Portals

All mirrors are magic mirrors. ~ George MacDonald

In 1858, George MacDonald wrote what may be considered the first modern portal fantasy, ‘Phantastes.’ This was also MacDonald’s first novel of any sort, followed by many more, both fantasy and mainstream. With William Morris (who wrote the first modern high fantasy), he laid the ground for the fantasy writers of the Twentieth Century.

Strictly, neither man is ‘Modern.’ Their writing belongs to the late Romantic. I might be inclined to describe them as precursors to modern fantasy rather than its first practitioners. They are very important precursors, to be sure—one can draw some direct lines from MacDonald to C.S. Lewis (or to Tolkien from Morris, for that matter).

The portal in ‘Phantastes’ is to Faerie; it opens quite early in the narrator’s own bedchamber, thanks to his fairy blood evincing itself when he reaches sufficient maturity. No wardrobes or doors are needed for this initial passage (though others appear later in the narrative). The one world, our world, simply fades into the other. Near the end of his career (1895), George MacDonald created another—and better—portal fantasy, ‘Lilith.’ There, the portal lies in a library and is somewhat better defined as an actual passageway between worlds.

‘Alice in Wonderland,’ written less than a decade later than ‘Phantastes,’ did much to popularize the portal concept. It may be argued, however, that it is not fantasy in the genre sense, being dream-based and full of absurdities, taking it closer to surrealism. ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’ carried the concept into the Twentieth Century—if one is willing to consider the tornado a portal. My own stories have used similar storms to open portals, but have carried no houses to other lands! Perhaps the cave where John Carter falls into unconsciousness, to awaken on Barsoom, can also be considered a portal. I’m willing to include it among the important portal fantasies. Important enough to spawn its share of imitators, anyway.

But the ‘true’ portal fantasies with which almost all of us are familiar are C.S. Lewis’s Narnia tales. Actual, physical ways between the worlds exist in them. At the same time, the experience of the children transitioning from one to another on entering the wardrobe, is surprisingly similar to that in the opening of ‘Phantastes,’ written a century earlier.

‘Phantastes’ is a decent story though without much cohesive plot. It gives a first person account of the protagonist’s rambling journey and of his making stupid mistake after stupid mistake. I occasionally wanted to shake the narrator and scream, ‘Pay attention when folks warn you!’ Such dependence on the protagonist’s bad judgment is not a good plot device—in its way, just as bad as the hero who makes no mistakes at all.

The tale is told in a clear, serviceable prose style—decidedly better than what one gets from some of his contemporaries—but one might do well to skim over MacDonald’s attempts at poetry. He certainly couldn’t match Morris there! The overt symbolism might be off-putting to some. One of the main points there seems to be that ‘Faerie’ is all around us and the mundane world is an illusion. This is akin to some of the Christian symbolism we encounter in Lewis. One can hear echoes of MacDonald in Dunsany, in Lewis and in Tolkien, in pretty much every modern writer of fantasy. The shadow that follows Ged in LeGuin’s work is not so removed from the one attached to our protagonist in ‘Phantastes.’

As a read, the novel hovers somewhere between ‘good’ and ‘very good,’ readable and reasonably interesting. It might even be called a minor classic, though mostly for its influence on the fantasy stories to come. ‘Phantastes’ is, of course, long in the public domain and may be downloaded as a free ebook at Project Gutenberg and elsewhere.

Music Review: Hell and Heroes Vol 1

Hell & Heroes Vol. 1 by Mean Mary & the Contrarys
Woodrock Records - meanmary.com

review by Sienna Santerre

rating: * * * * (four stars)

Mary James, known more widely as Mean Mary, is also known more widely as a single act and as a banjo virtuoso. On this EP of four songs she is joined by her band, the Contrarys—forming a sort of folk-rock power trio.

Ms James seems to have a bit of a weakness for long story-songs. All four songs run in the four to four and a half minute length. This length also, admittedly, gives her the opportunity to exhibit her considerable instrumental chops. I can't say I am particularly taken with the stories in the first two offerings here, 'Penelope Rose' and 'Fugitive'—particularly the latter, which seems a tad cliche. The drums are also mixed rather high. Perhaps that was seen as more 'rock and roll' but it might have been good to give Mary more room for her vocals and instrumental work.

Both of which are quite good. Let's face it, folks are going to listen to these songs because of Mean Mary, not the Contrarys, competent though they may be. She has a well-deserved reputation on the banjo (mostly played in a more-or-less bluegrass style); here she shows herself a master of lead guitar (and pretty much any other instrument she picks up). The arranging is top-notch as well, vocals included.

The third song, 'Seven League Shoes,' is (to me) the gem here, with Mary's vocals atop an insistent bed of banjo and bass. The indie-rock vibe to this one that goes over well—shades of the past are there but it is also up to date Americana. Mean Mary's well-deserved reputation as a high-speed banjoist are very much evident in the closing minute of the song!

'Sparrow Alone,' the final offering, is a song we have heard on one of Mean Mary's solo albums ('Alone'). It ties in with her novel (co-written with Jean James), 'Sparrow Alone on the Housetop.' A pretty good book, by the way. A melancholy piece, quoting a folk melody, it is well realized and, again, showcases Mary's playing.

All in all, 'Hell and Heroes Vol 1' is an excellent showcase, well-played, well-arranged. Are the songs themselves well-written? Perhaps not are truly memorable but they are a cut above what you'll find on many successful albums out there. I feel confident in giving a 'very good' ranking and a recommendation.

note: Mary James is the niece of Stephen Brooke, who runs this site. So add any grains of salt you find necessary.

Book Review: The Pioneers

THE PIONEERS by James Fenimore Cooper, a book review by Stephen Brooke

***** 5 stars

One could make an argument that “The Pioneers” was the first great American novel. It is certainly the first important one. Before Hawthorne, before Melville, Cooper gives us the American voice and sensibility (though with the obvious stylistic influence of Scott).

Yes, it is wordy. Cooper is always wordy and early Cooper even more so. The novel is not quite historical fiction in the sense some of the other Leather-Stocking books are; it is set in the time of the author’s own youth and draws on his memories of Cooperstown. Nor is it an adventure in quite the same sense. Natty Bumppo, Leather-Stocking himself, has a less central role, though he does stand as symbol of the end of an age, helping hold the story together.

The closing of the frontier, the felling of forest, the peopling of what was wilderness, is a central theme—but not the plot. Cooper knew better than do that. The theme is attached to a fairly conventional sort of story. We can all figure out who young Edwards, the closest thing to a main male protagonist, truly is. But the plot is set against the panorama of civilization expanding into the wilderness, both the good and the bad of it. Cooper was certainly a conservationist before the word existed.

The story concerns itself not only with the trees felled but the human lives impacted, including those of the Native Americans. Yet it is most certainly not all gloom. There is plenty of humor and maybe just a little too much description of everyday frontier life. It is one of those novels that captures its time and place—a newly-born nation finding itself and perhaps blundering a bit in the process. A classic and worth the highest ranking (though maybe just barely).

This review has appeared in a slightly different form at GoodReads