The Lost Pathway

Portal fantasy is a sub genre of fantasy literature that involves a pkerson being transported into another realm. This is merely a list of my favorites.


The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis.
Yes, I understand that the Chronicles of Narnia are an entire series involving enough books to fill the entire series, and all but one of them (The Magician's Nephew) can be described as portal fantasy, and maybe even that one. These are the definitive portal fantasy books for me — the classic image of the wardrobe and lamp post kind of define the genre. They are not just at the top of the list in a sub genre, but they are some of the best fantasy books ever written.



2. Phantastes by George MacDonald.

George MacDonald was a massive influence on C.S. Lewis and many others, including J.R.R. Tolkien. In Phantastes, the protagonist is transported into Fairy Land and, as we learn in the book, the only way out of Fairy is through.



3. The Neverending Story by Michael Ende.

It is hard to place this book at number 3, just because I consider it one of the best standalone fantasy books ever written. Many people know of the film, but there can hardly be a comparison between the quality of the film and the book. The book is a masterpiece of imaginative literature and, I think, qualifies as a transportation to a magical world and so earns a place on this list.



4.  Lilith, by George MacDonald.

This is another MacDonald book, one of his fantasy masterpieces. In this, our protagonist is sucked into a world where Adam and Eve and Lilith are denizens, where a cat woman prowls and children shelter from waste lands. The question is whether or not our main character is willing to face the inevitable.


5. The Tower of Geburah by John White.

This is not a well know book, and White openly acknowledged that he sought to copy Lewis' idea. But I enjoyed this book (and in fact, the whole series of which this is a part) in my childhood and it comes to mind when thinking about my favorite portal fiction.

Wouldn't the Narnia exception be The Horse and His Boy?

I was going to recommend Robert Jordan, but his doorstoppers aren't portals. I'd never thought of them as a distinct genre before, but it clearly makes sense. The portal as unveiling what is, or something like that.

Ack. You're right! The exception is the Horse and His Boy. In fact, the Magician's Nephew is arguably the most portal-ish one of all.


The portal serves kind of as a transition from the mundane to the fantastical -- from the "real" world into Fairyland, to say it in another way. Also, the portal genre has a way of sparking the imagination by connecting the fantastic to our own world.