Genre
Science fiction
Setting and Context
A dystopic near-future society
Narrator and Point of View
An unnamed, third-person omniscient narrator.
Tone and Mood
The tone is bizarre; the mood is mysterious.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Blake is the protagonist; Eli is the antagonist.
Major Conflict
The major conflict of the novel occurs when Blake and his twin daughters are kidnapped by the only survivor of the crashed Clay's Ark spaceship, Eli.
Climax
The climax of the story is reached when it is revealed that Eli has been infected by an alien microbe, that affects his survival.
Foreshadowing
The spread of the disease is foreshadowed by the fact that the mutants see humans as food.
Understatement
The importance of stopping the spread of viruses is understated throughout the novel.
Allusions
The story alludes to the differences between humans and aliens.
Imagery
The imagery of the chaotic disease spread is present in the novel.
Paradox
The fact that Eli wishes to survive, yet infects those that could help him is an example of paradox in the story.
Parallelism
N/A
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The crashed spaceship is a metonym for the chaos of the disease.
Personification
N/A
