What is the author's style in Swan Song by Robert McCammon?

The language in the novel is not particularly difficult to understand. The author does use some military and scientific terminology when referring to the armies and the equipment. There are many repeated phrases in the novel, which are significant and meant to be remembered by the reader. Sister's mantra "one foot forward and then the other" is the idea that gets her through much of the horror of the novel. Macklin motto "discipline and control" helps him survive, but he loses his humanity in the process. The evil man known as Friend repeats the same eerie song about a mulberry bush and is fond of telling Swan it is too late to save him. By using repeated phrases the author embeds the central idea about his characters to the reader.