I also really enjoyed that this book is so clearly influenced by Indigenous oral storytelling traditions. The little asides from the narrator to the reader were a nice touch, and I appreciated that they were so often phrased as if the narrator expects the reader to be part of the tradition while also giving enough information to clue you in if you aren't. (For example: "As you know if you are of the sea...")
I will confess I struggled a little with the Tlingit language that's interspersed throughout, but that's primarily because I'm not very familiar with the language; once I was able to get into the flow of reading, it was easy to remember which words meant what, even if I still wouldn't feel confident pronouncing them aloud, and they really did a lot to add flavor to the story overall.
If I had one very minor gripe, it would be that I feel that the Koosh could have been slightly more humanized or at the very least compelling -- I felt that we didn't get enough from him to convince me that Elan's decision to travel to the Door was justified by anything other than pure intellectual curiosity. Or maybe it's enough that Elan is motivated by pure intellectual curiosity! But after such vivid descriptions of the destructive power of the dzanti, I guess I felt like I needed a little more to feel like it was worth it.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and would certainly recommend it to any readers who like fantasy/speculative fiction, especially if they're interested in Indigenous fiction. Thank you to Solaris Books and NetGalley for the ARC, which I received in return for my honest review!
