The Host: A Novel
by Stephenie Meyer
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Book Reviews of The Host: A Novel
Book Review: Meyer is not just stuck in a vamp fantasy world...welcome to sci-fi!
Summary: 4 Stars
I was a late blooming Stephanie Meyer fan. Yet, it started, like most of my other YA author obsessions with a friend who's 12 year old wanted to read the books. "Rach, you read, right?" (I love that line) "Have you read this Twilight series? Its supposedly got all the kids in Melanie's class going nutty, but I don't want to get it for her if I don't know what its about. Something about vampires." The first thing that came to mind was, "pick up the book and read it yourself!" Yet, vampires, excited twelve years olds... hey it sounded like my cup of tea. So, I tore through the first novel gave my thumbs up to the illiterate mommy and quickly succumbed to the world of Twilight. Now my co-workers look at me a little strange - even though you know they read those books too!
When the Host was released the cover was intimidating. I knew Meyer was a good writer, but I wasn't that impressed with her prose to think she could pull away from the vamps and venture into something as deep as what the summary of the book was touting. Meyer's characters are what make her book, their emotional reactions and their unique perspectives of their environment. The vampire world she created, while having a few different takes on the usual fiction was nothing new. The world of The Host was out of the fantasy and deep into the sci-fi and it takes talent to paint the picture well. This explains why it took me picking the novel up 5 or 6 times, reading the jacket - then putting it back down, for me to actually buy the book. Then once I bought it, I let it sit on my coffee table for nearly a month. I was intimidated. I was intimidated by the concept - hated the Body Snatchers movie, and I was scared that it was going to really really bad and my respect for the author would go out the window.
But then I started reading. I couldn't put the book down. The story is in regards to a human called Melanie Stryder. Melanie lives in a world that has been peacefully invaded by a parasitic alien race. Melanie is what the aliens call a "wild" human, and the last thing Melanie wanted was to become a new home for an alien parasite. To Melanie's unfortunate, that is exactly what she becomes, following a very violent "death" that includes her falling/throwing herself down an elevator shaft.
Melanie's body is repaired and the alien Wanderer is inserted into Melanie's body. So begins the symbiotic relationship of Melanie and Wanderer. Most humans fade from existence when the aliens are inserted into their bodies, but Melanie, being strong willed and stubborn refuses to leave. She is violent, noxious and determined to not succumb to Wanderer. Wanderer herself is a strong creature, but she was inserted specifically in Melanie's body because they think she will be able to infiltrate the human resistance. Melanie desperately wants to protect the other wild humans she left behind so she refuses to let go and give up her memories. Melanie's love for her brother Jamie and a man named Jared are so strong that through dreams and shared memories, Wanderer finds herself yearning for the two humans. Wanderer is so taken aback by these strong emotions that she literally throws everything she has ever known away and sets off in a journey to find these humans and discover what love is really all about.
The first part of this book is a very drawn out inner dialog. Wanderer is confused by her feelings and even more thrown off by Melanie herself. She questions everything around her and even her sanity as she struggles with first trying to get rid of Melanie and then finally accepting that Melanie has become a part of her. The story is a multi-leveled love story, the first part is the friend/hate relationship that forms between the parasite and the human. Then as memories are shared, the brotherly love for Jamie and then the love affair with Jared.
When Melanie/Wanderer is finally reunited with Jared and Jamie, you don't know if you should cheer or cry, the relationships are so complex. There is no definitive line of who is right and who is wrong. At first you are excited about the reunion but then as the humans reactions to Wanderer become hostile and scary you don't know who to side with.
As the story emerged the complexity of the situation deepened, the true good of Wanderer becomes evident and reveals the true nature of what it really means to be "human". New relationships form and Wanderer discovers who she is now that she is part Melanie and part "Wanda". There has been some questioning on the relationship part of the story, most people think that it is hard to believe that a love relationship could form between a human and the alien, but really in life anything can happen. If people can fall in love over the internet, with a picture and pretty words, a human can most likely fall in love with a parasite dressed up in human's skin. Wanderer is shown as a very gentle soul, and her eagerness to help the humans and become like them draws the others to her. Its actually very moving, showing that we can surpass our differences and learn to love people/things that we really thought we hated, if we just took the time to learn about them.
