I am probably her biggest fan and have been since her first book, The Midnight Side. In fact, I’m thinking of starting a fan club for her. She has received fantastic reviews for Keeper from not only other online reviewer — but most important — from experienced print reviewers who do not have preconceived ideas of what constitutes “fantasy” and whether the rules have been broken or not. Just because this book does not fit into the “Fantasy” cookie cutter mould, doesn’t take away from the fact that it is written in beautiful language, and touches on profound themes such as the imperative of violence, while still keeping up a cracking pace. It works as a novel. Whether it ticks every box in the Fantasy genre is irrelevant. Take a look at the review page on her website to read what professionals say about her work.

Zombie Lenin did not think the physical fight scene was well-described??? The fight scenes in this book have received great acclaim from actual martial artists. Mostert knows of what she speaks, she is a martial artist herself. The blurb on the cover of Keeper is by Robert Twigger, the author of Angry White Pyjamas — one of the most celebrated books on martial arts ever. Twigger won the Somerset Maugham Award for his own book and if he found the fight scenes “brilliant” then that is good enough for me.

As for the comment that the aspect of “chi manipulation” in her book is “conventional” — no other reviewer I’ve come across thought her blending of chi with zero point field theory and quantum physics “conventional”.

“Nothing feels quite right” – I could not agree more. It’s a fantasy novel that doesn’t feel like a fantasy novel – and I don’t mean that in a good way. If you’re going to write a novel with martial artists for protagonist and antagonist, then the reader’s going to expect a well-described physical fight scene as part of the climax. We don’t get that, and we don’t get a sense of Mia’s world – good fantasy builds a world (whether it’s entirely new or strangely familiar) and while we get a great sense of setting, the novel doesn’t immerse the reader in the world of the Keepers.
I was disappointed. It’s a great premise, but not well written.