Portal Fever

by J. Cabral-Jackson

128 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 29, 2026

About the author

J. Cabral-Jackson is a family doctor and a writer. A St. Andrews Graduate with a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Manchester, she studyied under Professor Jeanette Winterson, Geoff Ryman and Ian McGuire. Her novel Louis & Marguerite was a finalist in the Pulp Idol Novel Competition and she is an NYC Midnight Screenwriting Competition finalist.

Her writing publications include The Morality Test, The Boy With The Lungs Of A Lion, and My Name is Vincent amongst others published by Sci-Fi Shorts.

She is a Gen X writer who loves reading, swimming in wild seas, and travelling. She lives in Canterbury with her wife Lou and her pet family (Snow, The Whippet and three rescue cats, Lady, Leo and Aggie).

Reviews

[Yoder]

Portals = drugs…

Have you ever read a book where every step of the way you find yourself intrigued and engaged, only to finish the book and look back with complete boredom. Sadly, that is exactly how I felt with Portal Fever.

The story has so many elements that are just fantastic to engage with. The genetic portals powered by lay lines, the addiction potential of portal travel, the secret society and how they maintain the secrecy of the portals. While cool and interesting it all just exists within this story that's it. I never felt the connection; either between the different elements, or between myself and the world that was crafted.

Even the characters of the story seem to exist in this weird liminal space where that are both boring and interesting at the same time. The most interesting character to me was Alice who is the only character that I can think about and connect any ounce of humanity.

As I'm writing this review I believe I have realized exactly what reading this book felt like to me. Imagine being in a epic western town with gunfights and all only to glance to the side and notice that all the building are flat facades. That is how I felt reading this book.

I honestly DO NOT RECOMMEND this, but I feel like I have to give it three stars because Portal Fever is not bad, it's just FLAT.

NOTE: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Maria S.]

Short but not crippled from text length issues - the idea was unique, the pace of the story was dynamic and the plot fully outlined without glitches and gaps. I didn't expect deep characters development, because of the format of the work, the romantic relationship was just a sketch not a full painting, because as the title implies, love was not the main focus - the portal and its impact was. The characters were interesting and believable, the world building well structured and promising for further development. The writing style is easy to read, the scenery in the book is evoking emotional response from readers, tickling imagination to get active so they could get a part of the journey and sympathize with the main character. I wanted more though, wished to see more psychological work from the author to give main and secondary characters more 3D shape, yet the vibe is good, the idea hooked me and I give the book 3.5/5.

[RainysPlanet]

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The concepts of this short story are intriguing and unique. I feel there was so much potential here for fantastic world and character building.

It fell short for me in some areas, the timing of some of the portal trips felt a bit rushed, like I swear she only just arrived but she’s almost out of time as well? I would have enjoyed more travelling/ experiences with the portal travel and the slow build-up of “addiction” rather than it happening so quickly.

Always love LGBT rep, just needed more bonding between Sam and Alice and a bit more interaction between Benny and Sam at the beginning so his disappearance could be felt more deeply.

Overall, enjoyable and unique with lots of potential.

[Autumn Aria]

A short story about teleportation. The story takes place in the mid 90s. Sam learns of the existence of portals and goes a-teleporting here there and everywhere for the thrill and also in search of her missing cousin.

The locations are random so sometimes it's a grand adventure and sometimes a harrowing one.

Sam gets involved with loan sharks, cartel mobs, a mysterious group of people known as the Keepers and Alice - her cousin's pretty next door neighbor.

It was reasonably fast paced and had enough action, drama, suspense and a romance subplot to be quite entertaining.

I received a free copy from the author via Booksirens.

[L.J. De'Rosario]

Portal Fever is a fantastic read. I genuinely don’t know how Jackson managed to fit so much into just 130 pages. You travel across the world, follow two romance arcs, uncover a clever magical portal system and learn about the secret society that runs them yet it never feels rushed.

Sam is an exceptional protagonist. Her balance between the excitement and addiction when she discovers the portals and her job and relationship felt completely believable.

The pacing is excellent, the action is balanced all the way through, and every page feels like it matters. I finished it wanting more. A brilliant read, and one I’d definitely recommend.

[Soren]

This was an interesting little portal fantasy and I’m glad I picked it up! It was a fairly quick read, with a nice, fast plot. At times, I struggled to remember side characters from one appearance to the next, and I had a bit of a hard time following the romance part of the plot. Some characters, like Sam and Alice, felt more real than others, and I feel that the character development suffered due to the length of the story and the pacing of the plot. This story holds great promise and I think it would be a fantastic one to expand upon in the future, with this novella being a nice introduction to it. I received a free ARC of this, and I’m choosing to leave an honest review.

[Reuben Shupp]

Did you say portal?

I have always been drawn to portal fantasy. My favorite is The Blue Adept by Piers Anthony. My expectations were high. And the author delivered a wonderful story.

The author's vivid imagination brought me around the world. I kept thinking to myself . . . If I could go anywhere in the world for 47 minutes, where would I go? Paris of course.--La tour Eiffel.

The stakes were high. The clock was ticking. I highly recommend grabbing a copy of this book before time runs out..

[Douglas Sawyer]

Actually more of a 3.5 stars but that's not an option, and i always round up. I really enjoyed the story and characters in it. Good action and plot. Fairly well written, but there were some things that just didn't feel right. Little things here and there. The security guard who refused bribes but yet took them, the actions of the other security guard, and a couple other things. Overall though they didn't really detract from the story and it was well worth reading.