Finney skillfully uses the resources of first-person narration. Seeing the events through the eyes of Miles Bennell gives the sense of immediacy to the action. Choosing as the narrator a peaceable man who loves the routine of familiar things and intimately knows the personalities of the townspeople taken over by the pods increases the horror of the tale. Miles becomes a kind of Everyman, reacting as the average person would if thrown from a humdrum existence into a nightmarish, life-or-death struggle.

Another skillful technique is the juxtaposition of the fantastic with the ordinary. Finney does not attempt an elaborate explanation of the pods' origin or attribute to them a complicated technology. Instead Finney presents the fantastic as a given and concentrates on the human reaction to it.

Willingly accepting the kind, easygoing Miles's perspective, readers are likely to follow without question the incredible adventure that befalls him.

The...