The Portable Door

Fantastic fantasy novel. The Portable Door was recommended to me by a friend from England. If you understand and like British humor then this is the book for you. The story follows Paul Carpenter who is a bit of a loser. He doesn't really want a job but his parents have left him behind in England, while they retire to Florida, and he needs money to live on. So he goes for an interview where he is not particular if he is hired or not. At the interview he is asked ridiculous nonsensical questions which even though he answers the questions incorrectly he still manages to get hired. That's the start of his adventures at the firm where he is introduced to goblins, fae and magic. One of the female goblins has a mad crush on him and it is hilarious reading as he tries to convince her that he doesn't share her feelings. I won't spoil the secret of "the portable door" but needless to say I want one. It is the first of a trilogy and I read all three and loved them. I read them one after the other and hated to put them down. I have not read this author before and I really enjoyed his style of writing and look forward to reading more of his novels. I give this book 5 stars!!!!!!

Right from the start this felt like a Robert Rankin novel, main characters dealing with weird forces/characters in weird ways, without a lot of knowledge about how to do it. I could not get this comparison out of my head while reading, and that said, it didn't detract from or enhance my reading enjoyment. I would like to say that Paul and Sophie are not normal people, because they just stumble along blindly in ignorance, whereas (as I see it) any person that was *actually* in their situation would be asking a lot more questions...but there are all kinds of people in the world, so there are probably people like them, afraid to ask their employers what's going on. Overall, if you're a Rankin fan, this is probably most like "Web Site Story," and will entertain you.

Really wanted to like this book. The writer is clearly clever and talented. But the first two-thirds of the book are just this depressed milquetoast incel main character and his undisclosed-and-so-unrequited love interest co-worker with a deplorable personality making every scene just feel miserable. We finally start to get a fleshed-out world at the 60% mark. If I weren't so determined not to leave a glittering trail of DNFs behind me, I'd have used a portable door to exit this one before the end.

This is the first of three books in the Paul Carpenter series by Tom Holt. The other two are 'In Your Dreams' and 'Earth, Air, Fire, and Custard.' I accidentally read the third book first and so thought that I wouldn't enjoy the first book very much, but I was wrong. I consider Tom Holt's writings to be the real world comparison of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. Basically, it may be helpful to read them in a certain order, but in the end, it doesn't matter because they are all just as good on their own since both authors are a comic genius. While Pratchett deals with a made-up world on the back of a turtle, Holt deals with 'our' world. The Carpenter series is based around office life, with a bit of magic mixed in. Extremely funny, even if you have never worked in an office. I also love the art on the front of Holt's books, so simplistic, but precisely dead-on as to what the story is about. For those who have never read Holt before, pick up one of his books and give it a try!

This book was highly enjoyable after the first half was completed. The storyline was mediocre until this point but the second half most definitely makes up for anything the first half is missing. I would recommend this to anyone interested in fantasy.

I should have finished it but I didn't. It's not that it was bad.

Not all of his books are top notch. This one is the first in a sort of series, I read one of the later ones first. Really like the way he writes. Glad his catelog is on Kindle now.

Maybe you think your boss is an ogre - you haven't seen anything. Paul and Sophie meet at a job interview, commiserating over the steady stream of handsome, well-dressed, competent-looking people interviewing ahead of them. They both know that, if added together, they might total a whole personality (but not a very interesting one). They are both surprised to meet each other again on starting day at the new job. They are surprised again at the mind-numbing boredom of the apparently senseless tasks they are given, but even more suprised at the weirdness that starts to emerge as they sort and file. Was that really a love letter from Sophie to Paul in the archives - dated 100 years ago? That's where the story really starts, and Holt steers it along an amusing route in his trademark form: the hero never quite knowing what's going on, in and out the mysterious doorways, and increasing strangeness right to the end. This time Holt adds a comical attempt at romance between two people who seem to like the idea, but don't quite know how to go about it. (That anarcho-socialist ceramics performance artist doesn't help anything.) This is a good one, but I think Holt put a lot more book around the story than it really needed. Yes, we see from the start that Paul and Sophie are both the Novacaine of social sensation. Yes, we are tantalized by the gathering clues that all is not what it seemed. I think all that could have been established in a bit les than 175 pages, though, and the next 200+ pages were only a bit more tightly-packed. If you're the kind who gets testy when Pratchett's next book is later than you want, Holt might help you get by. He has a lot of the same slanted view of the world, and a lot of the same funny/fantasy story line. Holt has written some very good stories, and this is a good one. I have to admit, though, that readers new to Holt might get a better first impression by reading another title first. //wiredweird

Extremely quirky characters that I enjoyed. It did occur to me once or twice that the goblin/magic thing couldn't ever be bettered after jk Rowling , but a light and entertaining book.

Amazing read/book!

This writer is new to me despite his having written numerous stories. I thoroughly enjoyed his writing and the story. This is a zany and fast-moving adventure fantasy with well drawn characters - even the shape-shifting goblins are memorable. The portable door is as it says on the box or envelope: a fold-up door which you can carry and affix to a flat surface to enter a new location and time. You do need to go with the flow of the plot lines: love philtres, a portable door, a new receptionist every day, a building with so many corridors that you really require a map to move around the premises effectively, managers whose looks defy their ages, educations and skills. Very enjoyable. 4 stars for this story. If the author's other stories are as good, or even better, 5 stars will surely follow. Great fun.

It might not be the most dramatic read of all times but the setting in today's London and quite some unexpected twists and turns make it fun to read and make appetite for more. While the main character did go on my nerves inbetween because of that constant whining, he grows - and as the story gains speed, so does the "hero". Worth reading.

very funny and a great addition to the series