SOLVED. YA Fantasy novel first read in 2010 about a young man in search of his mother that goes through a crack in the forest to another dimension and ends up a hero of that world. [s]

[Parker]

I originally read this book on holiday in Malta at a book letting store that has since closed so I cannot get their records to find the name of the book. The only other person I knew that read this book recently passed away. We both read it in Malta and loved it and it is one of the few memories with him I have. I would love to find this book again to not only have it but to have a piece of my friend.

The plot is that a student in high school in America, whose mother has been gone for years, finds out she went through a crack in the forest that leads to another dimension. The crack only opens every 10 or so years I believe. The student befriends a young student teacher at his school who is only a couple years older than him who also knew his mother. Together they train and prepare to go through the portal and eventually do. When they get to the new world they are immediately captured and enslaved by an artisan society and given tasks that separate them. I believe she gathered clay and he refined it. I also think they had ankle bracelets that kept them enslaved. They plot escape but it is foiled by the artesian society leaving to a new place that requires a massive journey. On that journey in a very dangerous area, following a big storm, they are intercepted by knights and taken in. The knights take a liking to the boy and the student teacher and train them to fight allowing for their eventual release. From there I get blurry on the details but I recall that at the end of the book there is a battle on an airship that wins the war. Immediately after the war the boy is taken to face several monolithic gods that rule this world who brought him here and they send him back to our world. The student teacher is left behind which breaks the boys heart as they'd fallen in love. He waits ten years and the last few lines insinuate that they're reunited at the portal.

What makes this search especially tough, and why it has stretched over 10 years for me, is that I remeber the author said on the bio on the dust cover that he only wrote the one book to see if he could. I believe he was an engineer by trade. I don't think he ever wrote another and I don't know his name.

Any help anyone can offer would be beyond appreciated. You would solve a decades long mystery and reunite me with one tangible memory of my friend

[Rainbowheart]

Sorry to hear about the passing of your friend.

This one sounds super familiar to me. Male author, and this may have been his only book. I'm not familiar with "book letting stores." Was it like a lending library? I wonder if this book was published in Malta or left behind by a fellow traveler?

[Capn]

There are a few whopping great lists that may have caught your book (maybe):
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
and
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...
and a short one:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

[Parker]

@rainbowheart, thank you. That's very kind.

This place was a mix of the owners own collection and other books that had been donated to him. You'd give him 2 euros and then could keep the book as long as you wanted. Forever even. He just wanted people to read. If you returned the book you'd get your money back and could rent another. I remeber he kept records of all the books he lent out but all my attempts at reaching him have been in vain and his store is gone now. It could definitely have been a book left by someone who was passing through. If you think of the one my description reminded you of let me know, it might be it! Thanks for the help!

[Parker]

@capn, those lists are massive! I will definitely look through them and see if anything rings a bell. Thank you!

[Capn]

Parker wrote: "@capn, those lists are massive! I will definitely look through them and see if anything rings a bell. Thank you!"

If you'd like to, of course! :) No obligation - they are huge. :S

[Capn]

One total pot-shot from me tonight:

The Dragon's Eye

[Capn]

Parker - this one keeps coming up (elsewhere), and I've read vastly varying descriptions. The GR summary doesn't sound like your book, but others make me wonder:
The Transall Saga

It was also published as "Blue Light": Blue Light

In case you are interested, here's the description that made me curious: (view spoiler)[I read this book 15 years ago or so and am trying to find it again. A teen-aged boy transports through time, I think via a fountain, to a world which he doesn't recognize (comes to find out it is earth hundreds, if not thousands, of years in the future) When he is first transported he comes out in a jungle type area. The book goes on to have him captured and then enslaved by a clan. He eventually wins his freedom by acts of valor in battle. He becomes a major warrior in the clan and falls in love with one of the girls. Once everything falls into place with his life there, he is chasing an enemy in that same jungle and I want to say a beam of light transports him back to his own time without him aging. He appears at that same fountain wearing his battle gear about to throw a spear with everyone in the mall area wondering what he is doing. I'm pretty sure this is fairly accurate, but it has been a while and I could be misremembering some events. Thanks for your help! (hide spoiler)] - from Stack Exchange

[David]

Even if it isn't the requested book here, it is amazing how much The Transall Saga turns out to be the answer to several other threads, across the years.

[Parker]

@capn, The Transall saga was almost it. I thought it was for half a second but alas it is not quite it. I took a look at your pot shot one too and it has elements that are similar but also not it. I just finished reading through all the books in all three lists and didn't find it there either. I know it is out there and I'm getting closer each time. Thank you for your help so far. If you think of anything else let me know!

[Capn]

I will keep my eye out for this! Trying to fish it out with this new list, too:https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

[Rainbowheart]

Long shot, The Beginning Place?

