Lushly written with rich and vivid characters, SANTA OLIVIA is Jacqueline Carey's take on comic book superheroes and the classic werewolf myth.
reviews
Aug 17, 2009
Lasairfiona
rated it: 
Are you looking for another Phedra? You aren't going to find her here. You aren't going to find the sex or the epic adventure either. If this is what you are in the mood for, you should probably go elsewhere.
However, if you are up for a quick adventure that is self contained and a bit more real than the fantasy that you are used to from Carey, this is worth a look.
Loup (pronounced Lou actually) has some crazy genetics. She is fast, super strong, and has no fear. Lite More...
However, if you are up for a quick adventure that is self contained and a bit more real than the fantasy that you are used to from Carey, this is worth a look.
Loup (pronounced Lou actually) has some crazy genetics. She is fast, super strong, and has no fear. Lite More...
Nov 20, 2010
Sonya
rated it: 
Santa Olivia is a story that spans 18 years in a small dystopian community recovering from a disease outbreak in Texas. The local population has been cut off from the US and imprisoned in their town by physical walls and the military.
Loup Garron, the child of a genetically engineered soldier, tries to blend in with the rest of society. Although she follows her brother’s advice to be careful and hide her talents, she is torn between acting “normal” and embracing her “gifts”. She al More...
Loup Garron, the child of a genetically engineered soldier, tries to blend in with the rest of society. Although she follows her brother’s advice to be careful and hide her talents, she is torn between acting “normal” and embracing her “gifts”. She al More...
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Mar 22, 2009
Paul
rated it:
(NB: I received this as an ARC)
Santa Olivia is the latest book by Jacqueline Carey, who is better known for, and much better known for the Sundering Duology, and much much better known for two Kushiel trilogies. While the former is a take on classic fantasy and the latter are milestone in dark, sensual fantasy, Santa Olivia is a completely different kettle of fish.
The press information provided to me describes Santa Olivia as Jacqueline Carey's take on comic book superheroes a More...
Santa Olivia is the latest book by Jacqueline Carey, who is better known for, and much better known for the Sundering Duology, and much much better known for two Kushiel trilogies. While the former is a take on classic fantasy and the latter are milestone in dark, sensual fantasy, Santa Olivia is a completely different kettle of fish.
The press information provided to me describes Santa Olivia as Jacqueline Carey's take on comic book superheroes a More...
Jan 06, 2012
Leah
rated it:
Santa Olivia is a border town quarantined and occupied by the military after a pandemic has struck United States and Mexico. Completely isolated from the rest of the world, the town's inhabitants dream of getting out. They pin all there hopes on their boxing champions who fight against army soldiers for a chance to win a ticket to America. After some back story on her mother, Carmen, and half-brother, Tom, we meet Loup Garron an unusual girl with special abilities. Loup is very strong, very
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Nov 18, 2011
Victoria
rated it: 
Reread in preparation for the sequel coming out next week. In retrospect, the back cover is not as inaccurate as I'd originally thought - though the description above is terrible! - but the book is so unique that I was misled by my own assumptions based on the cover blurb.
PREVIOUS REVIEW:
How does she do it?!? I've said it before and I'll say it again: Jacqueline Carey could write a shopping list and I'd pay money to read it. She has a vivid imagination, a captivating writ More...
PREVIOUS REVIEW:
How does she do it?!? I've said it before and I'll say it again: Jacqueline Carey could write a shopping list and I'd pay money to read it. She has a vivid imagination, a captivating writ More...
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Aug 13, 2011
mlady_rebecca
rated it:
I'm torn between 3 and 4 stars on this one, and I'm rarely torn. Good book. Good story. Slow at first. Gained momentum at the end. One of those stories that you don't know where it's going to end up. Not really predictable. That's a nice change of pace.
Hints at the end that this may not be a one shot, it may be the start of a series. If so, I'd gladly pick up the next book. It would be one of those "same universe - different hero/heroine" type series, because I think Loup's More...
Hints at the end that this may not be a one shot, it may be the start of a series. If so, I'd gladly pick up the next book. It would be one of those "same universe - different hero/heroine" type series, because I think Loup's More...
