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I'm looking for a specific type of fantasy novel.

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Chezecaek
(@chezecaek)
Posts: 25
Advanced Member
Topic starter
 

I'm looking for any novels that I can about characters from the real world who somehow stumble into alternate fantasy worlds. Like, say, Chronicles of Narnia or Coraline, but I'm looking for novels for adults. Anyone have any suggestions?

 
Posted : February 10, 2020 7:31 pm
Henckel
(@henckel)
Posts: 465
Silver Star Member
 

Aside from 2 book I'm writing (both in revision stage) The cronicals of Thomas covenant come to mind. I think of them as despicable human walks onto the set of lord of the rings.

Oh, also whirlwind in a thorn tree by inde author S A Hunt. I loved loved loved those books. The third book in the series won some award a few years back.

WOTF Stats
(2014) V31 – R
(2018) V35 – HM
(2019) V36 – HM, SHM
(2020) V37 – R, HM, SHM, Finalist
(2021) V38 – SF, SHM, SHM, HM
(2022) V39 – HM, SHM, SHM, SHM
(2023) V40 - HM, SF, tba, tba

 
Posted : February 10, 2020 8:22 pm
crlisle
(@crlisle)
Posts: 423
Gold Member
 

Mercedes Lackey has a series, The Bedlam Bard series, where fantasy worlds come into, mingle and threaten New York and San Francisco. My favorite is: "Spirits White As Lightning" which is the 5th book in the series. Not for children! Adults only.

Vol. 36: 3rd -- R, 4th -- R
Vol. 37: R, HM, HM, SHM
Vol. 38: HM, HM, HM, HM
Vol. 39: SHM, RWC, RWC, HM
Vol. 40: HM, R, RWC, R
Vol. 41: R, HM, HM, HM
Vol. 42: 1st -- pending

Amateur published stories:
"The Army Ration That Saved the Earth" -- Accepted for publication, waiting for contract
"The Tell-Tale Cricket" in The Murderbugs Anthololgy
"Follow the Pretrons" in Martian Magazine, and a Critters Award
"Eyes and Hands" in Galaxy's Edge Magazine
"The Last Dance" in Parliament of Wizards, LTUE anthology
"My Ten Cents" in Sci Fi Lampoon
Professional Publication:
"Invasion" in Daily Science Fiction

 
Posted : February 10, 2020 11:51 pm
(@morgan-broadhead)
Posts: 468
Gold Star Member
 

Pretty much anything else from Neil Gaiman. American Gods or Good Omens or Neverwhere or Anansi Boys. I recommend all of them.

"You can either sit here and write, or you can sit here and do nothing. But you can’t sit here and do anything else."
— Neil Gaiman, Masterclass

Drop me a line at https://morganbroadhead.com
SFx1
HMx5
R/RWCx5

 
Posted : February 11, 2020 3:06 am
Dustin Adams
(@tj_knight)
Posts: 1432
Platinum Plus Moderator
 

Terry Brooks Magic Kingdom for sale books were pretty great. Very light / comedic.
Not so much stumbling tho, but good nonetheless.

Career: 1x Win -- 2x NW-F -- 2x S-F -- 9x S-HM -- 11x HM -- 7x R
Like me: facebook/AuthorTJKnight

 
Posted : February 11, 2020 4:21 am
Disgruntled Peony
(@disgruntledpeony)
Posts: 1283
Platinum Member
 

Pretty much anything else from Neil Gaiman. American Gods or Good Omens or Neverwhere or Anansi Boys. I recommend all of them.

You beat me to it! wotf019 I'll see if I can find any other options hiding on my bookshelf during the boys' next nap.

