The style of Red Shift is clipped, even abrupt; meaning is concentrated in a few words, and much is communicated without words. For example, Tom and Jan's sexual relationship is implied, not stated. Transitions between scenes are not leisurely; instead, a painful moment in one century's story often "cuts" to a time of crisis in another story. This method occurs frequently in films.

Another technique in the novel that is common in film is the repetition of scenes. Red Shift presents three separate versions of the same scene in Barthomley Church, once for each set of characters involved.

Instead of describing his characters, Gamer uses realistic dialogue to reveal their personalities. In some parts of the book, we seem to be overhearing scraps of dialogue, as if we had arrived in the middle of a conversation and had to listen awhile in order to catch the...