Most of Prisoner of Psi is told in Tristan's voice, written as entries in his Daybook. Chapters are labeled from Day One to Day Ten, with some nights also included.

The book opens with a summary of the world's situation in the year 2000, followed by a news clip on Emory Morgan's disappearance. The Prologue continues into a scene where the terrorists discuss their hostage and their scheme for capturing and torturing Tristan. In the next scene, Emory's associates meet Clem and Rainy in the ruins of Emory's mountain lodge. Only after this background is set up does Tristan appear. Likewise, near the end of the book we meet Emory Morgan for the first time, when he picks up Tristan's Daybook and records events as a "substitute scribe," after his son is captured.

Surprisingly, this mixture of narrative approaches works very well. When Emory writes, his worry...