During this very long novel you are kept at the edge of your seat. There is always underlying tension, whether emotional or violent. I really began to care about what happened to both Melanie and Wanderer. Even the supporting characters became larger than life. The character interaction is well done. There are no explicit or implied sex scenes so this book is also safe for teens. There are a few moments of kissing and lustfulness, but nothing graphic or overdone. The ending was well done and I almost sighed in relief when I finished the last sentence. The epilogue also implied that there could be a sequel, or at least other novels set in the world, Meyer created.
Overall the book was well done, nothing profound, but very very entertaining. There were a few threads that weren't followed through on, and some character reactions were very unbelievable. Wanderer was sometimes frustrating in her naïveté and how she was always trying to sacrifice herself. The Seeker - Wanderer's antagonist was a little unbelievable also, I would think that her behavior would have been noticed in her position, but it did set in motion Wanderer's escape into the human world. Nothing to turn me off from the novel though. Over all, cheers for Ms. Meyer and I hope this shows that she has a lot more in her to impart on this world, aside from those pesky and sexy vamps which we love her for. I give this novel 4 glasses.
Book Review: A True Masterpeice of Literature (A+ Grade)
Summary: 5 Stars
Classic, is a word I don't use too often when I talk about books. Only a select few can be given that term. In my case I have one such book that I compare all others to. If any book I read can come close to my number one cherished book of all time, that book will be called a "classic".
Stephenie Meyer is no fluke of author. Forget everything you know about her from her Young Adult vampire series. With The Host, she has written a near masterpiece about the worth of an individual's soul crossed with a spiritual element that most of us find within ourselves. I would not be surprised in the least is this book is taught in schools and is considered as one of the most influential novels of the 21st century.
The Host is a spin on aliens taking over the Earth much like the movie, Invasion of the Body Snatchers. These beings travel from planet to planet to bring peace and well being to the creatures that live there. The aliens do this by inserting their souls in the host bodies and essentially eliminate the original being's soul. From that point the new alien soul lives the life of the host, but tranquil and happy. These invaders have done this on multiple planets and now they have set their sights on Earth. Humans are known as being destructive where they enjoy killing and starting wars. The invaders will take over the humans and make Earth a balanced planet full of peace and joy.
It has been five years since the invasion and most of humanity has been overtaken. A new soul will be inserted into a host. The host was a young girl who rather than be taken alive, tried to kill herself by jumping down an elevator shaft. But the aliens have a higher form of medicine and are able to save the girl's body. The soul they place inside is called Wanderer. Wanderer is a special type of soul because she has lived on more than six other planets. Wanderer has been a flower, bear, sea weed and even a dragon. Yes, there are many other life forms in this huge universe and Wanderer was lucky enough to see and be many things. When Wanderer awakens, she (and you will come to see why she is female) is very much out of sorts. She understands she would know the memories and feelings of her host body but something is so very wrong. In the past when a new alien soul takes over a host, the host's original soul is thought to have been erased. But this is not the case with Wanderer. Her host body, which was once Melanie Stryder talks to her in her mind and won't give up without a fight. Wander controls her body, but Melanie is like a ghost in her head and won't leave her alone.
Wanderer is a very kind and essentially peaceful being. But with Melanie, Wander can't stand her. Wanderer just wants to live a simple life as a human till she grows old and can move onto her next life cycle. But Melanie wants out and because Wanderer feels the same things as Melanie does and experiences the same memories, she and Melanie decide to go on a journey. Melanie wants Wanderer to find her people, meaning her younger brother Jamie and Jared, the young man who helps Melanie and Jamie survive from the aliens. Also, Melanie is in love with Jared and needs to get back to him. Since Wanderer is being pulled much like Melanie is into finding her family, Wanderer will go out and search for these humans even though it is very dangerous and she could be killed by them.
