"One of the problems with monoethnic critics approaching my work is that they don't know the full scope of the traditions I'm drawing upon," says Reed, who is African American; "As I learn more and more about differing cultures in this country, the gap between my work and the viewpoint of some critics — especially those in the northeast — widens, and the critics become very frustrated. They call my style idiosyncratic; yet my style is older than the European tradition."

While using that "old" style, Reed draws on sources ranging from Egyptian mythology to Caribbean voodoo to American black folklore to create his fiction.

Reed often uses phonetic spellings instead of standard spellings, capitalization for emphasis, and uses news flashes and radio voice-overs to comment on the book's action. The effect is a narrative that reads much like a motion picture or television...