[1] Candor, set in the near future, uses a trope common to horror in speculative fiction, that of a small town "malevolently under some kind of mesmeric or unholy control".
[2] Its protagonist is Oscar Banks, whose father founded the town, and operates its system of indoctrination.
[4] The Wired review similarly praised Bachorz's ability to keep the plot moving and build suspense, though it described the book as "not terribly deep", and with a larger quotient of romance than expected.
[2] An essay in The ALAN Review commented on the varying motivations of the adults in the town; for Oscar Banks's father, brainwashing the children represents an opportunity for wealth, while for the parents, it is the idea of a "perfect family".
[3] Bachorz's second novel, Drought, is also set in a small and coercive community, which the protagonist seeks to escape.