After influenza and war devastate the world, Santa Olivia, Texas, finds itself declared a no man's land. While the United States government locates a military base nearby, to the outside world the small town does not exist. And then a mysterious man arrives, the waitress Carmen finds him undeniably attractive. Under threat by local gangs, the man leaves. Nine months later, a baby is born under the state of the village's patron saint. Loup Garron grows up knowing that she's different, that's she's the legacy of a genetically-altered government experiment. But as her friends and family suffer under occupation, Loup Garron also knows she's the only one who can stand up to the authorities and represent the true spirit of Santa Olivia.

There was a lot of buzz about this book earlier this year and how it was a sort of superhero story with a lesbian main character. When I started reading the other day, the first few chapters almost completely killed the experience. The book starts too soon, talking about the history of the town and the meeting of Carmen and Martin, the escaped Wolf-man. However, once Loup takes center stage the book really zooms along and became difficult to put down. Since Loup doesn't show many emotions, Carey does an excellent job of showing how the people around Loup react and learn to be better people because of her; I especially loved the slow and believable character change in Miguel. There are graphic sexual scenes of various sorts. They are well-written, and probably something of a trademark for Carey as she's known for her Kushiel series (which I have not read, nor do I intend to).

In all, an interesting book with a very different sort of heroine. ( )

In the future, Mexico has gone to war against the United States, necessitating the creation of buffer zones. Santa Olivia lies within this buffer zone, the inhabitants stripped of all rights, privileges, and luxuries, no longer citizens of the United States. Carmen Garron is one of those citizens, looking for love against the odds, and temporarily finding it twice. Her second love has been genetically engineered to have superhuman strength, speed, sight, but has a complete lack of fear. He is also infertile, or at least they think so until Carmen conceives a child, named Loup Garron for her fugitive father. As Loup grows to maturity in a church, she takes on the guise of Santa Olivia, providing justice to the town in a way no one else imagined, and taking huge risks to stand up for the rights she knows they deserve.

If this novel had not had Jacqueline Carey emblazoned on the cover, I would never have realized it was her. Her writing is still gorgeous, but in a totally different way from her Kushiel series. It’s rougher, to match this serious urban fantasy, but still retains a beauty and grace that is unmistakably Carey once it’s more carefully examined. When she uses a bird in Carmen’s heart to describe her youthful hope and love in an elegant, but not melodramatic way, I fell in love:

In between the fourth and fifth rounds, Carmen Garron slipped through the crowd, made her way to the outside of the soldier’s corner. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her.

“Hi there.” He slid one muscled, sweaty arm through the ropes, touched her hand with his gloved fist.

The bird in her heart warbled.

I could read Jacqueline Carey’s books all year and never get bored.

This is a completely different type of urban fantasy than most of what is found on the bookstore shelf. It is a gritty, hard reality, a world in which there is no hope. There are no vampires or witches, just genetically engineered humans who are ostacized from society. Somehow, Loup Garron shines in this world, an enigmatic main character that is different enough to make her special and human enough to make her real. Loup provides not only hope to the people of Santa Olivia, but to readers; she’s the embodiment of determination and spirit. The werewolf, without turning into a wolf, concept is cleverly done even if rarely mentioned. Loup’s strength sets her apart but her desire to be at least mostly normal brings her into a group of orphans who provide the backbone for her inspiring journey. She doesn’t quite fit in, but that just makes us love her all the more. Meanwhile, the town of Santa Olivia is a terrifying potential reality. It’s unlikely but just real enough to strike fear in our hearts and cause us to hope for Loup’s success.

To be honest, I don’t love this book as much as I love any of the Kushiel’s Legacy series. In some sense, though, that is like comparing apples to oranges, since they are so different in feel, setting, scope, and character development. Santa Olivia is a great read all on its own and that is how it should be judged. As such, I think Carey made a wise move in trying out a different kind of fantasy. A sequel has been proposed, but this book, while somewhat open-ended, ends satisfactorily and left me hopeful for the future. ( )

I had a very strange reaction to Santa Olivia. It's not that I didn't adore it (which I did), it's that the word that I think best describes it is very...odd. Take this as you will, but Santa Olivia is a very "warm" book. The characters are just so alive, and the simple way in which Carey describes the Outpost creates this mental picture of a poor, militarized town that still pulsates with light and heat and life. The heat pours off of scenes in the boxing ring, and I could feel the steam rising off the chorizo and eggs. Yes, definitely warm.

On a more technical level, it's a very visceral book; whereas the Kushiel series trades in florid and descriptive language, Santa Olivia is far more terse. This is in no way a bad thing, though, seeing as it fits with the physicality of boxing and the universe in question, as well as the main character. Speaking of which, Carey has clearly not lost her knack of creating strong, interesting, deep female characters with genuine personalities. For all that I love fantasy and sci fi, it often seems that female characters are an afterthought, consigned to be sex symbols even if that has nothing to do with their story. Carey avoids this with Loup, and while the book touches on Loup's love and sex life, that's no where near the whole of her story, or of her character (trust me, this is by no means a romance novel). Loup is strong and quiet and compassionate and strange, and an utterly fascinating look at what it means to be fearless.

People have clearly had different experiences with this book, but for me, this is going on the shelf of comfort reading. Whether the story is continued in a sequel or not, I look forward to coming back to Santa Olivia. ( )

This was a splendid novel, a lovely little science fiction tale in sports novel guise. Unlike her complex Kushiel novels, Carey sticks to simpler, cleaner storytelling here, which makes for a fast, engrossing read.
The storyline itself is like 'Million Dollar Baby' vs. X-Men vs. some post-apocalyptic tale. While a fair amount of time is devoted to boxing, its merely a vehicle to take the characters where they needed to go.

While I am curious what happens to Loup and her friends in the aftermath, I'm OK with this being a stand-alone too. It's all around an outstanding read and well-worth your attention. Being a boxing fan is no requirement. :) ( )

I loved Godslayer and Banewreaker, couldn’t get into Kushiel, and thought this book was basically likeable YA: it’s Carey’s version of Dark Angel. Set in a town that’s been turned into a military outpost in between the Mexican and American borders, the inhabitants deprived of citizenship and much human dignity, used for entertainment by the military men stationed there for a few years at a time, a genetically enhanced supersoldier falls in love with a young woman. He strikes out for freedom and she has a child, Loup Garron, who grows up knowing that to reveal her strengths is likely to end in disaster for herself and for those around her. When tragedy strikes, she’s forced to use her limited resources to fight. A well-told standard coming-of-age story with boxing, romance (despite Loup’s neuro-atypicality—she doesn’t feel fear, which changes the way in which she experiences other emotions), and help from surprising quarters. ( )