[Capn]

Still looking - do you remember if it was a new or newish book when you read it? (I realise it may have been used, but was it still shiny? Or did the cover look dated? Anything at all about the cover art or colour?).

When you say the protagonist and the student teacher "trained" - in what way? Running long distances, or sword fighting? (Do you remember how they knew what to train for?)

When the knights later train the main character (MC), is that with a particular weapon?

Anything about the portal in particular?

I'm especially curious if you can remember anything about the war that the MC fights in (maybe on an airship) - do you remember who the war is being fought by? Human-like on both sides? Or animals/monsters? Airship vs. flying dragons, or..?

[Parker]

Capn wrote: "Still looking - do you remember if it was a new or newish book when you read it? (I realise it may have been used, but was it still shiny? Or did the cover look dated? Anything at all about the cov..."

Hi Capn, sorry for going MIA there for a little bit. Things got a bit crazy and I am just now getting back to this. I will try to answer your questions as best I can. Thank you SO much for helping me with this!

I believe they trained at the high school, maybe outside on the basketball court, in fencing specifically. This is a bit of a guess but, I think they knew somehow that the world through the portal still lived and fought that way. Or, it may have been just a way for the student teacher to get close to the boy since she knew his mother and that she went through the portal.

When the knights train with the MC it is with a sword. I vaguely remember there being a scene where a typically cocky, against the MC joining them, character spars with the MC and the MC wins which catches the eye of the leaders who then train him further with the sword.

The portal, I want to say, was inside or through a fallen tree on the forest floor. I somewhat remember them climbing down to it or through it. I also remember that when they came through the portal it opened up onto a large grassy hill and they stood in wonder at the world before continuing on.

As for the war, I feel as though it was between humans only and that a large part of it took place in the air on airships. I can picture in my mind the MC going down through different levels of an airship (zeppelin like) (picture the double pontooned airship from the film adaptation of polar express that carries Santa's bag of presents to the sleigh) and that along the way he runs into the student-teacher, with whom he has fallen in love, and they share their first kiss. She is also fighting on the airship.

I will update more if I think of anything. Thank you again SO SO much for your help!

[Capn]

Some lists you might like to scan:

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1... - Flying Ships and Air Pirates

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2... - SciFi with Airships

[Capn]

Also, the Hot for Teacher lists in YA:

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8...
&
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...

EDIT: almost ALL of these books are YA romances. :S Not my thing, and not your book's genre. I haven't seen your book in here, but for the sake of covering all the bases, I'll leave these links for you to doublecheck, if you want. (It's grim in there, for someone not into romance!). ;)

[Becca]

Kev might be looking for the same book in this post: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
(Thanks Capn for spotting it!)

[Capn]

I think this is a longshot, but you never can tell:

The Knight

Apparently he enters the portal through a tree, and there was some mention of maybe him falling in love and having to leave the female in question behind.

Scant, I know. It was inspired by another older thread, that I don't think overlaps with yours. But for the record:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Parker]

Thanks for continuing the hunt! I've read through all the linked lists and, unfortunately, no dice. The Knight was a good thought but also not the one. The thread from Kev, linked by Becca, is the closest I have ever heard or seen anyone come to explaining the plot. It might be the same book! Hopefully Kev found it and can respond to us with the title. If not, the search continues! Thank you all again so much for helping. Might end up writing our own book about finding this book with the journey it has become!

[Capn]

Fencing in fiction:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

Still looking - haven't forgotten this one!

EDIT: The Fifth Ring probably isn't, but is as close as I've seen lately.

[Parker]

Capn wrote: "Fencing in fiction:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

Still looking - haven't forgotten this one!

EDIT: The Fifth Ring probably isn't, but is as close as I'v..."

Hey Capn!

Thanks for not forgetting about it and continuing the search! Unfortunately, THe Fifth Ring isn't it but it was decently close. I looked through all of the fencing list as well and it wasn't in there. I am still searching and holding out hope that one of us may find it one of these days! Thanks for continuing the hunt!

[Capn]

I got super excited when I saw the cover of Farlander:

(Airship!)
But it was published in 2011. :(

The search continues!

[Capn]

Rick Shelley wrote a trilogy, beginning with Son of the Hero. He has written other books, though.

"The Buffer Zone--that was what the seven kingdoms standing between mortal Earth and the realm of the immortal elves was called. When Gil Tyner planned to celebrate his 21st birthday with his parents, he didnt have any idea that he was about to spend not only his birthday but possibly the rest of his life in this zone."
/
"Gil Tyner has plans for the future: He’s going to be a computer programmer in the bustling technology Mecca of Silicon Valley. And as his 21st birthday approaches, he’s on the cusp of realizing his goals.
But fate has other plans. A note from his mother on his birthday propels Gil into The Buffer Zone, seven magical kingdoms that stand between our world and the realm of the immortal elves.
Gil’s about to learn that plans can change. When destiny calls, he’ll discover that the life he’d imagined and the life he’ll lead will be very different."

