The entire novel is written as a simple narrative which relates events through the point of view of Wolf of Shadows. Even the human characters' actions are described as the wolf understands them, except for their conversation. This is written in dialogue although Wolf of Shadows interprets it as "growling" tinged with various emotions. Including such human conversation is necessary to explain certain background facts in the story, such as why this particular woman and her daughters flee to the wilderness after the nuclear bombardment. At the same time, Wolf of Shadows' own perceptions shape most of the novel's imagery. The reader thus enters a world where scents, sounds and tones, textures, and the gradations of hot and cold, moist and dry, play as large a part as visual images.

Strieber uses this device well, enhancing the story's impact. Telling a story from an animal's viewpoint...