The best—because they’re unusual—portal fantasy books

Who am I?

What happens when you start reading mythology when you’re so young that you don’t realize that, although the books are shelved in “non-fiction,” myths aren’t considered “real”? If you’re me, you grow up and start writing Science Fiction and Fantasy, because alternate realities seem just as valid as our consensual world. I think mythology is also why I like reading (and writing) books with characters who are not all human. I didn’t realize it until I finished coming up with my “five books” for this list, but there a lot of non-humans in there, and even the humans stretch the boundaries of what it is to be “normal.”  


I wrote...

Aurora Borealis Bridge

By Jane Lindskold,

Book cover of Aurora Borealis Bridge

What is my book about?

Just so you know, this story started in Library of the Sapphire WindWhen Peg, Meg, and Teg were summoned Over Where, vast and varied life experience (along with wide reading choices) helped them to adjust to a world where they were the only humans, magic was real, ships could fly, and reincarnation was a fact.

In the company of the “inquisitors,” Xerak, Grunwold, and Vereez, the mentors discovered within the Library of the Sapphire Wind revelations that transformed the young people’s pasts into a tangle of lies and half-truths. But there remain questions. By the time these are answered, the mentors and their young allies will deal with kidnappings, betrayal, arcane artifacts, romantic intrigues, and the inescapable reality that past lives cast long shadows. 

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The books I picked & why

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

By C. S. Lewis, Pauline Baynes (illustrator),

Book cover of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Why did I love this book?

The entire Chronicles of Narnia were go-to books when I was a kid, but The Voyage of the Dawn Treader was a favorite then, and remains one to this day. I loved this book because it wasn’t about war or fighting evil. Instead, it was about exploration, about discovering what wonders might lie over the horizon. Also, Eustace is such a difficult character, and his growth into someone we can like doesn’t come through miracles or being a Chosen One, but through learning to admit his errors and learn from them. Add in Reepicheep, the universe’s best heroic mouse, and what isn’t there to love?

By C. S. Lewis, Pauline Baynes (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked The Voyage of the Dawn Treader as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A beautiful paperback edition of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, book five in the classic fantasy series, The Chronicles of Narnia. This edition is complete with cover and interior art by the original illustrator of Narnia, Pauline Baynes.

A king and some unexpected companions embark on a voyage that will take them beyond all known lands. As they sail farther and farther from charted waters, they discover that their quest is more than they imagined and that the world's end is only the beginning.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is the fifth book in C. S. Lewis's classic…


The Dragon and the George

By Gordon R. Dickson,

Book cover of The Dragon and the George

Why did I love this book?

This is the first portal fantasy I remember reading where the people going through the portal were ordinary, believable adults. I first read it when I was in college, and the graduate student protagonists were facing challenges that I knew were coming up for me, which made them all the more appealing. The non-human “outsider” perspective thrust upon Jim Eckert when he suddenly finds himself in a dragon’s body also appealed to me far more than those portal fantasies where the protagonists are automatically hailed as heroes and saviors.  

By Gordon R. Dickson,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Dragon and the George as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Through no fault of his own, the once human Jim Eckert had become a dragon. Unfortunately, his beloved Angie had remained human. But in this magical land anything could happen. To make matter worse, Angie had been taken prisoner by an evil dragon and was held captive in the impenetrable Loathly Tower. So in this land where humans were edible and beasts were magical--where spells worked and logic didn't--Jim Eckert had a big, strange problem.


Nine Princes in Amber

By Roger Zelazny,

Book cover of Nine Princes in Amber

Why did I love this book?

The entire ten-volume Chronicles of Amber is a portal fantasy in which there is no portal. Instead, the ability to journey between realities (known as “Shadows”) is inherent to scions of Amber, the one reality of which all others are shadows. As is the case in many of Zelazny’s works, the main characters are immortals or the closest thing to them, and they have left echoes of themselves in many realities. I loved the richness of the concept, the mythic overtones and undertones, and how the greatest transformation in the course of the story is in how the characters perceive themselves. At the start, so many are arrogant would-be kings. By the end, they realize what they’re lacking, and that immortal power and pretention are not enough.

By Roger Zelazny,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked Nine Princes in Amber as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

One of the most revered names in sf and fantasy, the incomparable Roger Zelazny was honored with numerous prizes—including six Hugo and three Nebula Awards—over the course of his legendary career. Among his more than fifty books, arguably Zelazny’s most popular literary creations were his extraordinary Amber novels.

Now officially licensed by the Zelazny estate, the first book in this legendary series is now finally available electronically.

Carl Corey wakes up in a secluded New York hospital with amnesia. He escapes and investigates, discovering the truth, piece by piece: he is really Prince Corwin, of Amber, the one true world…


Every Heart a Doorway

By Seanan McGuire,

Book cover of Every Heart a Doorway

Why did I love this book?

Even I was very young, every time I read a portal fantasy, I wondered how the kids (because so many portal fantasies are about kids) coped after they were sent back home and had to deal with their ordinary lives. After all, they’d been heroes or saviors or found true love or whatever. Now they had to go back to school and go to bed on time? Seanan McGuire did what I never thought of doing, and wrote a book that addresses this question. It doesn’t hurt that it’s a good tale in its own right, with a cast of lively characters, and an interesting setting. But Every Heart a Doorway is special to me because it addresses that “there’s no place like home” is a lot more complicated than it seems.

By Seanan McGuire,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Every Heart a Doorway as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Winner: 2022 Hugo Award for Best Series
Winner: 2017 Hugo Award
Winner: 2017 Alex Award
Winner: 2017 Locus Award
Winner: 2016 Nebula Award
Nominated: 2017 World Fantasy Award
Nominated: 2017 British Fantasy Award
2016 Tiptree Honor List

"A mini-masterpiece of portal fantasy — a jewel of a book that deserves to be shelved with Lewis Carroll's and C. S. Lewis' classics" —NPR

Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children
No Solicitations
No Visitors
No Quests

Children have always disappeared under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes…


Summer in Orcus

By T. Kingfisher,

Book cover of Summer in Orcus

Why did I love this book?

So many portal fantasies take place in settings that are a sort of generic Europe. Summer in Orcus is a delight on many levels, but one of the best is that Orcus, where twelve-year-old Summer finds herself after a completely atypical encounter with Baba Yaga, is odd enough that it makes Alice’s Wonderland seem normal by comparison. By the end of her journey through Orcus, Summer finds her heart’s desire.  However, it’s nothing like the power, glory, romantic love that are more usual, but something much more deceptive and deep. 

By T. Kingfisher,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Summer in Orcus as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When the witch Baba Yaga walks her house into the backyard, eleven-year-old Summer enters into a bargain for her heart’s desire. Her search will take her to the strange, surreal world of Orcus, where birds talk, women change their shape, and frogs sometimes grow on trees. But underneath the whimsy of Orcus lies a persistent darkness, and Summer finds herself hunted by the monstrous Houndbreaker, who serves the distant, mysterious Queen-in-Chains…

From the Hugo and Nebula award winning author of "Digger" and "Jackalope Wives" comes a story of adventure, betrayal, and heart's desire. T. Kingfisher, who writes for children as…


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