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Feb 05, 2012
Cab
rated it:
Let me quickly state that this is not a typical “werewolf” story. I certainly can’t claim to know the author’s intent for latching onto that claim other than to provide some context for Loup’s extraordinary abilities. Having said that; the story is very well written and was a pleasure to read. It starts a little slow introducing the reader to “Outpost 12”, which is a military zone that acts as a buffer between the United States and Mexico following the outbreak of an epidemic in Mexico. The
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Oct 09, 2011
Lisa
rated it:
(originally reviewed on starmetal oak book blog)
I have mixed feelings about this one. I've read Carey's Kushiel's Dart a long time ago and I had mixed feelings about that one, as well, but for different reasons. I really enjoyed Kushiel's Dart for the worldbuilding and plot, but had issue with the characters. In Santa Olivia I had issue with the worldbuilding and plot (and I suppose some characters). What I liked about it was the originality in setting (an Outpost where residents cann More...
I have mixed feelings about this one. I've read Carey's Kushiel's Dart a long time ago and I had mixed feelings about that one, as well, but for different reasons. I really enjoyed Kushiel's Dart for the worldbuilding and plot, but had issue with the characters. In Santa Olivia I had issue with the worldbuilding and plot (and I suppose some characters). What I liked about it was the originality in setting (an Outpost where residents cann More...
Sep 30, 2011
Stormcrow
rated it:
„This singularly gifted Storyteller“, wie es in einem Zitat auf dem Rückentext so schön heisst, fesselt den Leser mit einer nahezu beängstigenden Nähe zum Geschehen. In einem ständigen, dynamischen Wechsel zwischen der Betrachtung von aussen und dem Blickwinkel der Charaktere schweben die Worte über die Seiten. Was nicht heisst, dass das Buch leicht zu lesen ist. Im Gegenteil. Obwohl auf sehr wenigen Seiten sehr viel passiert, hat die Geschichte Tiefgang. Carey schürft die Emotionen mit wenigen,
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Apr 02, 2011
Patty
rated it:
I have not read anything else by Jacqueline Carey. I certainly have heard of her Kushiel's Legacy series, but some how they have not been on my to-read list. I may have to add them.
Santa Olivia is a small town that has become no man's land in the war between the United States and Mexico. It once was part of Texas, but war and pestilence has cut the people in this town off from the rest of the world. The only way folks could ever get out is by winning a boxing match against a conten More...
Santa Olivia is a small town that has become no man's land in the war between the United States and Mexico. It once was part of Texas, but war and pestilence has cut the people in this town off from the rest of the world. The only way folks could ever get out is by winning a boxing match against a conten More...
Mar 23, 2011
Mariel
rated it:
Because goodreads is taking over my mind (it's addicting!), I was sorta writing reviews of Jacqueline Carey's Santa Olivia while reading it. Not picking apart, the things that I'd want to take with me and share. Now I don't remember any of it. Sigh. (The wording, I mean. Communication is hard.)
I love this book. I didn't think I was going to find another book this year that I'd love as much as Martin Millar's Curse of the Wolf Girl. Clearly, illiterate wolfy girls are the way to go. More...
I love this book. I didn't think I was going to find another book this year that I'd love as much as Martin Millar's Curse of the Wolf Girl. Clearly, illiterate wolfy girls are the way to go. More...
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Dec 30, 2010
Karissa
rated it:
I loved Carey's Kushiel series and I also read a lot of urban fantasy, so I was excited to see that Carey had tried her hand at an urban fantasy novel. This novel wasn't at all what I expected but I liked it quite a bit all the same.
Santa Olivia is a small area that is acting as a buffer zone between plague ridden Mexico and the United States. No one knows the town exists outside of the Army. The citizens of the town struggle to make it. This story tells a tale of two half-siblings; More...
Santa Olivia is a small area that is acting as a buffer zone between plague ridden Mexico and the United States. No one knows the town exists outside of the Army. The citizens of the town struggle to make it. This story tells a tale of two half-siblings; More...
May 15, 2010
Brownbetty
rated it:
The thing about this book is...
Okay, I'm not actually sure what the thing about this book is. There's a couple of points where I felt the author was being weird and wrong-headed, but overall it was so fascinating that I forgave it almost anything.
I found the book fascinating because it was, to me, an indictment of the privilege on which the superhero story is constructed. Loup Garron has special powers; speed, super-strength, yer basic 'I am an advanced biological con More...
Okay, I'm not actually sure what the thing about this book is. There's a couple of points where I felt the author was being weird and wrong-headed, but overall it was so fascinating that I forgave it almost anything.
