Saints Astray

Written by Jacqueline Carey

Narrated by Susan Ericksen

Fellow orphans, amateur vigilantes, and members of the Santitos, Loup Garron-the fugitive daughter of a genetically engineered "wolf-man"-and Pilar Ecchevarria spent their entire lives under military occupation in a cordoned off Texas no-man's-land that used to be called Santa Olivia, now known as Outpost 12.

But now they're free, and they want to help the rest of the Santitos escape. During a series of escapades, they discover that Miguel Garza, Loup's former sparring partner and reprobrate surrogate brother, has escaped from Outpost 12 and is testifying on behalf of its forgotten citizens-at least until he disappears from protective custody. Driven by a sense of honor, Loup vows to rescue Miguel, even though venturing into the U.S. could mean losing her liberty. Driven by love and loyalty, Pilar promises to help her.

It will take a daring and absurd caper to extricate Miguel from the mess he's created, but Loup is prepared to risk everything...and this time she has help.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Nov 22, 2011
• ISBN: 9781452671383

Jacqueline Carey

New York Times bestselling author Jacqueline Carey was born in 1964. After receiving BA degrees in Psychology and English Literature, she embarked on a writing career. Kushiel’s Avatar is her third fantasy novel, completing the Kushiel’s Legacy trilogy, which also includes Kushiel's Dart and Kushiel's Chosen.

Reviews for Saints Astray

[cindywho-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a cream puff of a story with repetitive wording and *adventure, sex, processing* plotlines. Mostly I enjoyed how inappropriately goofy and light it was despite the themes of human rights abuses and genetically modified humans.

[tldegray-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This wasn't the follow-up to Santa Olivia that I expected. It was more speculative fiction (spy-fi)and less urban fantasy. That being said, I'll always have a soft spot for Loup and Pilar and will always enjoy reading about them, their relationship, and their found family.

[macthekat82 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

good, a slow burn and good. very slow paced but in a good way. hmm let me see that else to read by her. I might want to add that I read this in less than 24 hours - so for me it was a quick read and a good read.

[majesdane-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Not as good as the first book. Disappointing.

[krau0098 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the 2nd book in the Santa Olivia series and this book ties up the Santa Olivia series by Carey. It was a very well done book and I enjoyed it a lot. Loup and Pilar have escaped the Outpost and finally get to meet some of Loup’s family on the outside in Mexico. They both get an offer to join an elite bodyguard firm and decide to take the offer. The offer gives them a chance to travel and earn some money. However, when they bodyguard for a band called Kate an opportunity arises for Loup and Pilar to help stop the atrocities in the Outpost and the prejudice against GMO’s once and for all.There is some excellent world-building here. This is a world that is recovering from being ravaged by a horrible disease. Most of the world is recovering okay, but the United States still has these horrible secret Outposts that they are hiding from the rest of the world.I continued to love the idea of genetically modified humans that can't feel fear. This has so many implications as to how Loup interacts with society and how society responds to her. I really enjoyed watching Loup and Pilar journey outside the Outpost and make their way in the world. They are excellent characters and watching them learn about the outside world and how to make their way through it was fantastic and incredibly engaging. Pilar in particular grows a lot and really kicks butt in this book. She is such and girly girl, but she also shows herself to be incredibly capable and intelligent. Pilar confronts a number of fears head-on and really goes out of her way to become a better person. I thought she was an admirable, entertaining, and completely engaging character. I love how her relationship with Loup grows in this book and love how they respect each other and support each other.There are a number of sensual scenes between Pilar and Loup, they never get all that graphic. However, Pilar and Loup’s love for each other is definitely a prominent theme throughout the book. This book doesn’t have as much action as the first book, but I still found it to be a very engaging story.The story is tied up in a way that is complete, hopeful, and sweet.Overall this was a great read with wonderful characters and I enjoyed it a lot. I loved the world-building and really enjoyed watching Pilar and Loup make a life for themselves outside the Outpost. The story ties up very nicely and ends on a very hopeful note. I wish this duology had gotten more coverage because it is a good one. I would recommend to fans of urban fantasy.

[lquilter_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A sequel that puts the HEA cherry on top of the frothy whipped cream that wrapped up Santa Olivia. These are fun books -- not exactly deep, but a quick romp through a femme lesbian love story. Not much drama in this sequel, and more reiteration of some of the plot points that annoyed me from the first -- in particular, the protagonist somehow has something genetic that somehow brings out the best in other people, which ranks with some of the silliest woowoo I've ever encountered in fiction. The first book was better and would stand-alone, but the second book is okay too -- a pleasant, quick read on a cold afternoon.

[librarycatnip · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This sequel was ok, I really felt like Santa Olivia was/should have been a stand alone novel for some reason, so this one covering a honeymoon of sorts felt like wrap up.

[raselyem7 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This sequel was ok, I really felt like Santa Olivia was/should have been a stand alone novel for some reason, so this one covering a honeymoon of sorts felt like wrap up.

[erincathryn · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This review can also be found at: Written Permission

This book took me so long to read. I was not invested in it at all, and I was waiting for it to be over. If it wasn't such a short book, I would have given up on it.

It shares nothing with the first book except for the flaws. There is gratuitous sex, profanity and overuse of the word "baby". I was so tired of all of the fade-outs on Pilar and Loup having sexy-times by page 50. It felt like every 5-10 pages there was some mention of it. We get it. The two of them are in love. They like having sex. I have no issues with sex in books, but it was overkill.

In my review of book one, I was very happy with Jacqueline Carey's character development. The selfishness, the anguish. Even though we never got a really good look in Loup's head, the characters still felt solid. That aspect was severely lacking in Saints Astray. None of the characters had any substance to them, Loup especially. I know that being fearless would make her different, but for someone who is supposed to be essentially human, she was exceptionally blank.

