The Host: A Novel

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.

Just like Twilight is a vampire story for people who don't like vampire stories, The Host is a sci-fi novel for people who don't like sci-fi. Ultimately, this is a very human story about love, friendship, loyalty and family. It's moving and unique.

Truthfully, I wasn't expecting to like it much. I read the excerpt available on Stephenie's website a few months ago and wasn't overly impressed, but because it's SM and I'm a big fan of the Twilight series I decided to give it a shot. I'm so glad I did! I found the storyline compelling and fascinating from the outset - unlike other readers, I did not find the beginning slow at all (or any part). I thought the entire novel flowed very smoothly. I enjoy quieter moments in stories because those are often when you really get to know the characters and it makes the action sequences more meaningful. Once again, SM has created characters we can relate to and care about.

I've read some of the negative reviews and all I can say is that everyone has different taste. I didn't find this story lacking in any way - it's very different from Twilight but in my opinion just as good. In fact, thematically, I think it's better. We have a much stronger herione this time and get to explore a friendship between two women (Melanie/Wanderer). And while Wanderer is peaceful and self-sacrificing, no one could argue that she isn't a very strong herione who chooses to do things because they are right and ethical. For those who thought Bella was such a rotten roll model, Wanderer should make them happy. Even though this is considered an adult book, it's perfectly suitable for teens.

I'd say this is Stephenie in her best form. The entire novel from start to finish is well written, though provoking and weaves complex emotions into a fascinating storyline. She has proven herself to be an excellent storyteller (much like Wanderer). Bravo, SM!

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.

If I could give this a three and a half stars, I would. But seeing as though I cannot, three (in this case) is better than four.

Like most people who read this book, I liked the Twilight series and decided to give this a read just for curiosity's sake. And I was so glad I decided to get this from the library rather than buying it.

I'll begin with the positives.

The idea of this book--alien "souls" who travels from planet to planet, parasitically taking over the inhabitant species and learning about their ways of life that way is pretty interesting. Meyer did a good job concocting alien species that didn't sound too run-of-the-mill sci-fi; likewise, for the people who dislike sci-fi, they weren't too overwhelmingly "Spock".
I also loved the personalities of some of the characters. Melanie, the human who's body is being controlled by Wanderer was very fun to read just because she was the most noticeable of the cast, and didn't really have a counterpart character from the Twilight series.
The ending of this novel was very touching as well. Probably the best part of the whole book, and thus the only reason I managed not to hate the story after reading it.


That being said, now the negatives, which are unfortunately greater in number.

First off (as many people have stated), the book takes much too long to get interesting. I struggled through the first half, persevering only because I knew that Twilight had started the same way. But Twilight got interesting thirty-something pages in, while The Host took much longer than that.
Second, Wanderer! Oh my goodness. She wouldn't have been too much of a problem if I had never read the Twilight series, but all while I was reading, I hardly noticed any differences between her and Twilight's Bella. The two are almost identical in personalities, it's frightening. They're both martyrs, soft-spoken, stubborn, obsessively in love with a man they have hardly any experience with, slightly masochistic and emotional. It might be because Meyer had written this book while she still had Bella on the brain, but that's hardly an excuse to create a near carbon copy of her character. Bella's sarcastic humor in Twilight/New Moon/Eclipse was one thing that saved her from being overwhelmingly annoying, and since Wanderer lacked that characteristic, that's exactly what she becomes after awhile.
And she isn't the only one. Aside from Melanie (and Jared in some aspects), a lot of the characters can be found lurking somewhere in the pages of the Twilight series, tweaked just a tiny bit. Even minor characters like Sharon and her mother reminded me greatly of Lauren from Twilight in the sense of their role only as the jealous/angry character who despise the protagonist, even though she's a good person who obviously does not deserve her rage.
Likewise relating back to Meyer's first book was the romance between the main couple (Wanderer/Melanie/Jared). This novel was pegged as one intended for adults, but partly due to Meyer's religious beliefs, it honestly reads about as "adult" as Twilight. The only difference I noticed was in the description of the more romantic scenes between the characters; a lot more adjectives revolving around "fire" and "burning" than you'd find in Twilight or Eclipse.

Overall, this book is a good read if you have nothing else pressing to do. But the lack of original characterization, a plotline that isn't nearly as engaging as it could have been, and the (very) frustrating beginning and obvious plot twists make it into a story that's good for one read and nothing more.

Here's to hoping that Meyer's future books can give us something a little more.