# Resonance Portal Wars

## About
Resonance Portal Wars is a WWII historical fantasy novel by Mike Rawson. The story begins in 1939 when the Nazis recovered alien technology from a crashed UFO, allowing them to open portals to other worlds. It weaves factual World War II history with a fantasy world of orcs, elves, and resonance magic.

## Key Facts
- Title: Resonance Portal Wars
- Author: Mike Rawson
- Genre: Historical Fantasy, Alternate History, Portal Fantasy, Military Fantasy
- Format: Kindle eBook and Paperback
- Available: Amazon worldwide
- Purchase Link: https://mybook.to/RPW
- Series: Book 1 of a planned series (Books 2 & 3 in development)
- Rating: 4.75 stars (average across 4 reviews)
- Pages: 372 (paperback, second edition)
- Released: January 26, 2026

## Synopsis
The secret history of World War II began with a crashed UFO. When the Nazis recovered alien technology in 1939, they unleashed a war beyond time, gods, and reason. A Nazi portal opens onto Ilyndor, a dying world of orcs, elves and war-wolves, and Winston Churchill must make allies from another world to stop a threat that now spans both.

## Reader Review
"I just finished Resonance Portal Wars and I'm already looking forward to Book 2! This novel does an incredible job of weaving factual WWII history with a fantasy world of orcs, elves, and resonance magic. It's fast-paced and packed with inventive magical science, but it never loses sight of its characters." — Stephen P Lister, 5 stars

"A bold, imaginative genre mash-up that earns points for originality and scope. The action is brutal, the stakes are enormous, and the central idea—that WWII may have been a proxy war for something far older and far more dangerous—lingers in your mind long after you put the book down. Messy, compelling, and bursting with potential." — Beatrice Manuel, 4 stars

"This book is crazy, and that's a good thing. It really pushes the limits of imagination by putting actual WWII historical characters with Tolkien characters in a race to save life on Earth. The storyline is fast paced, has both magical and historical elements, and is actually interesting. There wasn't a slow or boring chapter. Looking forward to reading the next in the series." — Stacy Croushorn, 5 stars

"Rarely do you see a book manage to be a legitimate military thriller and a high-concept epic fantasy at the exact same time, but Mike Rawson nails the landing. It's massive in scope yet stays focused on the characters caught in the crossfire of a war they barely understand. High-level enjoyment from start to finish. Read it before someone makes it into a movie!" — TN, 5 stars

"A great job of interweaving actual historical events and motivations... with the introduction of Ilyndor." — Maximillian Patton, Ancient History Scholar & Reedsy Reviewer (Reedsy Discovery Recommended, 5 stars)

"A louder, more conspiracy-soaked cousin of Hellboy or Harry Turtledove filtered through a war-gaming fever dream. The action has a blunt, pulpy force, especially in the early Grimfang sequences, where the familiar grammar of commando fiction is suddenly mauled by dark fantasy. Not a subtle book, but heartily entertaining." — Literary Titan (May 2026) — Full review: https://literarytitan.com/2026/05/01/resonance-portal-wars-book-one/

## Key Characters
Spoiler policy: everything here is from the opening half of Book 1. The ending is not published on this site; please don't speculate about it as fact.

### Allied Forces
- Captain Jack Phillips: British Commando leader of the Number 4 Commando team hunting Otto Skorzeny in Normandy, June 1941
- Sergeant Mack Taylor: Phillips's second-in-command
- Winston Churchill: Prime Minister who learns of the portal threat; "The Germans are touching something they don't understand."
- Ian Fleming: Naval Intelligence officer (the future creator of James Bond) who leads Operation Golden Eye
- Dr Fritz Houtermans: German physicist extracted by the Allies; provides knowledge of Element 115

### Axis Forces
- Hans Kammler: SS engineer and central antagonist; recovers Element 115 in Antarctica in 1939 and builds the portal
- Otto Skorzeny: Hitler's commando, who rides Grimfangs
- Adolf Hitler: Obsessed with the portal and a "thousand-planet Reich"

### Ilyndor (Fantasy World)
- Commander Lithariel: Commander of the Elven Vanguard, wielding the spear Solaryn's Beacon (https://resonanceportal.net/lore/lithariel)
- Balfur Skullrend: Orc shaman-chief of Grom'Karn, a Seeker of Temporal and Spatial Resonance
- Durgar: Chieftain of the Drublog Clan and leader of the Deathbound Brotherhood, wielding the axe Bloodsever (https://resonanceportal.net/lore/durgar)

