The Host: A Novel
by Stephenie Meyer
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Book Reviews of The Host: A Novel
Book Review: Searing Suspense
Summary: 5 Stars
2008 has most certainly been Stephenie Meyer's year. Author of the wildly popular young adult "Twilight" series (the first of which was published in 2005), her books have sold over three million copies in the US alone with one adapted to film (Twilight) and another (New Moon) in pre-production. "The Host", Meyer's first adult fiction novel, debuted at #1 on the New York Times Best Seller list in May and has remained on that list for a whopping 30 weeks thus far. Suffusing nail-biting tension with morality, love and courage, it is a strikingly suspenseful novel that puts all of the Twilight books to shame.
"The Host" begins some time in the far distant future and the human race has become almost altogether extinct. Alien beings called Souls have overrun the planet Earth as well as other civilizations in far distant galaxies, their species prolific and dangerously intelligent. Entwining their silvery centipede-like forms within the spine and brain of human bodies, the Souls rob people of their free will and replace it with absolute conformity, actions they view as a necessary purgation of Earth's most volatile inhabitants. Virtually ridding disease and pain with technologically advanced medicines and eradicating crime with their pacifistic conduct, Souls have made the human race ideal but at the cost of a higher consciousness they will never know nor understand.
Melanie Stryder is one of the few "wild" humans left, a woman barely out of her teens who has escaped death-by-body-snatching time and time again in the course of her short life. When she is fatefully caught one day by Seekers (a particular type of Soul), Melanie awakens to find her consciousness intact but her body ruled by a Soul called Wanderer and their two minds are at war with another from the very beginning. Melanie purposely overwhelms Wanderer with vivid memories and in the process reveals a yearning for a man named Jared, an amalgam of emotions that Wanderer finds hard to control or deny. Though Melanie tries desperately to hide information that could lead the Seekers to other surviving humans, Wanderer manages to extract a few clues and ends up in a literal and figurative human underground run by Jeb, Melanie's uncle. Despite her familiar face, the silvery reflection within her irises (depicted on the book's cover art) gives away her true identity and every refugee within Jeb's camp is intent upon her death lest she escape and expose their hideout. Certain she will die, the compassion of Jeb and Jamie saves her and Melanie's intense feelings towards her family steers Wanderer's moral compass, compelling her to fight for what she loves despite her betrayal to her governing species.
Meyer does a superb job this time `round with characterization, her characters wholly evolving along with the story line. Everyone's personal growth is distinctly depicted - Wanderer, in trying to understand humans, becomes more human herself and Melanie gains a greater sympathy for Wanderer's plight despite being a prisoner inside her own body. Characters such as Kyle and Jared curb their animosity in favor of compassion when Wanderer demonstrates an unanticipated protectiveness of their small band as well as giving them hope for the human race itself with her "secret". Ian and Doc are the most humane of the group and demonstrate the highest sense of decency and preservation. Some characters remain stubbornly antagonistic but then this is part of the package, an all-around analysis that only skims the surface of human nature.
The description of the sentient Souls is quite interesting and the way in which they take control of their hosts reminds one of many stories/films similar to this premise, the most obvious being "Invasion of the Body Snatchers". The book even throws in a nice love quadrangle between Melanie/Wanderer, Ian and Jared, proving most odd and fascinating given each entity's feelings towards the different men.
In conclusion, Meyer gives the reader a happy ending and a sense of hope for her characters' futures. It also leaves a perfect opening for any sequels and Meyer has already mentioned that she is working on a follow-up that will be appropriately titled "The Soul", as well as a possible third book she would like to call "The Seeker". Though these books aren't sure things just yet, there is one certainty - if "The Host" does spawn a series (and it's looking that way), it will be every bit as popular as the Twilight Saga.
