"The Door on the Sea" was quite the fun adventure romp - made all the more enjoyable by its unique worldbuilding. As someone who feels like the majority of myth-based fantasy novels still tend to draw their influence from ancient Greece or the Norse legends, it's always a treat to be transported to a world crafted from a lore that's new to me - and so it was an especially big treat to be immersed in one based off of Tlingit culture for the very first time.

It feels like this is a book that’s very much influenced by oral storytelling traditions. Which can feel a bit awkward at the beginning, but once you get used to it I think it works pretty well. And overall I found myself enjoying the read. I think it does show that this is the author’s first novel. There are a few spots where the narrative seems a bit clumsy and abrupt, and the themes can be heavy-handed at times. But it’s easy to get caught up in the flow of the story and just keep going to see what happens, and that’s always one of the most important parts about liking a book for me.

And it certainly also helps that there’s a strong Native American influence to the story, which makes me really enjoy the worldbuilding and setting. I always get excited when I see a new native author/series come up, and I think I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for more of Russell’s works.