The decaying, mazelike Ambrose family mansion has many antecedents in literary history. Dickens is one possible source, particularly in light of the fact that Hoover lists him as one of her favorite childhood authors. It is not taking anything away from H. M. Hoover to also note that her novel is well grounded within the science fiction tradition and that she is essentially working a variation on several conventions common to that genre. Among these are the far-future civilization that has decayed from what it once was, the repressive government dominated by an elite who enjoy the advantages of technology while the masses live in virtual slavery, the solitary superman who stands outside the rules of society, and the alien from another world bent on conquest.