Finger relates the Tales from Silver Lands in the style of mythical folk stories, told with a definite South American flavor. He uses a number of Spanish terms, such as calling a nightmare a pesadilla. In "The Tale of the Lazy People" he uses Spanish alphabetical listings of the kinds of work to be done by the carved manikins. He employs richly detailed, colorful descriptions. His characters have vivid, unusual names, such as Hunbatz the Wizard; Borac, the baby found in a basket; the fearful giants Cabrakan and Cakik; or the greedy El Enano.

Finger narrates the stories in a conversational tone, in a way that an aged tribal leader might have told them in front of a campfire. Some of the stories are told in the first person, while others are third-person accounts of ancient legends. Frequently a tale will begin in the first person...