Then we have the story. I think rather than Saints Astray, the title should have been "Saints Adrift". Loup and Pilar set off on an adventure as bodyguards. Technically, the writing is great, but story-wise... the writing was severely lacking. Their being bodyguards was so unrelated to Outpost that it just made me sit and stare at the book for a minute. Then when Outpost-related things happened, they happened so fast. The worldbuilding remains thin, and even when Loup and Pilar are asked to explain their exploits, they respond with "That is a bit of a weird story". If your characters don't even know why they did what they did... it probably wasn't a good choice. Overall, not worth the ending and having everything tied up for the series.

Also, for people being one-in-a-hundred to find Loup appealing rather than repulsive... there sure seemed to be a lot of them in the book.

Bottom Line: Jacqueline Carey remains strong technically, but Saints Astray is so glaringly different from book one that I found it to be jarring and unsatisfying, not to mention a little boring.

[jeremypreacher · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Basically this book is about two characters whom I adore running around Europe and having lots of sex. There is a plot (and it's a perfectly good plot) but that's completely beside the point. This is the extended happy ending that I want all books involving lesbian relationships to have. I am totally incapable of judging this book objectively. It just makes me too happy.

[deathsmistress · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this book. I thought it was really funny. It started immediately after Santa Olivia, where Pilar and Loup are escaping Outpost 12 with Christophe. I like Loup's adventures. They're kind of silly (being a bodyguard for a rock band), but extremely fun. Of course its not all fun, there are some serious parts, but its all good in the end. Id recommend 4/5

[devilwrites · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The premise: ganked from BN.com: Fellow orphans, amateur vigilantes, and members of the Santitos, Loup Garron -- the fugitive daughter of a genetically engineered "wolf man" -- and Pilar Ecchevarria grew up in the military zone of Outpost 12, formerly known as Santa Olivia. But now they're free, and they want to help the rest of the Santitos escape. During a series of escapades, they discover that Miguel, Loup's former sparring partner and reprobate surrogate brother, has escaped from Outpost 12 and is testifying on behalf of its forgotten citizens -- at least until he disappears from protective custody. Honor drives Loup to rescue Miguel, even though entering the U.S could mean losing her liberty. Pilar vows to help her.It will take a daring and absurd caper to extricate Miguel from the mess he's created but Loup is prepared to risk everything... and this time she has help.My Rating: Below StandardIt's pretty rare for me to give out this rating. Usually, I DNF a book before it gets this far. But the rating is a combination of things: the book is an utter and complete letdown in comparison to the quiet wonder and beauty that is the book's predecessor, Santa Olivia. Saints Astray is so unlike its predecessor that I'm now afraid to re-read Santa Olivia, because I'm afraid that, originally, I was just blind its faults and it's really and truly as bland and sentimental and boring as the sequel.Truly, I don't think that's the case, but Saints Astray gave me this fear, and I resent it for that.However, this sequel isn't insultingly bad. If you divorce yourself from Santa Olivia, or if you tell yourself that you're reading a fanfic sequel and not the REAL sequel, it can be utterly entertaining. There are enjoyable parts to the book. But the story is just so utterly ridiculous, improbable, and sentimental that I have to give it a low rating. Thankfully, I knew going in that this book would be a disappointment; therefore, my expectations were appropriately low. Anyone who feels the need to read this book, I would advise going in with the same mindset: low, low, LOW expectations. Enjoy the gems you get and be patient when the ridiculata is too much.The most telling thing about this book was my being three pages from the end, getting interrupted, and not giving a crap about putting the book down instead of finishing it first. If I'm really into the book, the closer I am to the end, the harder it is to pry the book out of my hands. I get really, really grumpy when I'm SO CLOSE to the end and have to put the book aside. This is when my husband fears me the most.The fact that I didn't care about putting this one aside says volumes about the quality of the book. And that's a shame, it truly is. Because Santa Olivia was so wonderful. When I finished it, I couldn't wait for the sequel. Now I wish Carey had never written it, because I could've lived with Santa Olivia's ending. Saints Astray is really just 356 ways of saying "And they all lived happily ever after. With sunshine and rainbows and unicorns!"So if you want to read this, just know what you're getting into. I did, and I'm glad I did. I'm still disappointed, but not bitterly so. I enjoyed myself to a point, but I would've much rather been reading something else. Something better. Maybe something different of Carey's. I haven't sworn her off by a long shot, because I still need to complete the original Kushiel trilogy. Here's hoping that, at least, lives up to expectations!Spoilers, yay or nay?: Yay. Although, when it comes to something like this, you're not spoiling anything at all, because it pretty much ends like you think it will. This book holds no surprises, but if you really, really want to remain spoiler-free, then do not read the full review. For the rest of you, the full review is in my blog, which is linked below. As always, comments and discussion are most welcome.REVIEW: Jacqueline Carey's SAINTS ASTRAYHappy Reading!

[rivkat_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I think Carey’s parody of Tolkien is the best thing since sliced elves, and I bounced so hard off of her Kushiel series I think I left a mark. I basically liked the first book about Loup Garron, the genetically modified supergirl fighting for her people in a military outpost isolated from the rest of the US by fear and martial law. This sequel is fundamentally an extended wish-fulfillment sequence in which Loup and her true love Pilar get nice clothes, receive weapons training and other education, make friends, get lots of people to love them, and otherwise save the day. If you really loved Loup and/or Pilar, this book would be fun; otherwise it’s basically meh. Note: while I still consider this YA, they have a lot of not-at-all-graphically described sex (though they spend even more time saying “I love you, baby” back and forth).