DOORS: THREE DOORS, THREE DIFFERENT ADVENTURES. WHICH DOOR WILL YOU CHOOSE?

I felt it would be best to write a review that encompasses all three books, given that each of the three books start at the same point, with about 20-25% being repeated in all three books. They are quick reads, but being told the same thing in all three books until a certain point became repetitive and a bit annoying.

The books had a great world building but I can't shake the feeling that some of the impact of the stories might have gotten lost in translation (literally). All three stories are mainly character driven rather than plot driven.

I loved the concept "what if I had chosen this path instead?".

To avoid the repetitiveness, I think all three stories would have worked better in one book with a common start and then you could read each different 'path' from where the stories diverged.

Nonetheless, they're interesting and enjoyable.

This is a common review for all three Doors boos, Field of Blood, Twilight and Colony. Each of the tree books start with at the same point, with about a quarter being told the same in all three books. I read the first two fairly close together and this annoyed me as I knew this bit of the story.
The books themselves had fabulous world building but being a translation, seemed to have lost some of the story impact. Across all three of the books it seems that the stories are very much character driven rather than plot driven.
Overall I loved the concept of almost, what if I went this way instead? It might have been better if the three books were combined as an anthology with a common prologue.

It was an entertaining book, interesting story. The characters could be built better with more depth. I really loved the world building and the plot.

Good book, was fun to read.

Doors: Colony provided a very interesting alternative story to World War II. While I enjoyed the plot of the book surrounding the team sent to find Anna-Lena, I felt like I didn't get to know the characters on a personal level like the other two books. Walter's storyline in the novel, however, was very interesting and it was good to see him try to get more involved in her rescue.

The ending of the novel was intriguing and I really enjoy that they are all somehow tied together. I find it both satisfying and frustrating not knowing exactly which story did happen, but all of them were enjoyable and I highly recommend them.

This is another in Heitz's Doors series, three books telling the same underlying story up to a point, with a different story taking off depending on which of the mysterious doors the characters go through. In this book, the group of people employed to find and rescue rich Van Dam's daughter go through the door marked with a question mark. They find themselves in the cellar of a German bierhall in an alternative history of WWII. The war is over, the Germans having capitulated after Hitler's assassination and there is now a struggle between the Russians and the UK/USA over control of what remains.
The group find themselves slimmed down very quickly as members of the group drop like flies. Soon a small number of them find themselves in the company of some Russian spies, looking to stop the Americans' attempts to take power. For some reason, phony clairvoyant Coco Fendi now has actual powers and is capable of mind-reading, earning the respect and assistance of these spies.
There then follows a fairly enjoyable attempt to catch up with a train and board it to stop a nuclear war from breaking out.
The translation again is quite poor here, as some phrases do not make sense and make the reader work to understand what is meant. I am giving Heitz the benefit of the doubt and laying blame at the door of the translator here (though looking at some of the reviews on goodreads in German I'm not sure this is fair). However, there are some very odd passages that take the reader right out of the book, for example 'the time had come to test the 4x4's four-litre twin turbo engine promising 650 horsepower and a top speed of 190 miles an hour'. I mean, what the hell? Has Clarkson been asked to translate this book? It was completely irrelevant and odd.
In the 'Twilight' book of the series, there were some hints at other users of the doors and their purpose and provenance. This book builds on that to an extent, which is a clever idea from Heitz - in order to answer the questions, I think you need to read all three books. However, as a book in its own right, there are simply too many unanswered questions left (though slightly fewer than in 'Twilight').
An improvement, with a more coherent story once through the door in question, but still not a great read. As the first c25% is duplicated between books, I merrily skipped through this section looking for the distinct part starting off.
I received a free advance copy from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I decided to go for a common review for the three books as there are similarity and I struggled a bit with these three stories.
The concept is fascinating even if I would have preferred one book with a common introduction and three different parts.
I found the three books entertaining and there's plenty of potential but I assume it's one of those "it's me, not the book" i couldn't get into the story and it fell flat.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this arc, all opinions are mine

Over the next three days, three reviews will stand before you. Read them in any order, some elements will be the same, others quite different. If you would like to go straight to the segment unique to this review, please start with paragraph 4.

Drafting a book must be like standing in front of a series of doors, which one do you step thorough? Each option will make the novel a vastly different read, characters could be good or bad, the world may implode or explode. Like parallel universes, these differences are infinite, each option creates more options. An infinite library of books never quite written. Markus Heitz decided to experiment with this idea with his three Doors novels. Each starts the same, but then diverges.

Walter van Dam’s daughter has gone missing within a series of underground tunnels and he will do anything to see her return. He is rich enough to hire some of the best to find her; a Professor of Geology and a couple of cave explorers make sense, but why also have a bodyguard, paranormal expert, and clairvoyant? It seems that these tunnels are not as they first seem. Gravity seems to fail, and monsters stalk the dark. Strangest of all are the doors found deep below the surface. Which door will our rescuers open?

In Colony the team decide to open the door with the ? Inscribed on the front. Within it is not more cave formations, but instead a portal to a different past. It is 1944 and in this Germany the allies have beaten Hitler, but the American and British forces have turned their attention to Communist Russia. The team must find van Dam’s daughter among the bombed-out buildings and avoid being mistaken as Nazi sympathisers or a Communist cell.

The world building in Colony is interesting as it comes in two parts: the alternative history and the present. The books jump between the two as the rescue team explore US occupied Germany, whilst van Dam uses his family archives to try and discovery the mystery behind the doors. I enjoyed the idea of the Americans and Brits being as bad as the Nazis. It is not long until you realise that the US will do anything to rid the world of Communism. Your allegiances jump around with the characters as it is hard to know who to trust.

The contemporary storyline plays out far more mysteriously. There are hints of shadowy corporations and networks of failing portals. Unlike with the World War Two story, this X Files like mystery is explored in all three novels, from slightly different perspectives. Over the three books you will get a fuller sense of what might be happening. Whilst it made complete sense to have such different adventures behind the doors, it was a little odd that events diverge so much in the present, when not much has changed.

There are a lot of interesting ideas throughout the Doors experiment, but these are not intellectual books, instead they are action thrillers. The cast are invariably expendable and get picked off one by one, often in a very gruesome manner. Fear not, as your favourite may die early here, but will star in another outing. Some of the action felt exploitative for my tastes, but readers who enjoy straight action and bloody consequences will enjoy many of these scenes. It reminded me of the type of crazed abandonment that someone like Matthew Reilly brings to their novels. Colony does not always make the most sense, but you should enjoy the ride.

The Doors series is translated from German and has locations and characters from the country. In the case of Colony this works as an alternative 1944 perspective from Germany is even more intriguing than from a British or American writer. I am a student of history so was on board for how the war may have panned out differently. Reading all three books together gives a better insight into the present storyline, while the adventures behind the doors stand alone. With its gung-ho action and ephemeral characters, Colony is a book aimed more at the action Science Fiction fan who just wants a quick and enjoyable read.

This book was interesting. The mash if genres was a little overwhelming at times but overall, worked. The characters were diverse but lacked that connection a reader craves. The world building was epic and the tale was exhilarating.

Overall, this book had a mix of good and bad qualities, but was entertaining.

Might be the coolest ideas or premise I have seen in a very long time! Whoahhh! The execution did not disappoint and I find myself reading something unique, fun and mysterious. Now, of course, I find myself wanting to read the others two. Hopefully I will be lucky enough so NG will let me have them ;)