Wanderer will travel from Chicago, Illinois to the deserts of Arizona where he Uncle Jeb may be hiding out and here Jamie and Jared have gone to. Melanie had originally come alone to Chicago to find her cousin Sharon and that is where her life has ended. Wanderer treks through the desert and comes close to death until she is found, and by Jeb. There Wanderer's life is on the line. Jeb doesn't kill her right away but brings her to his "house" where he lives in some man made cave, very intricate ones where other humans are living and hiding out. That is where Wanderer and Melanie find Jared, Jamie and other humans who want her blood. She is the enemy and must be killed because they believe she may have brought the seekers (the alien police who round up the humans) to their hiding place. Jeb won't put Wanderer out of her misery but leaves that decision in the hands of Jared.
From that moment on, Wanderer is caged much like an animal or some could say a possible terrorist. The group of humans want her gone and it all comes down to Jared. Why Jared? Melanie belongs to him as he belonged to her. He alone holds her life in his hands. But there is one who doesn't want to see Wanderer hurt and that is Jamie. Jamie believes Melanie is inside, still and will not allow any body to harm his sister, even if it is only her body that remains.
As things progress between Wanderer, or as Jamie names her, Wanda, she and some of the humans has a tentative truce. Jeb does his best to assimilate her into their clan, but always with and eye and a gun point at her. There are Kyle and Ian, brothers who have very different distinct feels for Wanda. There is Doc who is the only doctor they rely on. There is Sharon, Melanie's cousin who was safe all along and her mother Maggie and Melanie's aunt. This group initially thinks of Wanda as an "it" but as time goes on "it" because a she to them. By Wanda speaking of her past lives, she becomes more human to them. And that is where Wanda's beliefs and ideals change. She is becoming more human everyday and even thought Melanie is so very much alive in her head, speaking to her, Wanda has become her own person. Whereas she has feelings for Jared because Melanie did, she has new feelings for Ian who returns them. And Jamie is the key to both Melanie and Wanda's humanity.
But the outside world is still overtaken by Wanda's people and the seekers are looking for her and the humans still in hiding. She must make a decision to stay within the body she was given or let Melanie come back. And if Wanda does leave, whose lives does she change forever?
At over 600 pages, The Host raises so many ethical and moral questions about the importance of a life and human nature. These questions are asked about Wanderer and her sacrifice for the greater good. But is the greater good served by eradicating a race of beings just because another set of beings believes it is right?
This is one of the many situations that arise that will keep you on the edge of your seat, turning page after page as you try to find out what will happen to Wanda and her new founds friends that were once her enemies. Some will remain enemies, while others cross that line into love.
Katiebabs
Book Review: Not what I was expecting...
Summary: 2 Stars
I bought this book based on the blurb printed on the book jacket; I was unfamiliar with both the author and her earlier works.
While the book is certainly readable, when I closed the cover after having finished it, I knew that I would never open this book again -- something that rarely happens with me.
[Spoilers below]
I have four issues with the book:
First, while the book features an interesting science fiction framework, the storyline is primarily that of a conventional romance novel, much like those of the later works in Jean Auel's "Earth's Children" series. As I bought this book because of the science fiction story elements on the jacket blurb, this was rather disappointing to me.
Second, the story itself is not particularly interesting. The main character(s) and the plot do get off to an interesting start but once the story arrives at the cave, it dies there. The characters at the cave are 1-dimensional, and the author narrows the focus of the story down to that of a formula romance novel.
Third, the worst sin of all in this book is that the characters manage to be both unrealistic and unbelievable. The female characters are as passive as potted plants (and, in part of the book, one even is a plant!). The women in this work are caring people, but outside of care-giving the only action that they are seemingly capable of initiating is to run away. The main human character is running away at the start of the novel, is taken over by an alien 'host' who has been running from planet to planet for centuries, and when she is confronted by a human mind that refuses to go quietly into the night, she runs away from authority, only to stop part way and - surprise! - runs away for a new reason to the caves where the plot eventually grinds to a stop, seemingly exhausted from all that running.
