The Apocalypse Door

Rating:
Summary: Good thing I persisted
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Good thing I persisted
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: One of the juiciest satires to come along in years
Review: 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

Rating:
Summary: One of the juiciest satires to come along in years
Review: 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

Rating:
Summary: Interesting but illogical
Review: Knight Templar Peter Crossman's task should be easy. Infiltrate a New Jersey warehouse, discover if missing U.N. peacekeepers are being held there, and report back to the Temple. Instead of peacekeepers, though, Crossman finds mushrooms that recoil from the cross, a beautiful assassin/nun, and hints that the end of time is at hand.

Author James D. Macdonald keeps the action moving, as Crossman and his sidekicks try to stay ahead of the CIA, the Teutonic Knights, and an alien race from another dimension. In a secondary story, Crossman's earlier, pre-priest, history is recalled. Macdonald's writing is slick and keeps the pages turning. I am concerned, however, about logic problems. Crossman's opponents are, presumably, not stupid. Yet they fail to take advantage of numerous opportunities to simply kill him and have him out of the way. Then there's the matter of the brass statue. Why did it call itself to Crossman's attention?

A story that postulates the continued secret existance of the long-banned Knights Templar, of the Teutonic Knights, and of assassin nuns can't be all bad and THE APOCALYPSE DOOR isn't. The character of Peter Crossman is nicely drawn and his faith feels genuine. I found his dilemma while taking an assassin/nun's confession to be especially moving.

Rating:
Summary: Sometimes it pays to step outside of your personal norm
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Sometimes it pays to step outside of your personal norm
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Innovative but confusing
Review: Peter Crossman is one of the thirty and three holy knights for the Knights Templar, and he and his apprentice/partner, Simon, are trying to track down a missing U.N. team in a Newark warehouse. Instead of men, he finds mushrooms, and not just ordinary mushrooms. These little fungi flinch at his cross. Then a nun from Peter's past shows up behind his table in a bar, confessing she has come to kill him. Because he's a priest, he must accept her confession and he can tell no one afterward -- not even when he finds his contact dead outside, his face sliced off. And if that isn't enough trouble, soon he's got the CIA, some Teutonic Knights, more mushrooms, and a talking brass head to contend with. Even a holy knight might have some trouble with all that.

Although THE APOCALYPSE DOOR is supposed to be a fast paced thriller/fantasy combo, I found it only a skimpily plotted thriller/fantasy confusion. The chapters alternate between Peter Crossman in his present day role as a Knight and Peter Crossman back when he was Michael on a mission for the CIA. While the story from the past (set in a jungle with Michael looking for a missing man, only to be captured himself and tortured) moves along quickly and grabbed my interest, the present day action often lost me with twists and turns too poorly explained, characters with motivations I could not understand, and an immature writing style littered with cliches. The religious aspect is interesting (even to someone who knows little about Catholicism), but at times Peter's faith seemed more like something he used than actually believed. And as for the satire -- I am sure the author's intention was to poke fun of the CIA and kin, but he did so in a fashion I totally missed.

While THE APOCALYPSE DOOR is refreshingly different -- I can't help but want to like a book that throws the CIA and holy knights into the same mix -- it unfortunately doesn't deliver what it promises. Fantasy/thriller, yes. An intriguing story, no.

Rating:
Summary: The Mushroom Principle
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Superlative Adventure
Review: 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!