The Host: A Novel (Hardcover)
The Host: A Novel (Hardcover)
The Host: A Novel (Hardcover) Reviews
It’s been years since parasitic aliens calling themselves “Souls” have invaded Earth and taken over. Once a “Soul” is placed in a human host, the alien takes over and suppresses the human’s mind. But when Wanderer awakes in her new body, she finds that her human host isn’t so easily overcome. Melanie, her younger brother, and the man that she loves have been in hiding; and she’ll do anything to get back to them, even resist the alien parasite that has taken over her body.
The parasitic “Souls” are easy to dislike at first. But Meyer has given the alien race such a rich and colorful backstory that is truly fascinating. And Wanderer is a unique “Soul” who soon finds herself caring for the same people as her host, and finding herself torn between ties to her own people and the humans.
It’s been a long time since I’ve read such a stirring, science fiction tale that has made me go through so many emotions. The Host is a deep and beautiful story, and very different from Meyer’s popular, young adult series. This is a rare story that made me stop and think about the choices that are made and what I would do in their place. Intense, exciting, dramatic, and inspiring, I’d highly recommend this novel to any reader, not only science fiction fans.
In the future Earth has been taken over by a unique alien species. The infiltration was slow and undetected until it was too late. Now these aliens, known as Souls, live inside human bodies, which act as hosts for the invading parasites. Usually when a Soul is placed in a new host it is able to take full control of the body, pushing aside any remnant of the human consciousness that once lived inside.
After a Soul named Wanderer is inserted into her new host she soon realizes something isn’t right. It seems the human who once inhabited this body refuses to give in and die. Melanie Stryder wants no part of Wanderer and is doing everything she can to fight back. Even though Wanderer controls the body, nothing she does is able to quench Melanie’s spirit. She is always there, in her head, so to speak.
As time goes by Melanie’s memories become Wanderer’s and soon she finds herself longing for the people that meant so much to her host. Melanie left behind her brother and the man she loves, and now Wanderer has developed those same feelings. Soon Wanderer and Melanie begin working together to track down Melanie’s loved ones, all the while being careful that they don’t lead the other Souls to the humans who are in hiding. When they finally do find them, they must figure out a way to live peacefully with a group of humans who have grown to hate Souls. Emotions flare and relationships are tested in agonizing ways as two lives must share one body and as enemies must learn to co-exist and survive.
Stephenie Meyer has taken the publishing world by storm with her groundbreaking young adult Twilight series. The Host is her first stand alone adult novel and millions of readers are anxiously waiting to see how it stacks up. Having never read any of the Twilight books, I didn’t know what to expect from a Stephenie Meyer novel. What I found was a fascinating story that is really unlike anything I have ever read.
While this story certainly has sci-fi elements, it is not what most would consider hard-core sci-fi. Meyer focuses more on the relationships of the characters and the intriguing dilemma of two lives sharing one body. Much of the book deals with Melanie and Wanda’s complicated love triangle with Melanie’s old flame and Wanda’s new love interest. There is action and suspense laced throughout, and Wanda’s relationship with the surviving humans is tension filled to the max. The novel’s real strength lies in the character of Wanda as she is constantly pulled between her duty as a Soul and the compassion she develops from her connection with Melanie and the other humans. Indeed, Wanda is the most human character of them all.
Meyer’s writing is top-notch throughout and never lags despite the massive page count. Readers who expect a fast paced storyline wrapped up in a mere 100,000 words may be disappointed. However, those who enjoy a steady paced tale that slowly builds into a powerful and emotional ending will love The Host. In the end we are left with just the right amount of closure, but also with a little taste of what is to come. I can only hope Stephenie Meyer will continue this incredible saga she has begun.
No Stephanie Meyers books seems complete without a few things; A beautiful heroine, a moderately (to very) controlling male lead, and a martyr. On those counts ‘The Host’ doesn’t disappoint. Set in a world invaded by aliens, our heroine ‘Wanderer’ finds herself in an odd predicament, the original owner of her body just wont leave! So here comes 400 pages of inner monologue. Seriously the book was MUCH longer than it needed to be. Kind of like the roaming in the woods part of HP 7. I don’t know about you but 600+ pages of a book with very little action got to me. Also, much like the ‘twilight’ series the climax happened not with a bang, but a whimper.
It’s not a bad book. It does have it’s touching moments. Obviously it was good enough for me to get through the whole thing. The last book I read that was that long was Deathly Hollows. It just seemed to take a very long time to get to the exciting parts. I found myself skimming whole sections where ‘Wanda’ (I found it very hard to take her seriously with that name) fought with the inner trappings of being human. The sad part was that even the exciting parts weren’t all that exciting. There never seemed to be any big threat. No real antagonist. Everything just seemed far to easy. Maybe she’s setting it up for sequels, maybe not, I don’t know. It left me feeling very unsatisfied in the end. Like eating a salad when you really want a big mac.
In the end, Stephanie Meyers has become literary crack to me. I know it’s bad, and I KNOW I should just walk away,but I keep coming back.
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