Anthropologist Alexis Conyers and crew have traveled for years through space searching for a new settlement.  However, when it’s time to return to Earth, everyone wonders if more time has passed than surmised.  Sudden hostile circumstances aboard ship force Alexis and the others to use the transport Portal.  Once they reemerge they find Earth has morphed into a Post-Apocalyptic hell with a barren wasteland to cross on one side, and warring human and mutant tribes on the other. 

When Alexis is separated from her colleagues, she learns to survive with the help of a Liger-man named Torin.  Humans and mutants are enemies, and Torin knows that he cannot take the woman he loves among his people. 

Circumstances place Alexis in the midst of a human clan where she encounters Joel, Leader of the Human Clan, and his second-in-command, William Long.  Life becomes more complicated for Dr. Conyers as she struggles to maintain her independence in an environment where the word “civilization” does not exist.   The three males fixate on the feisty scientist until she is caught up in a scenario so intense and intricate that their lives are all intertwined in every way that counts.

I was up to my eyeballs in futuristic Earth disaster reading with The Portal, which means, I was very happy, especially since Ms. O’Connor describes an Earth so bleak, brutal and vicious, that I could relate to the possibility if we fail to become less war happy and more eco-friendly.   The novel pulls out all the stops by explaining how the past and future converge with decisions made by the powers-that-be for the sake of the population and the devastating results. 

Situated in the midst of decay and destruction, Alexis Conyers was the mainline, and I wasn’t disappointed tapping into her character.  I could have done without William Long, honestly, because for me, he served no purpose except as a back up in the event Joel or Torin were killed.  William inspired indifference.   On the other hand, Torin and Joel were both hard-as-nails, ruthless and willing to do anything to claim/please Alexis and keep her safe.   At one point, it felt as if Ms. O’Connor was force-feeding William to me.  It failed.   I’d acquired a taste for Torin and Joel, who were all Alpha, edgier and sexier.   What chance did he stand against a Mel Gibson Mad Max type and a Liger-man?  Aside from my desire to chuck William, the “reason” for his presence is revealed.  Ms. O’Connor is author extraordinaire when it comes to tying up the stray threads. 

The Portal is packed with enough smart characters, action, steamy sex and sci-fi effects that I can firmly say it would fit right in the general sci-fi area of any bookstore, which means--yes!--- it could very well appeal to a male reader.  Ms. O’Connor is a universal writer, William Long or not, I’d recommend her to anyone.