Did I say the females are passive? Here are some examples: Seriously beaten during a murder attempt? Save the man's life and then stoically endure your injuries but don't complain, even when your assailant is released unpunished. Threatened with death? Shut your mouth, don't lift a finger and literally crawl into a hole. Stay there for days until someone pulls you out and makes a case for saving you. Lost in the desert and your dominant half is wasting the water? Shut your mouth and don't complain, despite the fact that both of you will probably die of thirst. Evil alien masquerading as a human in your midst? Glare at her every time you see her and give her the silent treatment (shades of junior high). Catch someone making a bloody mess killing aliens and their human hosts along with them? Scream and run away... I don't know about the girls and women in *your* life, but my girls and the women in my life would never have let any of those things happen without one helluva fight.
However, there was one female character who was not passive --a driven and intense young woman in alien law-enforcement. Predictably this young lady gets stereotyped as a witch and is written as a thoroughly unlikable woman. So much for a woman having a career in Ms Meyer's world...
Even the male-female relationships in the book feature passive females, often because the male partner is significantly older of the two, while the female partner is an inexperienced teenager - a little kinky, that.
And there's the matter of a group of young men and women living in a cave with nothing much to do... You think there might be some 'hanky-panky' going on? You thought wrong. The cave is seemingly inhabited by -- for all intents and purposes -- chaste monks and nuns.
The male characters themselves are one dimensional. While the men have to initiate everything they rarely initiate anything at all, nor are they particularly interesting. What did they do before the invasion? Nothing, apparently. What are they doing about the invasion? Nothing. What are their interests? None that were ever mentioned. What do they do for fun? Very little -- they play soccer by candlelight sometimes. What is their mental state considering the invasion, seeing the whole world lost to the aliens, the minds and personalities of their family, friends and loved ones taken over by aliens, plus being hunted by the aliens and having to live under a rock for years? In this story, they all seem to be doing just fine... I came to the conclusion that the most alien creatures in the book were the supposedly 'normal' people living in the cave.
One of the few actions the men did was astonishing. When things were starting to not look so black, they risked everything -- twice -- by undertaking the fantastically risky act of raiding alien-run towns to get... young women. Groan. Considering that two (unwelcome) kisses were the extent of any physical relationships in the entire book, it surprised me no end to think that this would be the first thing on the guys' minds...
Fourth, they resolution of the various characters and plot lines of the book were telegraphed early on. Before I was halfway through the book, I knew how it was going to end. I plowed through the rest, just to make sure that things were going to end the way I thought they would... and they did. Sigh.
I guess, after I got through the book, I realized that I 'bought' none of it. While I'm not a huge fan of formula romance, I will read it if the payoff in plot and characters is there at the end. Unfortunately, in this book, despite a promising beginning, the plot eventually crawled under a rock and took the unrealistic and forgettable cut-out characters along with it.
Morality watch:
Obscenity: None
Sex: None
Violence: Lots - Murder, suicide, attempted murder, beatings. A few pretty bloody scenes. Lots of violence against women - which is seemingly condoned.
Other: Kidnapping - resulting in murder & suicide in one case, kidnapping with intent to have sex/rape (depending on your definition) in others.
I have to say I'm uncomfortable with the morality espoused in this book. However I understand that many others will disagree with me. I've seen people ask if this book is suitable for pre-teens. I would definitely say no.
If you're a fan of Ms Meyer's other books you will probably enjoy this one. If you like romance novels, you will probably like this one. If you like science fiction, but have not read any other books by this author and are not a romance-novel addict, you should probably skip this one...
Book Review: 23 y/o Male with Mixed Feelings
Summary: 3 Stars
In General:
I liked it. I read it rather quickly. The WHOLE book wasn't compelling but there were many PARTS that were SO HARD to stop reading when say, I had a chem exam to study for...AHHH! I mean it, there were parts that made you just NEED to keep going. The beginning is slow and boring compared to the rest of the book. BUT, you don't realize that until after you get passed it. It isn't one of those books that's hard to get into. The Host, like Twilight, is EXTREMELY predictable, and shamefully convenient...but you won't care, just like you didn't care with Twilight.
