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James Macdonald
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The Apocalypse Door Kindle Edition

by James D. Macdonald (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 out of 5 stars 29 ratings

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. . . .

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

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  1. Print length
    225 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Tor Books
  4. Publication date
    December 8, 2009
  5. File size
    3.5 MB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A dash of medieval mystery adds zest to this inventive melange of hard-boiled thriller and speculative fantasy. The refreshingly original hero, Peter Crossman, is an Inner Temple soldier in the Knights Templar, an order of paramilitary priests that has existed covertly since its presumed dismantling in the 14th century. Although he's used to challenging missions, Peter's latest proves a doozy when a tip on the whereabouts of a missing U.N. peacekeeping team leads him to a warehouse in Newark and a crate of living mushrooms that appear to flinch at the sign of the cross. Peter and his partner Simon later stumble on the gruesomely mutilated bodies of their confederates and wind up in the hands of the Teutonic Knights, a heretical rival sect whose figurehead, a brazen talking effigy, is the otherworldly key to past and present intrigues that have bedeviled Peter and his order. The jolts and torques of the roller-coaster plot are completely unpredictable, but Macdonald sets them up credibly, with subtly deployed clues and skillful misdirection of the reader to supernatural explanations for crucial plot developments. The Knights Templar angle also gives events an interesting moral dimension and a distinctive focus for the development of Peter's character through the unique obligations it creates (such as having to give absolution to an assassin preparing to kill him in an early scene). Though other novels have blended mysticism, mystery and fantasy, few have done it as smartly or succinctly as this one.with his wife, Debra Doyle, under the pseudonym J.D. Macdonald.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

When a UN peacekeeping force goes missing, agent Peter Crossman, a modern-day Knight Templar, must find it. Joined by Simon, his apprentice, and Maggie, a professional assassin and a member of the Order of Poor Claires, Crossman uncovers information leading to a diabolical scheme to open a gate to hell. The author, who co-writes the "Mageworlds" series with wife Debra Doyle, applies his bare-bones style to a fast-paced tale of supernatural intrigue featuring hard-as-nails heroes on a literal mission from God. A good choice for most libraries.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00BFQ6BOC
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Tor Books; First edition (December 8, 2009)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 8, 2009
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3.5 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 225 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 out of 5 stars 29 ratings

About the author

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James Macdonald

James Macdonald

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James D. Macdonald was born in White Plains, New York in 1954, and raised in Bedford, New York, the son of a chemical engineer and an artist. His last significant formal education took place at Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, though he passed through the University of Rochester where he learned that a degree in Medieval Studies wouldn't fit him for anything. He went off to sea "to forget," though he's forgotten exactly what. As an enlisted Boatswain's Mate in the Navy, and later as an officer, he saw the world, and discovered that three quarters of it was water. Some time later, tired of the adventure, he decided to get a job.

As the famous Yog Sysop, Macdonald ran the Science Fiction and Fantasy RoundTable on GEnie for two years ('91 to '93). He's since moved on to being Yog Sysop at SFF Net. Doyle and Macdonald now live -- still with various children, cats, and computers -- in a big 19th-Century house in Colebrook, New Hampshire, where they learned to drink Moxie and collaborate in writing science fiction and fantasy for children, teenagers, and adults.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
29 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book very enjoyable, with one mentioning it's an extremely enjoyable change from the norm. The story receives positive feedback, with one customer noting it's full of twists and turns.

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4 customers mention "Enjoyment"4 positive0 negative

Customers find the book very enjoyable, with one mentioning it's an extremely refreshing change from the norm.

"...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..." Read more

"...and debra harris. this is very similar to those and I enjoyed it very much. would like to see more peter Crossman!" Read more

"Really good, as are so many books from this pair. I think novel length suits the character and the milieu better than the short stories...." Read more

"Truly loved this book . Great story and for once the Templars aren't carbon copy bad guys. Love the Latin thrown in too." Read more

3 customers mention "Story quality"3 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the story of the book, with one mentioning it is full of twists and turns, while another notes that the milieu is better than in the short stories.

"...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..." Read more

"...I think novel length suits the character and the milieu better than the short stories...." Read more

"Truly loved this book . Great story and for once the Templars aren't carbon copy bad guys. Love the Latin thrown in too." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Meema
    5.0 out of 5 stars Sometimes it pays to step outside of your personal norm
    Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2003
    Verified Purchase
    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.
    8 people found this helpful
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  • Jeffery L. Jenkins
    4.0 out of 5 stars templar fiction
    Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Templar fiction is something I enjoy, and some of the first was in an anthology by Kathryn kurts (spelling?) and debra harris. this is very similar to those and I enjoyed it very much. would like to see more peter Crossman!
    One person found this helpful
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  • Terence Tidler
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
    Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Really good, as are so many books from this pair. I think novel length suits the character and the milieu better than the short stories. The celibate priest-spy and virgin nun-assassin make for a unique relationship dynamic that provide an extremely enjoyable change from the norm. The plot itself was also an interesting twist on Baphomet--something that could come from Stross' Laundry series. All in all very enjoyable and reread able. My only disappointment was I had to buy the tree ware version, as it was not on Kindle.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Jay Quinn
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fast paced, well executed story
    Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Truly loved this book . Great story and for once the Templars aren't carbon copy bad guys. Love the Latin thrown in too.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Tim Janson
    4.0 out of 5 stars Wow! This was really good
    Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2010
    James McDonald takes Templar Knights out of medieval times and updates them for the 21st century in The Apocalypse Door, and the result is an exciting begin to a new series. Peter Crossman appears as if he is perhaps a CIA agent yet he is actually a member of an organization that is far older...the Templar Knights which still exist as a faction to battle evil. Crossman is assigned the task of locating several missing UN peacekeepers that were kidnapped in Jerusalem. Investigating a warehouse in New Jersey with his partner Maggie fails to find the peacekeepers but does turn up a barrel full of fungus that recoils at the cross and bleeds when cut!

    Is the fungus an alien race or a product of underworld evil? Toss in Nun assassins, Teutonic Knight rivals, and the threat of Armageddon, and McDonald presents at story that zips by with all manner of craziness...but in a good way. Crossman is part warrior monk and part James Bond and the book is narrated first person much in the style of hardboiled detective stories of the past. A fun read and quite unique compared to a lot of the other urban fantasy crowding bookstore shelves these days.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Kindle Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars A great read
    Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2020
    Well written action and adventure story, believable action that does not require too high a suspension of belief to enjoy as seen in some stories in this style. I can heartily recommend
    One person found this helpful
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  • Anna Klein
    3.0 out of 5 stars Innovative but confusing
    Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2003
    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.
    5 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • uli ulrich
    4.0 out of 5 stars die Templer sind unter uns
    Reviewed in Germany on September 3, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    Angeregt durch die Space Opera "Mageworlds" habe ich dieses etwas ältere Buch gekauft.
    Es ist ein Krimi der amerikanischen Art, will heissen, mehr Waffen und Fäuste und viel Blut.
    Ausserdem gibt es da natürlich den SF-Effekt und eine gute Portion Horror.
    Pilze oder Sporen übernehmen Menschen und machen sie zu bloßen Hüllen.
    Starker "Tobak" allenthalben, nicht das was man jetzt von dem Autorenpaar kennt.
    Wenn man diese Art Horror-Krimi liebt, ist es gut und spannend geschrieben, aber mir gefallen die Magier und Adepten mit ihrem "Working of Stars" besser
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