(no subject)

[skygiants]

Foz Meadows' An Accident of Stars truly does feel exactly like an eighties fantasy novel if the eighties in fantasy had been less straight and white, and if it had been around for me to read as a teenager I would have eaten it up with a spoon.

The book is a portal fantasy, in that two of the protagonists are Australian teen Saffron and the Earth-native world-walker Gwen she follows into fantasyland, although the portal stuff doesn't actually have much to do with the plot for most of the book except to provide the opportunity to explain stuff to Saffron and, by proxy, the reader. After an early-book dramatic injury, Saffron accepts with relative equanimity that she's stuck in fantasyland for a few months until a reasonable amount of healing time has passed, so the plot is free to focus on her new pals -- an orphan with magical powers and a mysterious background, and a bratty preteen queen fleeing her evil spouses -- as they deal with classic fantasy issues like The New King Is Bad Actually and Who Will Be Our Allies In The Rebellion, Is It The Mean Matriarchal Priestesses Up North Or What?

The book was a very slow start for me -- in part due to the large amount of infodumping, in part due to some editing issues with my copy that didn't properly separate some dialogue tags and POV breaks and made it difficult to always tell who was thinking or saying what -- but by midway through the fantasy plot had picked up momentum and I really enjoyed a number of the back half developments! But I sort of wish I hadn't gone in thinking 'ah, a portal fantasy!' because it doesn't really function in the ways that most interest me about portal fantasy -- which is to say, I'm interested in portal fantasy because I like culture clash and ironic juxtapositions and meta-narrative. I want to feel like the character who's portaling from our world has a life and background in their own world that means something to them, that informs the way they interact with the fantasy, and that impacts the things that happen there.

In An Accident of Stars, it's important to the narrative that Saffron is Not From Here, but I don't really know anything about her background specifically other than that she has parents and a sister and she goes to high school and she's a Kinsey 4ish. She's a window on the world as much as she is a character -- and that's definitely a common mode for portal fantasy, just not my favorite among them. On the other hand, it did get me thinking about the kind of portal fantasy tropes I do find really interesting, so here is a short list!

- portaler has no destiny but their mundane knowledge and experience comes in unexpectedly useful in fantasyland
- portaler does have a destiny, but their destiny is somehow complicated or subverted
- portaler is genre savvy and it's funny
- multiple people portal (siblings, school friends, school enemies, etc.) and their adventures change their relationships and dynamics
- portal world is weird and metafictional

What about you? Tell me of your favorite portal fantasy tropes!

Comments

[sholio]

Oddly, I seem to have gone the other way around, on Corwin (speaking as someone who really loves the books and has read them repeatedly over the years). Merlin was my favorite of the narrators when I was a kid and I found Corwin very emotionally remote and offputting, but I've come around to appreciating and even preferring him as a narrator as an adult - there's so much character development I didn't see when I was a teenager and found Merlin more approachable. YMMV though, obviously!

[hamsterwoman]

I definitely still preferred Corwin to Merlin as protagonist and as narrator (and the First Chronicles in general) -- his POV is really fun to read! But I found myself more amused by him than star-struck, which is what my friends recalled being on first read, and what I imagine what my reaction would've been if I'd read the books at 16 and not in my late 20s. (I've been thinking I should reread them at some point, partially inspired by your recent posts.)

The characters I ended up liking the most the first time around were Bleys, Julian, Ganelon, Fiona, and then Luke and Mandor from the Merlin books. I'm pretty sure Bleys, Mandor, and Ganelon are going to be a constant if I do reread them, because they're very much all of a Type I enjoy, but I would not be surprised at all if my preferences shifted around.

[sholio]

Fiona is another character I appreciated much more as an adult, from having no particular feelings on her, to really loving her; the evolution in her relationship with Corwin, and his general views on her, is really great. Random was always my favorite in the first series, and yes, aside from Merlin, Luke and Mandor in the second. Especially Mandor; that character cuts right to my id and always has.

[hamsterwoman]

Oops, how did I forget Random? Random is definitely also one of my favorites, in both series, actually.

Especially Mandor; that character cuts right to my id and always has.

Haha, same.

[kore]

I wasn't star-struck exactly by Corwin when I first read the books (as a very young teen), but he's definitely modelled on the hard-boiled private dick trope, especially in the first book. I love Chandler so I found that voice very amusing.

Bleys was AWESOME, I liked Benedict a lot (even with all the Dara nonsense), Random and Julian were very fun, and I liked Fiona better than Deidre (who was sort of not even a person), but they both gave me the pip. I liked Llewella and Rebma a lot. (I should see if there's fic set in Rebma....)

My problem with the Merlin books was after a while they felt like a video game -- get this magical item, get that magical item, &c &c, and it was just kind of confusing and boring. And the Julia plot....just no.

[hamsterwoman]

I do absolutely love Corwin's narrative voice (despite never having read Raymond Chandler, or much noir in general.)

I'm glad to hear you share my love of Bleys! :D I never warmed up to Benedict, even though I feel like that's kind of an unpopular opinion.

Deidre (who was sort of not even a person)

My thoughts on Deirdre as well. I like Flora better than her, and I don't find Flora all that interesting a character.

And I'm fascinated to meet a Llewella fan, because I feel like everyone tends to overlook her (I do think she had the right idea, in all this mess).

was after a while they felt like a video game -- get this magical item, get that magical item, &c &c, and it was just kind of confusing and boring

Yes, the plot of the Second Chronicles definitely did not have the coherence of the first, or, I think, much coherence at all. Which maybe makes sense thematically, but did not make for nearly as fulfilling a reading experience for me.

[kore]

I really like Corwin's development even in the first book, and how he grows from desire for power and vengeance to, uh, the very spoilery place he winds up at re ruling Amber.

[sholio]

Honestly I think for all its flaws -- and it does have a lot of them! -- the Amber series sets a high bar for war-for-the-throne stories in the way that it deals with that specific aspect of the plot, the corruption of the thirst for power (even in well-intentioned people) and the way that this puts pressure on the characters in various directions.

[kore]

the way that it deals with that specific aspect of the plot, the corruption of the thirst for power (even in well-intentioned people) and the way that this puts pressure on the characters in various directions.

Oh yes, ITA! Even Eric is interesting that way. (And ooogh, those sequences with Eric's (SPOILERY THING) and the anniversaries....and how Corwin uses them. I remember just being glued to the page the first time I read those as a kid.)

[hamsterwoman]

I expect when I reread the books, I'll find myself finding Eric a lot more interesting -- it's actually one of the reasons I want to reread them.