Which word could best replace “blend” in sentence 19?

Directions: The following passage is an early draft of an essay. Some parts of the passage need to be rewritten. Read the passage and select the best answers for the questions that follow. Some questions are about particular sentences or parts of sentences and ask you to improve sentence structure or word choice. Other questions ask you to consider organization and development. In choosing answers, follow the requirements of standard written English.

Passage – IV

(1) Pearl Buck's style in The Good Earth has been compared to old Chinese novels. (2) Actually, it is a simple, direct narrative style. (3) There are no complicated techniques such as cut-back or stream of consciousness. (4) The narrative moves along smoothly towards its conclusion. (5) There are no complicated subplots or subthemes. (6) Wang Lung is the central character; the actions of all the other characters relate directly to him. (7) No one in the story performs any action which is independent of the main action.  (8) Buck wrote The Good Earth at great speed, finishing it in there months.
(9)  Perhaps the greatest strength of the style of Pearl Buck in The Good Earth is the manner in which her characters perform. (10) No matter what any one of them does, it is always in keeping with his personality. (11)  Nevertheless, none of them can be described as stereotypes; their motivations are too complex. (12)  In O-lan, the reader sees a person who is fundamentally good. (13)  Yet she does some seemingly wicked things. (14)  She steals the jewels from the rich man's house.  (15) Worse than this, she kills her own child. (16)  But both of these actions are consistent with her character indicating the context of the situations involved.
(17)  Much has been written about Pearl Buck's style of writing in The Good Earth. (18) One critic calls it "almost Biblical," while others compare it to ancient folk epics. (19)  Another critic describes it as a blend of the King James Version of the Bible and a traditional Chinese epic.

(20) A writer's style can't always be traced to the influences of his or her childhood reading. (21) The two influences exist in Pearl Buck’s case. (22)   As the daughter of Presbyterian missionaries, Buck was brought up on the Bible. (23)  And although she read widely in English literature, she also read Chinese novels.