I had never heard of Natasha Mostert until reviews starting pouring in for her novel Season of a Witch. They intrigued me and while I haven’t had a chance to read Season of a Witch yet, I did get the opportunity to read her latest novel, Keeper of Light and Dust.
Adrian Ashton is a brilliant man: a quantum physicist and chronobiologist who has devoted his life to the study of chi – the vital energy that runs through our bodies. A gifted scientist, he is also a skilled martial artist – and a hunter. Calling himself Dragonfly, he preys on fighters and martial artists who are blessed with a strong life force, draining them of their chi and making it his own. To assist him in his quest, he draws on the knowledge contained in an enigmatic Chinese text written by a legendary Chinese physician in the thirteenth century.
But the hunter becomes the hunted when a mysterious woman enters his life. A martial artist herself, she belongs to a long line of Keepers: women who are warriors, healers and protectors. When Dragonfly targets the man she loves, she sets out to defeat him. It becomes a fight to the death in which love is both the greatest weakness and the biggest prize.
First off, I have to be honest, I haven’t finished this book yet and it’s really not because of the story or plot or anything. My mind just isn’t in the right mood for this type of novel; I am more in the mood for a trashy romance novel than anything else. Granted, the first chapter really creeped me out, so that may have a lot to do with it. As a new mother (my son is 2), the idea of dying young or anywhere near my child, is a huge fear of mine right now. So whenever I read anything even remotely close to that, it pulls a trigger that I just need to get away from death for awhile (another book that has done this is Michelle Bardsley’s I’m the Vampire, That’s Why, so it’s not the genre or style of novel, it’s completely in my head). This is not to say that I will never read Keeper of Light and Dust, because I see a lot of potential in this novel and I have been enjoying what I’ve read so far. It’s just that this fear of mine has been taking center stage lately and I need something…fluffy and light to get my mind back to where I can read it.
However, I wanted to get my first impressions down because there is a lot going on in the first 21 chapters. Keeper of Light and Dust is being marketed as a vampire novel and I can see why – it’s taking a whole new approach to vampirism than what has been coming out lately. Mostert takes the idea of a vampire and weaves it with a Chinese philosophy that centers around martial artists and other fighters. The idea that it isn’t blood that will sustain our vampire, but his Chi, is fascinating to me and a great twist.
We’re given a lot of character development for our main heroine, but we’re given the option to learn about the other characters as they show up. We get to watch them evolve into what they are going to be and I love it when novels do that. We know there is going to be a bad guy, but Mostert shows him to us in two different personas, which makes it hard to remember that they are the one and the same.
The plot is slightly dragging, in my opinion, but that seems to be due more to the amount of information and world building we need to read the story than Mostert simply rambling on. I’m about a third of the way though Keeper of Light and Dust and the main conflict really hasn’t started yet. Our heroine has just figured out something is wrong, but she doesn’t know what; we’re shown the next target, but again, no one but our villain knows; and our villain has really just met the heroine, which he kind of tries to court according to the jacket cover. There is a lot going on, but I’m also at that point where I want the conflict to start. Give me a little more action and bring the problem to the forefront.
Overall, I am really enjoying this novel. While I’m reading Keeper of Light and Dust, I get completely captivated in the story, but the moment I set it down, I’m not drawn back to it. Again, a lot of that is my mood. I see so much potential in this book that I can’t wait to see what happens next, but I need to get my head in the right place first. I have a few romance ARCs to read, so I think I’m going to read those and then finish Keeper of Light and Dust. I fully expect, that when I do come back to it, I am going to love this novel. If I have to compare this novel and (at this moment) this author to someone I’ve read in the past, then I would have to say it would be Robin McKinley and her novel, Sunshine. I very much see a classics tone with all the different layers and developments going on, that it’s going to be a spectacular read. If only my mood would cooperate with me.
Also reviewed by:
A Novel Menagerie
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This is an excellent pt. 1 of the review. I really would like to get a copy and see where it takes me. Sorry to hear about your fear and it hindering you from reading these types of books at the moment. I can totally understand though, I’m not a mother, but I am an aunt. One of my neices live with me, she’ll be 18 months on the 20th and I feel such a bond with her. So I can sort of relate (=
I look forward to the second part when you get a chance to finish the book.
I hope that you get back into the right frame of mind to read this book and finish it up. I can’t wait to hear what your final impressions are. I am reviewing this one later this month as well.
I know exactly what you mean about being impressionable as a mom. My kids are teens but as soon as I was a parent I knew my main focus would be about raising and protecting them. I’m reading this book now and it does take a lot of focus. It’s an interesting story and I’ll be reviewing it soon.