I found the book fascinating because it was, to me, an indictment of the privilege on which the superhero story is constructed. Loup Garron has special powers; speed, super-strength, yer basic 'I am an advanced biological con More...
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(6 people liked it)
Nov 18, 2009
Kylie
rated it: 
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jul 27, 2009
Jessica
rated it:
I love Jacqueline Carey. She is one of my all-time favorite authors. This book begins a new series by her, separate from her beloved Terre D'Ange books. It is a very different story from those books, but I enjoyed it, and I am really looking forward to a sequel.
Loup Garron is born in the forgotten town of Santa Olivia, where she is raised by her single mother. She has been named by her father, who had to flee while her mother was pregnant with her - he was an enigma, a man who had been gen More...
Loup Garron is born in the forgotten town of Santa Olivia, where she is raised by her single mother. She has been named by her father, who had to flee while her mother was pregnant with her - he was an enigma, a man who had been gen More...
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Jul 02, 2009
Tamora
rated it:
This is a science fiction novel from Carey, about the daughter about a genetically engineered soldier who escapes the lab and passes through a border zone created between the U.S. and Mexico (in the wake of a plague that came up from Mexico--I wonder how Carey feels now, since the copyright date is April 2009, the same month reports of H1N1 virus became news, which means that Carey would have handed the manuscript in a year earlier!). Loup is born to her single mother when her father is forced
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(8 people liked it)
Jun 28, 2009
Elizabeth
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jun 20, 2009
Michael
rated it:
Well, this was a fun departure from the world of Terre d'Ange;
(Synopsis from Amazon.com) SANTA OLIVIA is Jacqueline Carey's take on comic book superheroes and the classic werewolf myth.
Loup Garron was born and raised in Santa Olivia, an isolated, disenfranchised town next to a US military base inside a DMZ buffer zone between Texas and Mexico. A fugitive "Wolf-Man" who had a love affair with a local woman, Loup's father was one of a group of men genetically-m More...
(Synopsis from Amazon.com) SANTA OLIVIA is Jacqueline Carey's take on comic book superheroes and the classic werewolf myth.
Loup Garron was born and raised in Santa Olivia, an isolated, disenfranchised town next to a US military base inside a DMZ buffer zone between Texas and Mexico. A fugitive "Wolf-Man" who had a love affair with a local woman, Loup's father was one of a group of men genetically-m More...
Jun 18, 2009
Kim
rated it:
I don't read a lot of science fiction but when I do read it, what I like best is science fiction that explores elements of the world we live in and takes them to their logical conclusions. Santa Olivia, while ostensibly paranormal fiction, shares many qualities with this type of dystopian SF. In it, Jacqueline Carey explores current US immigration policy and, amazingly, anticipates the H1N1 flu epidemic by creating the small town of Santa Olivia, formerly part of Texas but now in the mids
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Jun 07, 2009
Chris
rated it:
Despite the description that surrounds this novel, it isn't a superhero/werewolf novel, so don't think you're going to read about werewolves.
It's better than that. Much better.
While the novel isn't about werewolves, it is about superheros, or at least what makes a heroine. Carey is playing with the superhero genre for much of the book. There are references to X-Men, Wolverine in particular, and Superman. Many of the plot points are similar to those used in comics - th More...
It's better than that. Much better.
While the novel isn't about werewolves, it is about superheros, or at least what makes a heroine. Carey is playing with the superhero genre for much of the book. There are references to X-Men, Wolverine in particular, and Superman. Many of the plot points are similar to those used in comics - th More...
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(3 people liked it)
Jun 01, 2009
Cameron
rated it:
One thing that amazes me with this novel is Carey's scope as a writer. With the Kushiel sextuplet she was graceful and highly engaging with her intelligent main characters, spinning sentences like colorful and erotic thread; with this book, her main character is more physical and so her writing takes on a greater physicality and brevity. Parsed phrases create intense moments, highlighting the fearless nature of her heroine, the simplicity that she brings to bear in her worldview.
Un More...
Un More...
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Jan 19, 2012
Kellee
rated it:
It has been a long time since I've so thoroughly enjoyed a book. I devoured this one. And this is even on the heels of disappointment that the book does not in fact have werewolves in it as the back cover may lead one to believe.
There are no werewolves, but the things this book DOES have make it well worth the read. Our main character is a genetically modified super human (her father was a "wolf-man" .... but not how one would assume), in a dystopian United States setting, sh More...
