to write something silly like, “…before isekai got popular in the West.”
Just. Did they not know? Isekai is more or less portal fantasy and this particular genre is/was extremely popular if the number of books with this set up are any indication. It only briefly went out of fashion because it was “tired” and “cliche” according to critics. (Whose opinions I think should never be taken as seriously as they might like them to be.) Many, many older and more recent Western sf and fantasy works have concepts related to isekai/transmigration!
More or less from the top of my head. (Only a little bit of cheating for decades!):
Night-threads: by Ru Emerson This is a series from the 1990s. Three people from California end up in fantasy setting. I only read one or two books in this series because the library I went to only had those books, and I wasn’t able to find them at the book store.
Sword and the Chain: by Joel Rosenberg this is a series from the 1980s Our Heroes are college students who a brought into a another world by a wizard (who lured them in via a table top rpg campaign that basically described the world they’d get dumped in.) When confronted by the reality of the slave holding society they didn’t have any problem with as a fantasy setting, they go a little feral.
Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever: Stephen R. Donaldson: titular character ends up in fantasy world and spends a great deal of the time refusing to believe he’s in fantasy land. First series ran in the seventies, second series in the nineties, third around 2013. I do not recommend: in the first book Tommy boy makes the bizarre decision of “if this isn’t real, why don’t I rape someone!?”
The Seventh Sword: by Dave Duncan: This is another one where the character doesn’t believe he’s been brought into a fantasy land. At least he’s easier to convince. This series is from the 1990s. Not a favorite! I think of this as being the spiritual opposite of The Sword and the Chain. I only read the first book. Because it’s the spiritual opposite of The Sword and the Chain.
Doomfarers of Coramond: by Brian Daley: In which an armored personnel carrier full of soldiers find themselves transported from Vietnam to a fantasy world. This book and its sequel is from the seventies. I remember liking the first book more than the second.
Witchworld: A series of mostly stand alone novels by Andre Norton. Several of the books in this series involve people from Earth ending up in the Witchworld. This series is from the 1960s all the way to early 2000s, several books published after the writer’s death, and many other writers brought into the project. I recommend, though they really haven’t aged well.
Tredana Cycle: by Joyce Ballou Gregorian, comprising “The Broken Citadel,” “Castledown,” and “The Great Wheel.” Our Heroine is a girl who keeps getting drawn into another world called “Tredana” throughout her life due to being the daughter of a goddess. (It’s kinda like Red River, only not as repetitive.) The first time, when she’s twelve, the next in her twenties, and the final time in her thirties. This series is from the seventies.
Mirror of Her Dreams: by Stephen R. Donaldson Clinically depressed young woman ends up in a fantasy world. Things go poorly for her, since the magic involves mirrors and for a change, the fantasy people don’t think the person from the other world is real. (Not a great situation for a mentally ill young woman to be in.) If I recall, this one is from the eighties or nineties. Also kind of rapey! Because Donaldson is just like that.
Darwath Trilogy: by Barbara Hambly Wizard recruits people from our world to help with entities known as “The Dark” which prey upon humans. This series is from the 1980s. I don’t remember many details, as I only read one or two books in the series.
Windrose Chronicles: by Barbara Hambly Our Heroine and another dude end up in fantasy world. Bad Horrible things happen, the details of which I’m fuzzy on. An evil computer is involved. This series is also from the 1980s.
Spellsinger: by Alan Dean Foster, another series from the 80s! Our Hero is a college student brought to a fantasy world full of humans and anthropomorphic animals! His innate magical ability is needed to help fight the evil insect empire. Stuff happens.
A Wizard in Rhyme: by Christopher Stasheff Our hero ends up in a universe where poetry makes magic and the major conflict is between Good Christians and Evil Mages who literally work for the devil. Bask in the fridge terror that is wondering where Stasheff stuck the Jewish and Muslim people, as well as people of other religions. (Note: he pulls some stunt where they aren’t in Europe somehow, I don’t recall the details.) This series is mostly from the eighties and 90s and while entertaining, also causes me to twitch in irritation. (And fridge terror.)
Lest Darkness Fall: L. Sprague DeCamp A historian ends up in the past, and uses Historian Powers (no I’m not exaggerating) to change history.
The Amber Chronicles: by Roger Zelazny I feel these books also count as isekai, though our protagonist is from fantasy world who travels to other worlds. (technically, his fantasy world is the only real world and the other worlds are shadows.) There was a series in the seventies, and a second series in I think the eighties/nineties. I prefer the “Merlin” set to the earlier “Corwin” set. Corwin is kind of an asshole, but then again, his entire family is pretty assholeish. First book in the Corwin set is notable for feeling like you’ve popped into the middle of the story, giving you the feeling that you need to go find the first book to know what’s going on. (There is no first book before the first book in the Corwin set. Don’t bother going looking for it.)
The Changeling/Madwand: by Roger Zelazny from the 1980s. Our Hero was from fantasy land, from where he was sent as a baby. Meanwhile the kid he was replaced with is in fantasy land trying to start an industrial revolution, eternally frustrated by fantasy land’s reliance on magic.
Dragonsword Trilogy: by Gael Baudino This fantasy trilogy is basically a screed against John Norman’s Gor novels. Has some good points, but also some points that are not-so-good. Written in the 90s. Probably has not aged very well because of reasons. (It’s a very hard series to find, so good luck!)
Dragon and the George: Gordon R. Dickson Our Hero is not only in fantasy land, he is now a Dragon. I have never actually read this book so I’m fuzzy on the actual details. Gordon R. Dickson has always been hit or miss for me. And by “hit or miss” I mean that the only book by him I liked as a kid is Wolfling.
Edgar Rice Burroughs: The Barsoom books are an isekai, though more or less science fiction based. These were written in the 1930s. I have read many of the books in this series.
A Voyage to Arcturus by David Lindsay, from the 1920s. another more or less science fiction based isekai. I have only skimmed this one, and really wasn’t able to get into it. It is a very weird book by the way. “Over my threshold of putting up with weird,” weird.
Do I need to mention the Chronicles of Narnia? by C.S. Lewis? Or his Space Trilogy? Both are isekai or have isekai elements!
There are many other books: this is by no mean an exhaustive list, just the ones that came immediately to mind. “Isekai” is a pretty standard concept in western science fiction and fantasy and by no means something that isn’t popular?
Now, I will say that isekai has it’s own unique spin on the idea of “person from our world ends up in fantasy land.” This is the “gaming platform” concept, where the fantasy world you get dumped into is a game or even a book or other form of media. In this kind of setting, you often get a “system” that may or may not be actually helpful. (Usually leaning on the side of helpful, though there’s a learning to curve to make it useful.) Pretty sure many of the protagonists from the above novels would have killed even for a crappy jerk of a System.
Significantly altered from this post on Tumblr. Originally posted 01/14/2022
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