If you are in difficulties with a book, try the element of surprise: attack it at an hour when it isn't expecting it. ~ H.G. Wells
If a person offend you, and you are in doubt as to whether it was intentional or not, do not resort to extreme measures; simply watch your chance and hit him with a brick. ~ Mark Twain
R, SF, SHM, SHM, SHM, F, R, HM, SHM, R, HM, R, F, SHM, SHM, SHM, SF, SHM, 1st Place (Q2 V38)
Ticknor Tales
Twitter
4th and Starlight: e-book | paperback

 
Posted : February 11, 2020 8:02 am
Chezecaek
(@chezecaek)
Posts: 25
Advanced Member
Topic starter
 

Pretty much anything else from Neil Gaiman. American Gods or Good Omens or Neverwhere or Anansi Boys. I recommend all of them.

A lot of his stuff is close to what I'm looking for, but it's usually about a protagonist getting drawn into a bunch of weird stuff and discovering that their regular world is not quite as regular as they thought. I'm looking more for stuff where a protagonist leaves their regular world completely, temporarily or permanently, like by opening an oven and finding a portal to the magical land of the Blargalumps in the back of it or something.

 
Posted : February 11, 2020 4:55 pm
Henckel
(@henckel)
Posts: 465
Silver Star Member
 

Definitely check out whirlwind in the thorn tree.

WOTF Stats
(2014) V31 – R
(2018) V35 – HM
(2019) V36 – HM, SHM
(2020) V37 – R, HM, SHM, Finalist
(2021) V38 – SF, SHM, SHM, HM
(2022) V39 – HM, SHM, SHM, SHM
(2023) V40 - HM, SF, tba, tba

 
Posted : February 11, 2020 9:01 pm
Dustin Adams
(@tj_knight)
Posts: 1432
Platinum Plus Moderator
 

Just remembered this one:

With The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Stephen R. Donaldson changed the face of fantasy fiction forever. In The Mirror of Her Dreams, the astonishing first novel in the two-volume Mordant’s Need series, Donaldson shows us a world of wondrous beauty and seductive illusion, where mirrors hold the deadliest of magics and nothing is what it seems. . . .

The daughter of rich but neglectful parents, Terisa Morgan lives alone in a New York City apartment, a young woman who has grown to doubt her own existence. Surrounded by the flat reassurance of mirrors, she leads an unfulfilled life—until the night a strange man named Geraden comes crashing through one of her mirrors, on a quest to find a champion to save his kingdom of Mordant from a pervasive evil that threatens the land. Terisa is no champion. She wields neither magic nor power. And yet, much to her own surprise, when Geraden begs her to come back with him, she agrees.

Career: 1x Win -- 2x NW-F -- 2x S-F -- 9x S-HM -- 11x HM -- 7x R
Like me: facebook/AuthorTJKnight

 
Posted : February 11, 2020 9:43 pm
(@cyclopsbane)
Posts: 4
New Member
 

I believe this subgenre is actually (and aptly) called "portal fantasy".

If you do a Google search for it (adult fantasy portal) you can find all sorts of lists. Harry Potter is a another good example. Lev Grossman's The Magicians is another, more adult one.

My favorite, and I'm not sure if this quite qualifies, is Piers Anthony's Xanth series. It takes place in a magical land shaped exactly like Florida, and there are portals that can take the wizards there to the real Florida (obviously not magical, unless you count Disney World wotf007 ). So it's sort of a reverse portal fantasy. Fun to read though!

 
Posted : February 15, 2020 5:15 am
(@librarianbarbarian)
Posts: 39
Bronze Member
 

The Fionavar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel Kay was pretty good. Also, Guardians of the Flame series by Joel Rosenberg and the Dancing Gods series by Jack Chalker. This kind of fantasy was very popular in the 1980s. They don't get written much anymore

 
Posted : November 25, 2020 8:26 pm
(@pezel)
Posts: 14
Active Member
 

She's more known as a childrens' fantasy author, but Cornelia Funke's Mirrorworld series is gorgeous. Aimed at a YA audience, it is lush, and dark, and beautifully written. The first book is Reckless, and it follows the main character as he travels between our present day world and a land where fairy tales are real. Jonathan Reckless locates magical artifacts and sells them. It is not a kid's story at all.

 
Posted : November 26, 2020 8:53 am
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