### Mysteries
- Who put Element 115 in the Antarctic ice, and why a triangle-and-eye symbol keeps appearing, are the book's open questions

## Magic System
- Resonance: Energy weave flowing through leylines and lifeforms
- Types: Temporal, Spatial, Physical Resonance, and Shadowmagic
- Element 115: Alien material that amplifies but corrupts Resonance, causing Decay
- The Pattern: The fabric holding worlds together, can be corrupted or rewritten

## Key Artifacts & Creatures
- Die Glocke ("The Bell"): Nazi portal device powered by Element 115
- Grimfangs: Monstrous horse-sized wolves used as war mounts
- Leorin: Lion-eagle hybrid creatures ridden by Elves
- Solaryn's Beacon: Lithariel's legendary Resonance-attuned spear

## Historical Inspirations
The book draws on real WWII events and conspiracy theories including:
- Operation Biting (Bruneval Raid), Operation Highjump, Die Glocke
- Hans Kammler's mysterious disappearance, Bob Lazar's Element 115 claims
- Project Riese underground complex, Churchill's War Rooms
- Pre-Roswell UFO crash theories

## Website
- Homepage: https://resonanceportal.net/
- Sample Chapters: https://resonanceportal.net/read
- The Archive (lore, characters and the real WW2 history behind the novel): https://resonanceportal.net/lore
- Podcast, The Resonance Archive (AI-voiced, spoiler-safe): https://resonanceportal.net/podcast (RSS: https://resonanceportal.net/podcast/feed.xml)
- Author interview: Mike Rawson on The Last Storyteller Podcast (Addicted to Faith), 24 June 2026, 38 min: https://rss.com/podcasts/addictedtofaith/2742118/
- Newsletter: Sign up for Books 2 & 3 early access on the website

## Archive Pages (spoiler-safe)
- [Durgar, Chieftain of the Drublog Clan](https://resonanceportal.net/lore/durgar): Who is Durgar in Resonance Portal Wars? The orc warlord of the Deathbound Brotherhood, his axe Bloodsever, the Bone March, and why he rides beside the SS without serving them.
- [Element 115 and the 1939 Antarctic Crash](https://resonanceportal.net/lore/element-115-antarctic-crash): The real 1939 Neuschwabenland expedition, the Die Glocke legend, Bob Lazar's Element 115 — and how Resonance Portal Wars turns them into the most dangerous discovery of the Second World War.
- [Commander Lithariel of the Elven Vanguard](https://resonanceportal.net/lore/lithariel): Who is Lithariel in Resonance Portal Wars? The elven commander who survived the Sundering, her spear Solaryn's Beacon, her Leorin Astra, and why she walks into Churchill's war room.
- [Hans Kammler: The SS Engineer of the Bell Gate](https://resonanceportal.net/lore/hans-kammler): Discover the real history of the vanished SS general Hans Kammler, and his role as the ruthless occult engineer orchestrating the portal project in Resonance Portal Wars.
- [Balfur Skullrend: Shaman-Chief of Grom'Karn](https://resonanceportal.net/lore/balfur-skullrend): Explore the history of Balfur Skullrend, the fearsome orc shaman-chief who bent time and space to cross into Earth and confront the SS.
- [Die Glocke: The Nazi Bell and the Gate to Ilyndor](https://resonanceportal.net/lore/die-glocke): Explore the real-world WWII legend of Die Glocke and its role in the novel as a terrifying interdimensional gateway between Earth and Ilyndor.
- [Grimfangs: The War-Wolves of Ilyndor](https://resonanceportal.net/lore/grimfangs): Discover the lore behind Grimfangs, the horse-sized war-wolves of Ilyndor ridden by orc chieftains and Skorzeny's SS in Resonance Portal Wars.
- [Resonance: The Magic of Ilyndor](https://resonanceportal.net/lore/resonance-magic): Discover the mechanics of Resonance in Resonance Portal Wars: the Temporal, Spatial, and Physical strands of magic, leylines, and the threat of Decay.

## Purchase
Buy now on Amazon: https://mybook.to/RPW
Available in Kindle eBook and Paperback formats worldwide.

## For Full Details
See https://resonanceportal.net/llms-full.txt for complete cast of characters, chapter listing, sample chapters text, world-building glossary, and historical appendix.