McKinley's highly visual descriptive language enhances both the strictly narrative elements and the depiction of setting and portrayal of characters. The author's description of the movements of Narknon, the cat who adopts Harry, and of the several individualized horses is strikingly effective visually.

The plot is suspenseful, both in the beginning when the reader wonders what will happen to the kidnapped protagonist, and later on, when Harry makes her drastic decision to return to the Homeland to enlist aid against the Northerners. The technique of creating new worlds which distinguishes fantasy fiction is also exemplified here.

The names have an exotic resonance which adds a dimension to the portrayal of both the Hillfolk and the Outlanders in their desert and forest societies. The author uses a familiar fantasy device, the "Old Tongue," known only by the magically gifted, to generate the presence of a mythical past...