The stories of Fast Lanes continue to develop the themes introduced in Black Tickets (1979) and Machine Dreams (1984) — the disintegration of the family, the isolation of the individual, and the contemplative person's search for values and identity. Other similarities include Phillips's use of a variety of narrators and narrative techniques: the monologue in "Bluegill" and "How Mickey Made It"; the reminiscence in "Rayme," "Bess," and "Blue Moon"; and the retrospective narrative in "Fast Lanes" and "Something That Happened."