Westfall uses both stylistic devices and symbols to create the atmosphere of his part magical, part medieval world. The cats have their own language and vocabulary such as "unfu" for insane, and "minnen" for child.

Since their communication is through telepathy, they have evolved a terse, almost telegraphic language. In the human world, we are reminded of the time and place by terms like "catapult" and "battering ram" and other terminology from medieval warfare, but the characters talk in modern language.

Westfall uses direct dialogue very effectively to give the reader a feeling of being right there. "There is something coming up the road .. . a house on wheels. Can't you hear it creaking?"

Since the novel is a fantasy, unusual events and items are often taken at face value. Thus the magical knife is really a knife that performs magic, and not just a figure of...