted to bawl out the reviewer from "Analog", I think, who'd gushed about the book. And then it clicked. And after that I was almost wholly happy. The gags, the one-liners, the action scenes - they all work nicely, even if the mushroom men make strangely low-powered enemies (I mean, falling apart because of shotgun recoil? Hardly brilliant...).All in all, a nice fast read with a good premise and decent writing. Hopefully, if there are sequels, they would improve on this.

Superlative Adventure

When I first saw this book on the shelves and saw that the hero was a monk, and he was teamed with a pretty nun, I put it back. It's become such a cliche in the last thirty years to throw together people who have a religious calling, have them lose faith (and their brains) before the unsurmountable power of sex. Several friends told me I was dead wrong about this one--that the characters, and the story, are impossible to predict. I am so glad I listened!This is a very well written story, the heroes are intelligent, funny, complex (Peter Crossman is especially complex, as you find out through the snips of his backstory)--and their religion is real. In these days when bashing Christianity scores easy PC points, this book was particularly refreshing, especially as there was no hint of moralizing or preaching. Yet the deep, very deep, moral underpinnings are there, glimmering hints of the numinous amid the splendid adventure.If you like action, CIA skulduggery, aliens, supernatural lightning strikes into the mundane world of spies and thugs and heroes and heroines, told with style and humor--there were times I laughed out loud--then try this book.I hope Mr. Macdonald intends to write more. The ending seemed open enough for Peter Crossman and Maggie, the nun with a gun, to strike once again against evil!

The Mushroom Principle

This novel is supposed to be a funny satire, but it reads, despite the humor, much like Kurtz's Adept novels or Reave's Hell on Earth or Zicree et al's Magic Time. It tells two stories, one starring Pete, an agent of the inner Temple, and the other featuring Mike, an agent of the Company. Pete takes a potential inner temple inductee on a "sneak and peek" into the Best Long-Term (BLT) warehouse looking for missing UN peacekeepers. Mike is dropped into the jungle to look for a missing friendly. Pete finds something that he is not expecting, thereby discovers the possible onset of the apocalypse, and is drafted back into the CIA. Mike is caught by the local police and tortured by the bad guys. The stories eventually intersect in an unexpected manner. Along the way, Mike meets some interesting locals, but Pete meets a nun assassin who likes to dress as a prostitute or MTV star, a former satanist who was kicked out for giving evil a bad name, several Teutonic Knights, and a few mushrooms, not to mention a brazen head. Just to add to the fun, two of Pete's contacts turn up as bodies without faces. While he pokes fun at the intelligence community, MacDonald does it like an insider. His use of terms and methods is right on the money, as is his cynicism; you can't play the spy game without getting dirty. And his religious references are also correct insofar as I could tell; maybe he DID attend a parochial school. This is a fun book in several ways. I especially liked the comment about owning the Maltese Falcon. This is much too good to be a singleton novel. -Arthur W. Jordin

One of the juiciest satires to come along in years

Contrary to the popular belief of history, King Philip the Fair failed to dissolve the Knights of the Templar. The religious sect survived and continued, albeit with less publicity, to fight evil. The mission whether it is in Canada or Newark remains the same today as that of the fourteenth century. The warrior monks protect holy places, travelers, and relics from malevolent beings.Peter Crossman, one of the inner thirty-three Templar priests receives the task of training the new Knight Simon while they break and enter into a Newark warehouse linked to the kidnapping in Jerusalem of UN peacekeepers. The case turns weird when mushrooms flinch at the sign of the cross, and Peter and his partners traverse the mighty Hudson several times in pursuit of an idol that in the wrong hands could begin the Apocalypse now. His team also competes with the Teutonic Knights, the CIA, and a few free lancers seeking the same icon.Using paradox, puns, and parody, James B. Macdonald provides a powerful satire that seemingly jabs "modern" institutions to include the CIA, history books, Hemingway, the Rosetta Stone like Revelation interpreters, and several other targets. The novel never takes itself seriously, but ironically provides a fully developed lead protagonist who serves as the needed center to the delightful story line. THE APOCALYPSE DOOR is one of the juiciest satires to come along in years as the plot swiftly disses many of society's untouchable giants.Harriet Klausner