Keeper of Light and Dust by Natasha Mostert is the story of love, passion, martial arts, a Keeper and a Thief who is searching for immortality.
My book review rating: 5 stars – an enjoyable read and an insight into the world of ancient mysticism.
Take a look at this book cover and tell me it’s not just asking to be picked up and read? I love books with covers that call to me, especially when they turn out to be a really good read! The Keeper of Light and Dust is a novel based around martial arts – not something I’ve ever been interested in before, but Mostert does an excellent job of making the characters believable and pulling you head first into what is an amazing story.
Mia Lockhart is a martial artist and a tattooist by day – but by night she is a protector, a Keeper, whose role it is to keep fighters safe as they head into the ring. When her charges begin to die in mysterious circumstances days after their fights Mia begins to realise that something is not quite right. Before long she comes face to face with a modern-day vampire, a Thief who is not looking for blood but immortality – and when her childhood friend Nick is next up in the ring Mia does what she has to in order to keep him safe.
This is a fast paced thriller with an intricate plot full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing right up until the last page. I can highly recommend it and will definitely be seeking out a copy of Mostert’s previous novel Season of the Witch.
A highly original supernatural thriller blending magic, science, martial arts, and the greatest desire of all: to live forever
Mia Lockheart has a secret. Her mother was a Keeper, as was her grandmother—women who were warriors, healers, and protectors. As Mia practices her craft among the boxers and martial artists of South London, and begins a romance with her childhood friend, the fighter Nick Duffy, she has no idea that a man who calls himself “Dragonfly” is watching from the shadows.
Adrian Ashton is a brilliant scientist, an expert in the breaking field of biophoton emissions from cells within the human body. He is also a skilled martial artist—and a modern-day vampire. With the aid of the enigmatic Book of Life and Death, written in the thirteenth century by the legendary Chinese physician Zhang Sanfeng, he preys on other martial artists and drains them of their chi—the vital energy that flows through the body.
Mia finds herself drawn to his dark genius, but when he targets Nick as his next victim, she is forced to choose between the two men. It becomes a fight to the death in which love is both the greatest weakness and the biggest prize.
ISBN13: 9780525951001
Condition: NEW
Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Enchanting Review: Keeper of Light and Dust
Review Date: April 23, 2009
Reviewer: Enchanting Reviews,
THE KEEPER OF LIGHT AND DUST
NATASHA MOSTERT
Paranormal Thriller
Dutton Adult
Sensuality Level: Medium
ISBN# 978-0525951001
400 Pages
$25.95
Hardcover - Available April 2009
Rating: 4.5 Enchantments
I can safely say THE KEEPER OF LIGHT AND DUST is like nothing I've read before. Ms. Mostert takes the reader deep into the unusual world of Mia Lockheart, a tattoo artist, part time trainer and a keeper. The last is hidden from most of the world, private, yet she's marked by the beautiful tattoo that covers the entire left side of her torso. The tattoo is something only keepers can wear. As a keeper, it is her duty to keep her fighters safe from harm. A practice that none of them fully understand, they bare the keeper's mark on their body, identifying them as protected.
Nick Duffy has been in love with Mia since they were children. Only recently has he returned to their London neighborhood to find nothing much has changed - Mia still trains at Scorpio, and Nick is still in love with her. With a championship match ahead of him, he hopes that he can finally succeed in the fighting world, and find the courage to tell Mia just how he feels about her.
Mia's kept her keeper side hidden, even from her lifelong friend Nick. With one of her fighters soon to fight, she's about to step out in a ritual as old as time and protect him from harm. But suddenly fighters are dying. One of them was one of Mia's former protected, Valentine. Mia can't believe a sudden heart attack would take one of her fighters. Even Nick can't understand how a fighter as healthy as Valentine died and starts to look into his death. The appearance online and in the real world of someone who calls himself `Dragonfly' not only puts Nick in danger, but Mia as well. The Dragonfly is after her secrets and her power, and will stop at nothing to possess it. Just what is he really and how is he going about taking out the fighters?
Ms. Mostert does a wonderful job weaving together the paranormal, the fighters and the unfolding attraction between Nick and Mia. Long after finishing THE KEEPER OF LIGHT AND DUST, the book stays with you and things you may not have gotten during the first read start to make sense. THE KEEPER OF LIGHT AND DUST is a story that pulls the reader deep into this unique world, bringing them into the fighting realm, training alongside Nick and Mia, and waiting desperately for the truth about the Dragonfly to be uncovered before its too late and another fighter--or Mia--loses her life to the man.
The author holds graduate degrees in lexicography and applied linguistics, and is the author of SEASON OF THE WITCH, a lushly-written, beautiful novel. Ms. Mostert is an author to watch!
