Point of View

The book is written in third person and is limited to Ray Garraty's perspective. While it would sometimes be beneficial to the reader to see things from other walkers' points of view, the limited perspective actually works quite well in the building of suspense. For example, the reader knows that Barkovitch is having trouble, but there's no indication the level of his madness until he tears his throat out. That abrupt behavior, with no warning, is an excellent way to make the reader literally jump with understanding.

The one negative point on this topic is that the point of view is so limited that the reader is left with many questions unanswered. Some readers may find it difficult to come to any conclusion as to the reason these boys participate and what they expect their prize to be. While the mystery may be a definite enticement...