It was published in 1990. I don't know if this veers too much into the sci-fi, but worth a shot, right?

[Rainbowheart]

A Crack in the Line?

[Capn]

Wizard's First Rule (Sword of Truth #1 - it became a series) by Terry Goodkind

Published in 1994, and while this guy is now a big name in fantasy, this was a Locus award nominee for best first novel (1995).

Only going by the synopsis, but... what do you think?! :) I read a little on OpenLibrary (free!), but I wasn't sure. It differs a little from your description, but there are many similarities.

Characters are:
Richard Cypher, Kahlan Amnell, "Zedd" Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander (mentor), Chase the warden, Darken Rahl, Mud People, Siddin, Queen Milena, Giller, the Mord-Sith, Denna, Shota, "Seeker", "Confessor"...

Some place names: Westland, Midlands, the empire of D'Hara, Tamarang, Agaden Reach,...

Some items mentioned: snakevine (it bites); Box of Orden, Sword of Truth, the Boundary, Book of Counted Shadows

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wizard%...

[Capn]

Okay, now I feel I got all excited over nothing. I have another contender:

The Fire Duke by Joel Rosenberg (definitely not his first book, though).
""When he brought Maggie Christensen and fencing buddy, Ian Silverstein, home to Hardwood, N.D., for spring break, Torrie Thorsen anticipated nothing more than a carefree vacation, He never expected that werewolves would drag his mother and his girlfriend screaming from the house in the dead of night - or that he and his father, Thorian, would end up joining them as hostages on a secret trail into an inconceivable world." "For the Thorsen destiny lies where the family's history began - in a place of legend."

At least this definitely starts with a young American male who learned fencing.

[Capn]

Across the Fourwinds was published too late, but sounds really close:

"Most high school grads hold a world of opportunity in their hands. Will and Morgan hold the fate of two worlds.

Since his mother’s tragic accident, Will has been a loner. And for good reason: he claims to see strange creatures emerging from the forest near his home. Ostracism is a way of life until he meets Morgan, a fencing champion with everything going for her—except a dark family secret.

In pursuit of answers, these unlikely friends enter the forest and discover a magical kingdom threatened by a powerful enemy. When a young sage reveals their true identities, Will and Morgan join a small but courageous resistance on a quest to save the Fourwinds.

Can friendship and hope stop the swelling tide of destruction from breaching the portal into our world?

Across the Fourwinds is the first book of the Maidstone Chronicles, a page-turning YA fantasy series. If you enjoy escaping to magical worlds, swashbuckling action, and homespun heroes, you’re in for an exciting adventure with this epic tale by Shane Trusz and Darryl Frayne. "

[Capn]

Flight of the Mariner-P

"Shushuan, the ancient, forgotten birthplace of humankind, still calls to its long-lost offspring. But only a handful of those descendants are able to respond. When David and Kate are transported to Shushuan, they find themselves in a barbaric world where their lives are constantly in peril."
/
When David Shaw and Kate Catlin are transported to Shushuan, they find themselves plunged into a barbaric world where their lives are constantly in peril. What little knowledge remains from past advanced Vinh civilizations now rests in the hands of the power-hungry Librarians, whose leader Rohc Vahnn seeks nothing less than world domination.
Enslaved by the nomadic Ladden, Shaw and Catlin are soon sold to one of the Librarians. With him they travel the thousands of miles to the Vohung Kingdoms, where the final battle for the freedom of the Vinh will be played out. Aided by a man of Earth who shares their insane vision, the Librarians seem destined to succeed. But they have reckoned without the intervention of Shushuan’s incarnate deities, the Thirteen Gods — and the special interest that the Thirteen have in David Shaw ...


I think this is it. :) Mrs. Catlin is the teacher, "Shaw" is the student (referred to by his last name), the portal is within a cave in the North Yorkshire moors, his mother really isn't dead, and Kate/Mrs. Catlin is actually originally from the other world. They train in fencing in the school gym on a Saturday.

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL10627... - you can preview it, or read for free if you set up a free account. Over 500 pages - a whopper! - and there was a sequel (Beyond Freedom) since. ;)

Here's an excerpt after they cross over (from page 73):
In fact, we could not have become artists right away for the simple reason that we owned no materials. The clay, metal, wood, cloth and so on that the Ladden used was not, as I had at first thought, communal property. Each Ladden owned his or her own supply of the tools and materials needed for their art or craft, and we had only been given a free run of the craft tent that one time so that we could be tested as fully as possible. In the future, we would have to earn whatever tools and raw materials we needed, and the only way for us to earn them was to remain in the camp of the slaves. And so, for a time, we were content to stay there. We were so occupied with the business of learning the language that there was scarcely time for contemplating anything else. Until, that is, the events of which I will now speak: events that ended the dreamland period of our time with the Ladden and brought us back to the realities of the situation with a very nasty jolt.
(Yes, the teacher works with clay on a pottery wheel. Yes for metal anklets).

