expression
←
Florida man Jarret Keene, a professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, has written a post-apocalyptic novel in which a cyborgian heroine finds love among destruction and favors man over machine. Keene is pictured at the Luxor Hotel and Casino, which figures in the book.
NIGHTMARES, DREAMS AND KILLER FLAMINGOS
In Jarret Keene’s fantasy thriller, humanity outlasts power-trippers by STEVE BORNHOFT
72 January-February 2024 TALLAHASSEEMAGA ZINE.COM
A
Gen Xer, Jarret Keene grew up playing with action figures — G.I. Joe, Star Wars characters, Scarlet Spider. They were armed and aggressive, and they were heroes, he said, and led children to exercise their imaginations. He read comic books, too, back in the day when ads for .22-caliber rifles and “raising chinchillas for fun and profit” appeared on their back pages. “The tie-in stuff related to the characters was amazing,” Keene added. “The vinyl records, the lunch boxes. Now everything seems diffuse.”
We don’t relate to shared experiences or each other as we once did. No question. Keene, who earned a doctorate in creative writing at Florida State University, is doing what he can to combat unsettling trends, both personally and via a character of his own creation, Lash, the heroine in his debut post-apocalyptic novel, Hammer of the Dogs, which was published on Sept. 12. As an assistant professor in the Department of English at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Keene seeks to ignite a passion for reading in students who grew up
PHOTO COURTESY OF BECCA SCHWARTZ/UNLV
BOOKS