In Relation to Twilight Series:
I read them all. Loved twilight, HATED New Moon (and how important she made Jacob), ENJOYED Eclipse and WORRIED my way through Breaking Dawn (worried she'd ruin what I believed to be important about the story), but loved it. Okay, enough about cheesy, enjoyable twilight saga...The Host...It was easier to read because I cared less about the characters. I know that sounds strange but, it was so much less angst-y than Twilight and thus I wasn't always worried that some twist would come that ruined the story for me. I didn't really care what happened but was quite entertained by it. Until the end of the book, I am quite happy with the narrator perspective and I don't hate Ian the way I HATE HATE HATED Jacob and his "importance" to the Twilight story. Relaxed read...could just sit back and enjoy.
In Relation to Stephenie:
For someone who has read and pretty much loved everything she has written as a whole, I actually extremely DISLIKE the author personally. What I mean is, I don't know her...I know NOTHING about her character...I just mean that the bit of voice and agenda of hers that leaks into the books drives me absolutely INSANE. I am not bound by the strictness of religion but the "passion" and "romance" that Stephenie writes reminds me (fondly) of the way I felt as I was a middle school kid "making out" for the first time. This was appropriate for Twilight as a young adult book, but The Host wasn't much better. This wouldn't bother me if not for the effort she puts into trying to MAKE them passionate and romantic. It's reminiscent of personal experiences with love but ineffectual in actually achieving "heart-wrenching" status. I feel like the reasons for this are two-fold. I get a sense of "shyness" (for lack of a better word) from this author and certain aspects of her writing strikes me as underhandedly "preachy"...I feel like she writes a story, then edits it so that it makes up our minds for us. I'd prefer she wrote characters with flaws and then let us decide whether or not they were flawed. I don't know the appropriateness of a young adult male sexually interacting with a 17 y/o girl in a post-invasion society...but she sure as hell doesn't let me think about it for myself...she instills this unrealistic morality in every one of her male characters. So now I sound like a douche right? Well, I pride myself on being a nice guy (WHO DOESN'T INTERACT WITH UNDERAGE GIRLS) but almost every beer-drinking (I prefer rum and pepsi), butt-slapping frat guy that I've come across is a douche and I think it's unrealistic that all of her males are so perfect (Kyle is perfect too, don't kid yourselves). I feel like I'm reading a story of complaint sometimes. Her characters complain about mundane little aspects of life that exist to be stressed about nowhere but in their (or Stephies) own head. The temper tantrum about Midnight Sun really put me off about Meyer. Bad things happen sometimes, and some people are greedy and selfish, but you have to not let that stuff bother you. Don't huff and puff and not finish a book that your readers would LOVE simply because you're mad at someone who is clearly unethical and not your target audience anyway. It's a bit dramatic if you ask me. Last bit... homage to Breaking Dawn... yes Stephie, we know a childs life is valuable but couldn't you write a book that didn't scream your thoughts on abortion at us? Or better yet, one that didn't transform the entire character of Rosalie into nothing more than a pawn of your personal beliefs? I'm pro-NEVER PUT YOURSELF IN A PLACE WHERE YOU HAVE TO MAKE THAT CHOICE but I wouldn't shove that down other peoples throats.
BEFORE YOU GET MAD, let me say this. Stephenie Meyer and all the people I pissed off, i'll end this bit about the author with this...it's her book, so she can do whatever the hell she likes, these are just aspects that annoyed me personally. I am not calling for a change or trying to criticize "mistakes" just stating my experience. And you have the right to be pissed at me for it ;)
Overall:
I loved the Twilight Saga (and the movie was entertaining, if rushed and not very good, but still...saw it 4 times...$45... so what the heck do I know right?) and The Host was great for it's own reasons. It's no more adult than Twilight (less so if you've gotten to Breaking Dawn *wink*) but it's entertaining. It turns pages. It grips you at moments. It's nearly addictive at spots. You don't HATE anyone...you don't LOVE anyone..you are simply entertained. I like the premise better than Twilight because it feels like more of an escape in this post-invasion world. In Twilight there are vampires sure, but there are still fender benders, parents, school, and science lab (only fun when you don't have a lab every day of the week). The Host offers more of an escape. It takes you to a place where the world is essence, not ego. There is no room for waste and error and pride, just survive and relate (kindly) to the people around you. Great read!
