Literary Elements

There are four main literary elements that help Koontz to make this novel worth reading:

1. Characterization - Koontz uses mainly dialogue and some descriptions to help with characterizing the people in his novel. The interactions between characters show their true selves as they are forced to react in situations that most people would never imagine being put in. Their interactions with other people contrast their vastly different personalities.
   
2. Rising Action - Almost all of Koontz's novel is a constant build up of events that at first seem completely unrelated but then towards the end of the novel begin to connect to each other. Unlike most books, the rising action is almost constant up until the end and then there is very little falling action. This creates quite a feeling of suspense throughout the whole story.
   
3. Imagery - Koontz is quite big on using lots of imagery in his stories. He uses colorful language to describe everything around you in the novel in such a way that the reader would have no problem whatsoever trying to imagine what the scenes look like. Although some critics think that he utilizes too many descriptions in his writing, it does help to create a sense that you are part of the story going on.
4. Conflict - The amount of conflict in Koontz's novels is ridiculously large. There are multiple characters in different situations that seem completely unrelated and sometimes come in conflict with each other. In this novel particularly, there is conflict when towards the end of the story the government becomes involved with the creatures that were discovered. There is also inner conflict with many of the characters as they try to make large decisions that will determine the outcome of their futures.