Nathan Daniels and his wife Margaret move into a home they've inherited in the beautiful yet desolate mountains of Iceland. Used to a fast-paced, risk-taking lifestyle, Nathan finds the mountains quiet and unnerving. As each day passes the mountains seem to loom closer to his home, almost suffocating him in their massive peaks.

Frustrated he goes out and curses the mountains, to show them whose boss. Margaret warns him about the legend of the frost giants, and asks him to refrain from showing the mountains his anger. But Nathan doesn't believe in legends, and continues to voice his hatred for the mountains.

Portalia south, north, east and west
To ease the travel on any quest,
The knot, the peaks and the old oak tree,
Servant chains amount to three.
A ring to trigger a call to home,
Returns all three to their Runestone
A stone-made key makes up the set,
Unlocking the paths of the portal net.

Accidentally invoking the power of a magical portal network, three teenagers, Ashley from Oregon, USA and two Welsh boys, Rhys and Michael, are pulled into Portalia, a fantastical world of sword and sorcery.

Befriended by centaurs, the trio find themselves at the forefront of a perilous quest to thwart the efforts of an evil warlock intent on world domination.

In possession of The Spider Gem, the warlock commands an enormous army of spiders as well as a throng of fearsome and unfeeling lava rock creatures, the Graav.

As the teenagers become attuned to their new world they develop unique skills of their own and soon join forces with the citizens of the world to form an alliance of good.

A mighty battle is inevitable as the alliance of elves, humans, dwarves, centaurs and magical fire eagles, rush headlong towards confrontation.


The Spider Gem is the first book of the Portal Chronicles.

Read an Excerpt

Jakovy of Tinnipuli, loyal and noble solider of King Absomeel the Dismal, set out from the land of Kadar on an excursion into the neighboring kingdom of Goorg. It should have been an easy trip. His goal: engage the services of his old friend Master Norton, the renowned bladesmith of Brenardia, to fix a rather embarrassing problem he was having with his heirloom sword, Bobbo. Little did he suspect he would be bumping up against unreasonable locals with age old hostilities or, worse yet, another angry tribe of mountain trolls. Are his wit, charm, and skills with a borrowed blade enough to get him back home safely? It all depends upon the cooperation of an unruly bunch of Kadar expatriates, the reasoning of a stubborn troll leader, and luck.