Portal Fantasy (older thread)

Chazemataz

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I keep hearing about how dead portal fantasy-ish novels are, but... really? Are they now? I can't recall the last time I read a good portal fantasy. In fact, the only portal fantasies I can think of are the Chronicles of Narnia & Oz novels (mayyybeee Harry Potter, if you're really stretching it), and those were written many years ago in addition to being MG rather than YA. Moreover, I went to Barnes & Noble the other day and couldn't find *any* example of "Kid/kids go to fantasy world" anywhere.

What's the scoop on portal fantasy? Is it just that everyone assumes they will be poorly written since they're so "primitive" (for lack of a better word) and Baby's First Novel is usually a portal fantasy? Or have there just been no well-written ones?

I've had a strange urge to try my hand at a portal fantasy but don't want to start if it'll be looked down upon.
 

Stiger05

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I'm currently working on a YA portal fantasy and I have a trunked MG portal fantasy I've been wanting to resurrect, so I hope it's not dead! I haven't seen much recently, but I also haven't really been looking. Lately, I've been reading more in the same genre as the book I just finished. I'm about to start scouring the YA shelves for portals though for comparisons, so I'd love to know if there are any good ones out there.
 

Mandiloo322

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I can't recall any examples lately but I also haven't been looking closely for that sort of thing. I hope it's not dead, because I enjoy those stories too! I wouldn't stop exploring your idea just because portal fantasy isn't "trending" right now. Fantasy is enjoying a bit of a revival, and could embrace more portal stories.
 

Mharvey

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Write a damn good novel, and it can even have vampires in it.

Yes, I said it.
 

Cyia

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Portal fantasies seem to be a common "first" book for new writers tackling fantasy. It's the obvious way of getting normal kid into unnatural world, and as such, it's a natural starting point. Unfortunately, that has the side effect of meaning that agents and editors see a LOT of premature attempts with poor execution of the idea.

If yours is well executed, and the magic/transport system consistent, then you're already ahead of the pack.

(I wouldn't mind a portal fantasy starring vampires at all. Perhaps normal kid slips into a universe where vamps are terrified of the humans who've learned to feed off of them...)
 

J.S.F.

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I see nothing wrong with it. Granted, my first novel (published) used the portal idea as a springboard into another universe as did another but a lot of the angel/devil/alien novels these days use some sort of portal device, scientific or magical, to get the plot rolling. As long as you don't overuse it then it should be okay.
 

Chazemataz

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I can't recall any examples lately but I also haven't been looking closely for that sort of thing. I hope it's not dead, because I enjoy those stories too! I wouldn't stop exploring your idea just because portal fantasy isn't "trending" right now. Fantasy is enjoying a bit of a revival, and could embrace more portal stories.

I actually do prefer this type of fantasy, to be honest. It makes the book feel more adventurous, for lack of a better term.

What is more heroic: someone saving a world they are familiar with, or a normal person saving a world they don't even belong to?
 
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thothguard51

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There are lots of portal fantasy's floating around. Here are some golden oldies that are still around...

ER Burroughs John Carter on Mar's series is a portal fantasy.

The Gor series by John Norman is portal fantasy.

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever by Stephen R Donaldson is a portal fantasy.

Janissaries, by Jerry Pournelle is a portal SF.

Star Gate, by Andre Norton is a portal SF/Fantasy.

Forerunner is another portal SF/Fantasy by Andre Norton.

Just to name a few...

The portal fantasy is just a device to get an MC from one point in time or place to another point in time or place and generally does not occupy the main storyline, which generally takes place after the portal transfer.

Write a good portal story and people will read it, no matter if it feels cliched or dead. Besides, I've been reading that SF/F has been dieing for 20 years and I still read and write SF/F. I have even read where Vampire stories are a dead genre and yet they still sell.
 

J.S.F.

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Go with the second option. Half the fun is reading how the MC adapts--or doesn't. Yes, it's the old fish-out-of-water scenario, but if you handle it right then you have yourself a winner.
 

polleekin

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What Cyia said.

And of course there are well-written ones, like anything else. Go ahead and write it if that's what you want!

Some examples of recent books with portals, in case you're interested:

MG:
Pendragon series by D. J. MacHale
Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins
100 Cupboards by N. D. Wilson
The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly
Un Lun Dun by China Mieville
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
The Key to Rondo by Emily Rodda

YA:
Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier
The Game of Triumphs by Laura Powell
Stravaganza series by Mary Hoffman
Entwined by Heather Dixon
Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston
 

Alison_Kale

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What Cyia said.
MG:
Pendragon series by D. J. MacHale
Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins
100 Cupboards by N. D. Wilson
The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly
Un Lun Dun by China Mieville
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
The Key to Rondo by Emily Rodda

YA:
Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier
The Game of Triumphs by Laura Powell
Stravaganza series by Mary Hoffman
Entwined by Heather Dixon
Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston


I also love portal fantasies and would love to see more in the market. A lot of them these days seem to have twists of some sort, like many of those polleekin mentioned - Wondrous Strange is a the fairy princess tale, Entwined and Wildwood Dancing are 12 Dancing Princesses. I also enjoyed Sharon Shinn's Gateway, which is an alternate St Louis. I've seen less straight up current portal-to-another-world, but I think a lot of young readers would really enjoy them.
 