page 217 - airships:
As my sense of awe gave way to a more scientific curiosity, I began to pay more attention to those aspects of the airship that were not so daunting. Around the space where the wings met the main body of the thing the more recognizable handiwork of man could be seen. A conventionally shaped and constructed hull had been erected around the metal joints, a wooden vessel on some four decks extending for about ninety feet, or just about the distance between the forward and aft mountings of the skeletal wings. The construction of this hull was so much in keeping with Vohung designs and technology, and so totally at odds with the monstrous thing to which it was attached, that I instantly reviewed my opinion of the men who commanded it.

Author blurb:
"Paul Ware was born in 1960 in Bradley, Yorkshire, and lives today in the same West Yorkshire farmhouse where he grew up. He attended Rastrick Grammar School and Huddersfield Technical College and trained as an engineer before taking up work in the motor trade. His interests include fencing, weight training and motorcycling (his present bike is a Yamaha Virago). Flight of the Mariner is his first novel."

[Parker]

Capn, you incredible, amazing, wonderful, beautiful, fantastic, lovely human you! YOU FOUND IT!!!! You did it! I don't know how you did it, but you found it!!!!! This is the book, you absolutely NAILED IT!!

TWELVE years of searching have finally come to a long-awaited close and I can rest easy and happy knowing I have this memory of my friend I can keep close always. I am so unbelievably grateful to you for your help and constant dedication in finding this book.

I have posted this on Reddit, Stack Exchange, here, contacted the Library of Congress, asked literally hundreds of bookstores in the US, UK, and all over Europe, traveled back to Malta to try and track the book down, asked random strangers, looked through thousands of books on here/google/and other sites just to see if it sparked a memory, and more for twelve years ALL in an attempt to accomplish what you were able to do. THANK YOU SO MUCH! I am forever grateful to you! Can I send you something as a thank you? I am honestly crying I am so happy you found this book. Thank you thank you thank you!

[Capn]

Oh happy day!!! :D I am so happy - I was pretty sure this was it! I'm so glad!!!

No, no - just knowing you are reunited with it is truly thanks enough!! It seemed an injustice of universe that you couldn't find it again - it was satisfying to help put it right!!! (Did you really fly back to Malta for it?! Oh dear!!).

It really is OpenLibrary to thank - because they obtained it, scanned it, uploaded it, and made the text searchable, I was able to find it by keyword. I do know that they need financial support - greedy publishers are trying (and have partially succeeded, thanks to a recent ruling which is being appealed) in shutting them down. And that's just not right, imho. :(

So maybe we can both have an excuse to pop open a bottle of Champagne and toast remotely to the rediscovery of your lost book, and to the memory of your friend, and to keeping the faith in the quest! XD But seriously - I'm using this as an excuse for popping a prosecco cork. ;)

[Orsolya Könyvtáros (formerly Memp)]

I have no idea who any of you people are, but I'm so happy the book has been found. For some reason this thread has really stuck with me and I've been following it for a long time. Congratulations!

[Rainbowheart]

Woo hoo, Capn, good work!

Super glad this one is solved.

[Parker]

I am definitely donating to Open Library as well as joining you in some good food and drinks to celebrate! Seriously, thank you again! And a huge thank you to all of you for helping in the journey as well!

I did indeed really fly back to Malta to track it down and when that didn't turn anything up (even asking multiple bookstores there about it) I had more or less given up. Though, I did check all the suggestions here and read through ALLLL the posts and looked at all the covers from the many lists that Good Reads has.

I have one final awesome note to share. After you found the book I went and ordered the first copy I could find, which honestly was a feat in and of itself. It really proves how hard this book was to find based on how few copies are left and available to buy. Well, the book has arrived and it is truly, without doubt, the missing book. What makes it even cooler is that the book I bought from a random library in the UK, has the author's signature in it and I didn't even know! His actual, physical signature! I feel like that's the universe apologizing for it taking twelve years to find again lol.

Regardless, I have this piece of history again and a forever attachment/memory to my dear departed friend. Thank you again for making this possible! I truly appreciate it!

[Capn]

Ha ha! Oh wonderful! :D A signed copy and all!

I did briefly look for the author's website or contact data (couldn't find it) - I thought he might appreciate knowing how valued his first novel proved to be! But I gave up in the end. :)

Another OpenLibrary success story. I so hope that they win the appeal, even if just for the sake of the legal precedent it would have otherwise.... I like public libraries, and I think it should be an unassailable right for the public to borrow books from them. Common goods, etc. Sigh.

So very happy for you, and that you stuck with it for twelve years! :)
❤