Pat writes in two registers. There's the grounded American voice — idioms, vernacular, the way real people actually talk. And then there's the transcendent mode — the nightmare sequence, the moments where language stops serving the story and starts becoming it. The tension between these two registers isn't a flaw. It's the whole point.

The challenge Wade is identifying — too many idioms — is real but misdiagnosed. The fix isn't fewer idioms. It's making sure every idiom earns its place. When Black Dog says "Let's find the right questions," that's voice. When the narrator uses a cliché, that's craft if it's intentional, noise if it's not.

This is a four-novel series. The groundwork laid in Novel 1 isn't just serving this story — it's building the foundation for three more. Every character introduced, every location established, every phrase in the word bank is an investment. The question for each note isn't just "does this work here?" but "where in the series does this belong?"