There are no werewolves, but the things this book DOES have make it well worth the read. Our main character is a genetically modified super human (her father was a "wolf-man" .... but not how one would assume), in a dystopian United States setting, sh More...
Dec 02, 2011
bookczuk
rated it:
Picked this up at a book sale to benefit our local library because a couple people I know really like this author. Apparently, this is an atypical story for her, though her fans still really like it. I thought it might be a little like "teen girl-Wolverine fights the bad guys" but it wasn't exactly like that. Well, it was but there was a fair amount of other stuff in there, including teenage lesbian sex. So, if that might offend you, don't read the book. It does however, deliver th
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Dec 15, 2010
Stephanie
rated it:
I resisted reading this book for a long time, mostly because the setting and the premise didn't really do anything for me. Eventually it was bargain priced on Amazon, so I ordered it to round out my total for free shipping.
Firstly, the style of writing completely shocked me. I'm a pretty big JC fan, and I love her in part because the beautiful and elegant prose that you can find in her other books. In this one...I'm not sure what was going on exactly, but there were a lot of expletive More...
Firstly, the style of writing completely shocked me. I'm a pretty big JC fan, and I love her in part because the beautiful and elegant prose that you can find in her other books. In this one...I'm not sure what was going on exactly, but there were a lot of expletive More...
Jan 09, 2010
Erin (PT)
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Aug 21, 2009
Tammy
rated it:
Santa Olivia, a small town in Texas, has been disenfranchised and expunged from the United States as a part of a buffer zone to impede immigrants fleeing plague-devastated Mexico. Loup Garron, the daughter of a genetically engineered soldier, and her companions strive for justice, and become a symbol of hope in this forgotten, lost town.
This novel is a completely different genre/style than the Kushiel series, but Carey's ability to create compelling characters and situations is c More...
This novel is a completely different genre/style than the Kushiel series, but Carey's ability to create compelling characters and situations is c More...
Aug 12, 2009
Schnaucl
rated it:
A plague has left the world devastated. There's little information about the symptoms or transmission of the plague, how it affected the lifestyles of the decimated populations or really much information at all. Suffice it to say, there was a plague. The US is at war with Mexico.
As the book opens, people living in a town on the Texas border are told they are no longer US citizens. Instead, they live in a no man's land controlled by the US Military. The town that was Santa Olivia More...
As the book opens, people living in a town on the Texas border are told they are no longer US citizens. Instead, they live in a no man's land controlled by the US Military. The town that was Santa Olivia More...
Jun 20, 2009
Shannon
rated it:
My summary here is a little long, because the premise and set-up is a tad complicated, but I haven't really shared much more than the blurb itself does. I did want to explain the situation though, because I found it confusing at first. If you're leery of even mild spoilers (can't blame you), feel free to skip this review. It's mostly the background - the first, oh, three chapters - that I talk about here.
At some point in the near future, a devastating influenza epidemic sweeps More...
At some point in the near future, a devastating influenza epidemic sweeps More...
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Feb 04, 2012
Starfire
rated it:
Huh. Ok, so this book completely changed for the better right after the part I was going to give up at. So I ended up finishing it - and it wasn't a bad read, all things considered.
It would, however, have benefited immensely from having the first 80 pages or so stripped and replaced with a 1-2 page prologue, IMNSHO. Because really? I just didn't *care* about any of the characters before Loup became a Santito. And really, that's where the story started for me, and reading all that b More...
It would, however, have benefited immensely from having the first 80 pages or so stripped and replaced with a 1-2 page prologue, IMNSHO. Because really? I just didn't *care* about any of the characters before Loup became a Santito. And really, that's where the story started for me, and reading all that b More...
Jan 31, 2012
Kinley
rated it:
I hate to say that this is a surprising read from Carey, who I imagine is probably legally pigeonholed into Kushiel-and-everything-possibly-related until kingdom come.
But if you're coming at it after the Kushiel series, this is a surprising read.
It's quick, it's set in a real place (sort of), it's in the not-to-far-off future, and the characters are all about as good and terrible as people would probably be in their situations.
Loup is an interesting protagonist, More...
But if you're coming at it after the Kushiel series, this is a surprising read.
It's quick, it's set in a real place (sort of), it's in the not-to-far-off future, and the characters are all about as good and terrible as people would probably be in their situations.
Loup is an interesting protagonist, More...
