Oh! I forgot to add 10th Kindgom to the list of successes.
Most of the failures for me have been less strictly portal fantasy and more portal-ish treading towards urban fantasy. I think with a lot of portal fantasies it's possible to see fail coming pretty earlybecause, ideally, the portal is discovered early, and the hokiness/excessive ease/Mary Sues are visible from the beginning. (And then I stop reading and push them from my memory, so it's hard to list.)
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Most of the failures for me have been less strictly portal fantasy and more portal-ish treading towards urban fantasy. I think with a lot of portal fantasies it's possible to see fail coming pretty earlybecause, ideally, the portal is discovered early, and the hokiness/excessive ease/Mary Sues are visible from the beginning. (And then I stop reading and push them from my memory, so it's hard to list.)