Santa Olivia
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4.2 • 101 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Lushly written with rich and vivid characters, 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-manipulated and used by the US government as a weapon. The "Wolf-Men" were engineered to have superhuman strength, speed, sensory capability, stamina, and a total lack of fear, and Loup, named for and sharing her father's wolf-like qualities, is marked as an outsider.
After her mother dies, Loup goes to live among the misfit orphans at the parish church, where they seethe from the injustices visited upon the locals by the soldiers. Eventually, the orphans find an outlet for their frustrations: They form a vigilante group to support Loup Garron who, costumed as their patron saint, Santa Olivia, uses her special abilities to avenge the town.
Aware that she could lose her freedom, and possibly her life, Loup is determined to fight to redress the wrongs her community has suffered. And like the reincarnation of their patron saint, she will bring hope to all of Santa Olivia.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Departing from epic fantasy (Kushiel's Dart, etc.), Carey sets this powerful near-future tale in Outpost 12, a small town trapped in a "buffer zone" shielding Texas from pandemic-stricken Mexico. Two half-siblings chafing under General Argyle's military rule make very different plans to beat the status quo. Tom, the son of a soldier, lives at the gym, where he trains in boxing and hopes to win his freedom from the town by defeating the general's boxing champion. Loup, who has inherited her escaped father's oddly engineered genes, joins a group of church wards called the Santitos, a tight gang of vigilantes who masquerade as the local saint, Santa Olivia. Carey's fans will enjoy meeting another strong, fearless heroine with special powers, while new readers will appreciate the tight focus that intensifies the depth of character and emotion.
Customer Reviews
Santa Olivia
Surprisingly good I could not put it down!
Amazing!
The description doesn't do this book justice. Incredibly well written, it just pulls you in. The fascinating psychology of the main character makes every interaction unique in a new way. I'm not a big boxing fan, but Loup's passion for the sport and her rigid training to beat her stronger opponent in a bid for freedom had me in tears and vocally cheering her on. The romance woven into the background was believable and not at all cliche. The protagonists are all too real, with weaknesses and imperfections as well as incredible strength. This story captured my heart so thoroughly that after purchasing and reading it in iBoook, I went out and bought a hard copy for my library. It is a MUST read.