The doorkeepers [Unknown Binding]

Graham Masterton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 2003

Julia Winward, a young American woman, has been missing in England for nearly a year. When her mutilated body is discovered in the Thames, her brother, Josh, is determined to find out what happened to his sister during that lost time. But nothing Josh discovers makes any sense: Julia had been living at an address which hadn't existed since World War II . . .

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Occult rituals encoded in a nursery rhyme provide a passport to a topsy-turvy realm of terror in this lively but ragged weave of supernatural horror and alternate-world fantasy. While in London to identify the remains of his murdered expatriate sister, Julia, American Josh Winward notices peculiarities in her case, among them the fact that no one had seen her for nearly a year before her eviscerated corpse was found floating in the Thames. A fortuitous meeting with a mystic acquaintance of Julia's gives Josh and his lover, Nancy, the magic formula they need to travel into an alternate London where Julia was lured. This "other London" accessible through hidden interdimensional doorways is a pale reflection of our own, where Oliver Cromwell is the patron saint and religious zealots lie in wait for heretical "Purgatorials" like Josh, who wander in uninvited. Worse, it's home to Julia's murderous ex-employer, who is determined to snuff out Josh and Nancy before they can blow the whistle on him. Though Masterton (The Chosen Child) provides his usual interesting characters, they can only carry the animated plot so far, at which point he resorts to noticeable filler (Josh's accidental sojourn for several chapters in yet another alternate London) and contrivances (Josh's psychological rapport with animals at the most coincidentally advantageous times). The novel has one of those improbable climaxes in which the helpless victim gets the upper hand on the unsuspecting villains, and enough loose ends to suggest that Masterton is planning a sequel.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Graham Masterton's first novel, T"he Manitou," was a bestseller and an instant classic and was made into a feature film. Masterton has won an Edgar Award and France's prestigious Prix Julia Verglanger. Several of his stories have been adapted for television.
Masterton's more than one hundred novels include "Charnel House, The Chosen Child," and "Maiden Voyage" (a" New York Times" bestseller). He has written for adults, young adults, and children and edited several anthologies. Earlier in his career, Masterton edited men's magazines, including "Penthouse," He has written a number nonfiction books on sex, including "How to Drive Your Man Wild in Bed," which has sold more than three million copies.
Masterton and his wife, Wiescka, live in Ireland.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Unknown Binding: 371 pages
• Publisher: Dorchester Publishing Co., Inc (2003)
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0006SAF88
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not his best, but quite good, July 8, 2007

By 

Douglas Noel Adams "Flying is easy. Just thro... (Pune, India) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Doorkeepers (Mass Market Paperback)

When it comes to horror, Masterton comes right up there with the best. Its a pity that his work has not received wider acknowledgement, since he has written some of the best horror novels of the past few decades. Mirror, Tengu, Devils of D-Day, Night Hymn, House that Jack Built and Spirit come readily to mind. Doorkeepers while not his best effort, is still quite good.

While the story starts off in a routine manner, it progresses in a very different and unpredictable direction, involving alternate worlds, parallel universes, telepathic communication with animals and occult stuff. Its a horror that touches you in the other worldly sense. The description of puritanical, Orwellian London is so chillingly real (more so because such worlds still exist on this earth) that one feels numbed. The woman who keeps the doors between parallel worlds open, and how the doorkeepers want to create her successors is frightening.

The ending looks slightly forced, where the hero emerges victorious despite all odds, and while a happy ending doesn't detract from the book, Masterton has written books which have more courageous endings. Tengu is a case in point.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Interesting idea let down by paper-thin characters, August 3, 2002

By 

"ab1aze" (Brisbane, Queensland Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Doorkeepers (Hardcover)

When taking Masterton's other horror books into consideration, "The Doorkeepers" is a decidedly average novel. The idea of parallell worlds isn't exactly original, but its presentation in this novel is interesting, although let down severely by poorly developed characters and unlikely situations. The only reason we have for liking the main character is that he shares a special relationship with animals, Masterton doesn't really expand past that. The other characters are forgettable and the villains are stock standard. The book ends with an unexciting climax. A let down.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't even force myself to finish it, August 28, 2011

By 

Travis G "arcane_knowledge" (PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Doorkeepers (Mass Market Paperback)

I picked this book up used for next to nothing and I'm glad I didn't pay full price because it was money wasted. I'll admit, at first glance I was intrigued by what the book promised, psychological thriller, alternate dimensions, a missing persons case to be solved....big let down
I won't spoil too much but here goes. The story centers around a veterinarian with a telepathic ability to communicate with animals(cough, cough Dr. Doolittle) whose sister has gone missing. The company she (the sister) was working for doesn't exsist and the address she was living at hasn't exsisted since the days of World War I. Psychic Vet boy and girlfriend set off to find out what happened to the sister and end up in London. After discovering "hidden clues" in a child's nursery rhyme with the help of a random Voodoo priestess they find out that "doorways" exsist in London to alternate versions of London and the race to discover what happened to the sister ensues.
At first this book was enjoyable, albeit a little cheesy(a psychic vet?? come on!) and predictable. The idea of alternate realities was kinda fun and the visions of a London ruled by the Puritans and their roaming "execution squads" and a world where the Revolutionary War never happened, instead the US attacks England circa 1940 were interesting. They definitely played on the whole "what if" scenarios but that's where the fun ended. The characters were dry and one dimensional, the plot was too predictable and the action, suspense, and psychological thriller element were almost nonexsistent.
I tried to finish the book because I have never given up on one but as soon as Masterton threw out the ****SPOILER ALERT!!**** ever so lazy "he's the chosen one" card I had had enough. I honestly threw the book away into the trash because that is where it truly belongs.
General Synopsis: I despised the book. Would never attempt to read it again. If you want to check it out, I strongly urge you to pick it up used or borrow it from a library, that way you're not out too much money.