VioletRose

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There's the Gemma Doyle trilogy by Libba Bray. Calling it a portal fantasy might be stretch, though. The characters go back and forth between real world Victorian England and a magical place called The Realms. Gemma can lead them through at will, and while they're there they can play with magic, which they eventually start taking back to the real world with them. Time moves differently there, also. And it's not a place people are meant to stay, even after they've died.
 

wishflower

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Dead?! I sincerely hope not. Some of my favorite novels growing up were portal fantasies. Discovering impossible worlds in books like Through the Looking Glass or His Dark Materials drives some kids to read.

Dead, not dead, undead and dragging itself down the street--portal fantasy trendiness or lack thereof will not stop me from writing something that I need to write.

I've been sitting on a portal fantasy for eight years. It started out as a comic before I realized I couldn't draw well enough. Then I got busy with college, and now I'm working up to it :D I figure a few novels from now I won't feel like I'll screw it up. Or I'll still feel like I'll screw it up, but I'll be brave enough to try, anyhow.

Seriously, screw trends. Write the best novel you have inside you, the story that's burning to be told, and hope someone else believes in it as much as you do.


tl;dr Trends are dumb. Go write your magnum opus.
 

Megx1987

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I think my novel is technically a portal fantasy, with a twist. It takes place in a Dreamworld but there is a large amount of interaction between the Dreamworld and the real world, as opposed to many other novels that use the same concept.
 

Blenia

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I had no idea that people would actually start with a portal fantasy when learning to write. It seems like so much more work to build up two worlds in the readers mind, as opposed to one. But I suppose it makes sense in a way.

I'm glad everyone's saying go for it, because I'm currently working on rewrites of my own portal novel. Glad I'm not the only one who thinks it could work.
 

lolchemist

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Alice in Wonderland is one of my favorite "portal fantasies" of all time! I actually love seeing the brand new worlds authors create even more than the plot itself!

The main thing I dislike about portal fantasies though is when the plot is pretty much 'Even though we have thousands of intelligent and experienced adults, only this child/teenager/group of kids can save us!' I mean I can totally do the *suspension of disbelief* thing for talking bunnies and things like that but for some reason I have a harder time doing it for plots that only make sense because the author wants them to.

ETA: Here's another really good children's book series I love that has a portal element: Gregor the Overlander by Susanne Collins. THE Susanne Collins who's enjoying the success of her Hunger Games books right now!
 
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wishflower

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The main thing I dislike about portal fantasies though is when the plot is pretty much 'Even though we have thousands of intelligent and experienced adults, only this child/teenager/group of kids can save us!' I mean I can totally do the *suspension of disbelief* thing for talking bunnies and things like that but for some reason I have a harder time doing it for plots that only make sense because the author wants them to.

While I agree that a plot should make sense for reasons other than 'it's convenient for the author', I have no problem with children saving the day. That's kinda the point of YA novels. But like you said, it needs to make sense. Sometimes, though, the reason children can do what adults can't is because of belief. Adults can't see what's right in front of them simply because they can't see what they don't believe in.
 

lolchemist

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Yeah, definitely! As long as it makes sense, I'll enjoy it! For example the Gregor books and the Narnia books did a great job of that!
 

FinalFayt

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Portal fantasies are such a great idea for novels. The only problem with them is that they contain so much potential that it usually required more than one book to tell their tale. But heck, if you are writing a portal fantasy, it might be a great story worthy of multiple books.
 

timewaster

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I've published four: the Warriors trilogy and 'Hunted'. It's a well worn trope but that's not necessarily a problem.
 

Roly

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Reviving this thread because of this post:

http://pubrants.blogspot.ca/2012/06/got-epic-fantasy.html

So apparently epic high fantasy is all the rage with editors and they're getting tired of urban fantasy. So what about a portal fantasy? What if they start off in a contemporary world and enter an epic high fantasy world ? Has anyone written something like that and had interest, or know of any books coming out like that? Or is it all about MCs that are born in the high fantasy world, know all the rules already, etc.
 

Smish

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I don't think I've seen Coraline, by Neil Gaiman, mentioned. It's MG, not YA, but it's one of my favorite portal fantasies.
 

Viklit

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So apparently epic high fantasy is all the rage with editors and they're getting tired of urban fantasy. So what about a portal fantasy? What if they start off in a contemporary world and enter an epic high fantasy world ? Has anyone written something like that and had interest, or know of any books coming out like that? Or is it all about MCs that are born in the high fantasy world, know all the rules already, etc.

Just replying to say I don't know of anything like that (though that's not to say it isn't out there). And I think that might work well - esp if 'epic high fantasy' is all the rage. Putting a modern person in there might give it a different spin.

Also agree with Cyia above - a portal fantasy into a world where vamps are scared of humans would be ace.
 

rosiecotton

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Roly, my book is a portal fantasy. Contemp girl, fantasy world. It's basically Narnia with kissing. As soon as I finished writing it, I realized that I probably had the most untrendy ms in all of YA, but we sold within a couple of weeks (this was the tail end of 2010). It's not exactly epic fantasy, though it has elements of it. It's a blend--contemporary fantasy, traditional, urban, and paranormal romance. The two worlds in the book are strongly interconnected (what's happening, environmentally, in one is having negative consequences on the other). The creatures are all of my own creation, so no orcs, etc, though there are demons, but again, I created my own kind. It was a hell of a lot of fun

Epic fantasy has started to make a run in YA, so there's definitely a market for it. I'd say that the trick with portal fantasies is to keep things fresh, look for a new twist, and don't use the portal, whatever that may be, as simply a convenient vehicle to turn a contemporary story into a fantasy based one.
 
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