Book Review: Could Have Been Great...But
Summary: 3 Stars
I've had to cogitate for almost 24 hours before creating a review as my thoughts are very mixed on this book. If there was a way to give precisely 2.5 stars, I would.
SPOILER ALERT
Boiled down into the unacceptable and the good, I can give some short bullets:
Unacceptable -
1) This heroine, like all her heroines, is a masochistic, weak, abuse seeking, surrendered female to an all powerful and horrifically mysogonistic male or males.
2) Her word choice is exceptionally limited, particularly for a novel meant for adults, and is rated at a 4th grade reading level with telling results in how the book reads.
3) She completely overlooked major elements that would have moved the story in deeper directions, almost to the point of fury for a reader. It looks suspiciously like the bread crumb dropping usually done for a series, but without the series to back it up.
4) While I did not know the writer was a full on Mormon from any source, I actually guessed it from reading this book, which has no religion in it. That is bad.
The Good -
1) This twist on the common host/parasitic alien story is a good twist and had a great deal of potential.
2) I like happy endings when parasitic aliens are involved.
3) Her variety in choices for other worlds was interesting and had a lot of potential for expansion.
Now, to get down to the nitty gritty! While the excuse of, "Hey, it's just a story she made up!" may work in one book or even one character of many books it makes a disturbing statement when it becomes a trend with their characters. The fact that all the "good" females in her books follow blindly after men who beat and maim them, who abuse with no warning and who actually accept that it is okay for a person to simply fly off the handle and beat her is disturbing. While a person reading this review might think I mean a simple punching or "normal" abuse, in this book (and somewhat in her Twilight series) we're talking sick stuff. The heroine of this novel spends almost the entire time, right up to the end, doing a lot of "skittering" and pressing herself into walls and never looking up while being ordered about to avoid abuse. And the ones she is doing this for are the heroes. Oh yes, the romantic male leads! It really is sick to read someone going weak in the knees and melting into kisses with someone while the blood from half her face being taken off a moment before by the kisser still runs down her body. Gag me.
Which leads me to the romantic male leads. I see nothing at all romantic about cringing from a person while they hit on you and the males in this book are so one dimensional that it barely registers with them what they do, and it certainly doesn't stop them. It makes them unsympathetic and frankly, killable. I certainly wished most of them would wind up parasite bait.
Many have commented on the repetition in word choice, simplistic dialogue and words and many other faults. But it is far worse than I've seen yet in a book labeled for adult reading. Really.
Now to the potential and good and discussion. The idea of looking at such an invasion from both points of view is a very, very good one. She even had the beginnings of greatness in her concept, but didn't have the skill and clarity to see it through. In this case, the idea that looking at us from the outside, it seems taking our lives and living them better than we would is a logical choice. Their experience up to that point with other "sentient" species is described as really not truly sentient at all and therefore, not very resistant. Why would they expect different and how could they even recognize before the damage was done that it was in any way different? Sort of like us asking cows how they feel about us eating so much beef, if you get my drift. We wouldn't expect an answer no matter how personally horrifying the question because we assume they can't understand.
Some things do creep in that give me pause in believing Wanda, this masochistic heroine, in her assertions. For example, in one of her 8 lives before Earth, she went to place where sentient trees live under water. Two forests of them existed, one at each pole. There, one forest realized what was happening as it happened to the other forest and chose to commit mass suicide rather than become empty hosts. In effect, there is no way that these ever-so-smart and utterly pacifist and incapable-of-violence beings could possibly have continued on to yet more planets, including Earth, and do the same thing knowing the implications. This incident and many others, like the fact that each being fights to not become a host to them, isn't a clue so much as a sledgehammer making all pretense of ignorance unbelievable.
There is certainly more to review and parcel out and discuss at length, but I've had my say for now. This book is, if nothing else, a terrible example for young women, who are the target audience no matter the marketing. It is frustrating for sci-fi readers, horrifying to a thinking woman, embarassing for a thinking man and overly simplistic for intelligent readers of any persuasion.