Lisa
Enchanting Reviews
March 2009
From Steve at J. Kaye's Book Blog
Review Date: July 12, 2009
Reviewer: J. Kaye,
"Keeper of Light and Dust" by Natasha Mostert is a well-written and well-researched psychological thriller. It is Oriental mysticism explained with western science in an action packed book with martial arts fighting as a theme. Mia Lockert, tattooist, martial artist, and descendant of a long line of Keepers meets Adrian Ashton, a brilliant scientist who solved the secret of eternal life - by taking life force. After 5 unexplained deaths of martial art fighters, Nick, Mia's childhood friend, uncovers the true Adrian. And it's up to Mia to save them all.
Tattoos, quantum physics, chi, Reiki, Fa gung, Dim-Mak, biophotonics, kickboxing, Zero Point field, dojo, fight training, remote-viewing, are some of the various subjects Mostert interweaves in her story. I stopped at various parts in the book and googled some of the subjects. Wow! Tai chi Sci-fi.
"Keeper of Light and Dust" is a great read. However, the background is martial arts and fighting - not blood and guts, but the struggles and psychological aspect, so this might not be everyone's cup of tea. It is descriptive, very plausible, and well-paced with the action building up to the end. If you are one of those interested in any of the subjects above, this could be well worth reading. It is one of those I like, a fiction that sounds true and you learn something also!
The Strongest Desire is to Live Forever
Review Date: July 16, 2009
Reviewer: Gregg Eldred, Avon Lake, OH USA
As you decide on what to read next, I would strongly recommend Keeper of Light and Dust by Natasha Mostert. It is at an intersection of ancient arts, the world of fighters, dreams, and the supernatural. In short, it is a very original, highly entertaining novel.
Mia is a Keeper, a woman that protects warriors and fighters using long distance healing. It is a practice that traces it roots back to early Chinese history. But this aspect of her life is hidden from those that she protects, as today's fighters (boxers, kickboxers, and mixed martial artists), a superstitious bunch, probably could not handle this knowledge. However, as a tattoo artist, Mia applies her "sign" to the fighters that she protects. To them, it is simply a curious and interesting tattoo. She is a very effective Keeper. However, one of her fighters dies days after a match, after his heart simply stops beating. A close childhood friend, Nick Duffy, unaware of Mia's secret, discovers that this fighter is not the only one to have died days after a match; there are several more. He investigates. However, into their lives arrives Adrian Ashton, a scientist, martial artist, and expert in chi, that becomes Nick's training buddy and Mia's love interest. "Ash" has a secret as well, one that will pit Mia in a battle for her life and the life of Nick. A battle that is much physical as it is in the dream world of the Keeper.
At times gritty, beautiful, mysterious, Mostert has created one of the most unique reading experiences of the year. Infused with actual knowledge of the martial arts, chi, and the spartan training facilities of men who fight, Mostert has created characters that are well developed and believable, and a plot that dares the reader to stop reading. Beginning select chapters with passages from The Book of Light and Dust adds a sense of mystery to the story. What is this other book and what does it signify? Why are there apparent directions coded "Blacklight" and "Whitelight?" Very mystical and yet fascinating. Dividing the dojo into "grunts" and "vogues" adds lightness to the novel, as the "grunts" are those that practice the physical martial arts who can't understand Mia and the "vogues," those that practice perfection of technique and strengthening of the mind. But it is Mia, a slight female vogue that is protecting a couple of grunts. Gritty as she wanders the world of fighters, Mostert brings the sights and smells of training and fighting to life. Balanced with the lightness of Mia and her role as a Keeper, you enter a world of beauty and protection, handed down through the ages. A different kind of killer, one that requires the chi of certain fighters, Mostert opens another world, an ancient one tied to the life force of a person and the teachings of Eastern philosophies. And as you progress through the book, you are held captivated by Mostert's excellent writing and characters. This is a novel that is thoroughly engaging and an author that is imaginative. A combination that results in one of the best books of the year.
Hi - I'm Clare, welcome to my little corner of the Internet. I'm a bit of a bookaholic - I love books so much that new ones appear on my shelf faster than I can read them LOL. Blue Archipelago is full of reviews of all the books I've read since January 2008, as well as other bookish thoughts. Feel free to have a mooch around; maybe you'll discover some new books or authors that you've never come across before. If you've read the same books as me be sure to leave a comment and let me know what you thought. I'm always on the lookout for new titles and authors so if you come across a fabulous book be sure to leave me a recommendation! If you're an author or a publisher and you'd like me to review a book for you then click on the *Send me a book* link up there and leave me a message :)
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Hi - I'm Clare, welcome to my little corner of the Internet. I'm a bit of a bookaholic - I love books so much that new ones appear on my shelf faster than I can read them LOL. Blue Archipelago is full of reviews of all the books I've read since January 2008, as well as other bookish thoughts. Feel free to have a mooch around; maybe you'll discover some new books or authors that you've never come across before. If you've read the same books as me be sure to leave a comment and let me know what you thought. I'm always on the lookout for new titles and authors so if you come across a fabulous book be sure to leave me a recommendation! If you're an author or a publisher and you'd like me to review a book for you then click on the *Send me a book* link up there and leave me a message :)
