In form and structure, Way Past Cool is a fairly traditional novel. It has a classic opening, designed to draw readers into the plot with exciting, suspenseful action, then a period during which characters and situations are described, with a gradual rise in action to a climax in which all the principal characters are drawn together in one place where a confrontation resolves the conflicts that have been the engine of the plot. Following the shootout is an anticlimax in which details of the shootout emerge. Thus, in the structure of its plot, Way Past Cool is in the great tradition of Shakespeare, sharing much in common with a multitude of fictional works that follow the classic patterns of Western literature. It is in particular in the tradition of modern American literature, striving to convey a truth of American culture through realistic dialogue and vivid imagery...