Bottom line: Readers who were soured on the Twilight series will be recompensed if they take a chance on "The Host", a novel that truly demonstrates Meyer's skill as a suspense writer. I eagerly anticipate the possibility of a sequel and I will be one of the first in line to purchase a copy when it hits bookshelves (and the New York Times Best Seller list, no doubt) sometime in the next year or two.
Book Review: The Best Book I've Read in a While
Summary: 5 Stars
THE HOST was truly one of the best novels I've read in my life.
I'm a moderate fan of Stephenie Meyer, meaning that I like some of her Twilight books, but only barely - they're a silly guilty pleasure. I picked up THE HOST expecting yet another thoughtless read to snuggle up with and giggle at, but I certainly wasn't expecting anything spectacular. I thought the protagonist would be a Bella Swan remake in a futuristic universe. I was not expecting Wanderer, or Melanie Stryder, the two strongest, most intriguing and spellbinding characters that Meyer has ever created.
Earth has been invaded by Souls - strange, kind-hearted aliens who had taken over dozens of planets, each one different and unique. They live in an impossible utopia which used to be our planet, taking our human bodies as their hosts so they can survive. Nearly all of the human species had been subjectified to the invasion of the souls.
But some have not, and Wanderer, an experienced soul that had earned respect through living in eight different planets, is inserted into the body of Melanie Stryder, a ferocious human with a life she has left behind that she will not abandon. Wanderer is shocked and frightened when Melanie sticks in her head, speaking with her and showing her memories she does not want to see. Those memories are that of her life before being caught by the souls, of Jared, a man she had loved, and of Jamie, her beloved younger brother. As Wanderer grows to know them as much as Melanie does, she grows to love them as well, and decides to go on a journey beyond the comfort of her home in the midst of her species, into the unwelcoming hands of a human rebel group. As time goes by, Wanda grows closer and closer to Melanie, and to her new unwilling human allies.
THE HOST is an astonishing tale woven with such great skill that it is literally impossible to put it down. The story is so well paced that the reader actually feels like he has been sucked into this crazy world, where humans live underground in secluded caves, and feels for the unlikely pair - a soul, shoved into a human community that despises her, and a human, trapped in her body with someone she could only consider an enemy. The story is complex, intriguing and thrilling, to the point of breaking a sweat as you turn the page or having tears well up in your eyes in sympathy or sadness. Stephenie Meyer has greatly surprised me with this incredible novel, which is much, MUCH better than her popular Twilight series, and feels like it was written by someone else entirely than the person who wrote of the Mary Sue-ish Bella Swan and her sparkly vampire boyfriend. THE HOST is a story for adults, no doubt, and is devoid of the irritating teenage angst scattered all over the Twilight books. The crucial pain - physical or emotional - Wanda and Melanie experience together is staggering, and the fascinating story of the Souls will keep you up all night in thought. Every page of this spectacular novel is filled with hope and light, intertwined with fear and darkness. I hate myself for not savoring this creation - I read it in less than twenty-four hours for fear of losing the vibe, and I will surely be running for the next installment. I only hope Meyer had fully jumped up from her writing style in the 'Twilight' saga and will not disappoint with THE SOUL... I can't wait to see what further difficulties Wanda and Melanie will have to face.
Oh, and there's plenty of romance as well, for those of you just out of the Twilight phase.
The last thing I will say of this novel is that it was fascinating to read of the human race from a perspective that certainly was NOT human. Somewhere in the book, Wanderer comes across an old newspaper from the time where humans still ruled, and her righteous alien soul is apalled by the crimes and cruelty committed by humans, at which point Melanie tells us that humans first became suspicious when the world started 'cleaning up'. It is difficult to think of ourselves as monsters, but with all this food for thought, we will certainly be contemplating the option. And then there's the other side of the Alien point of view; no other species feels emotion, either scorching anger or piercing love, the way a human does, and no creature is so committed and devoted to their loved ones. This book will keep me thinking for weeks, and babbling to anyone who would listen.
In a nutshell: THE HOST is truly a fantastic novel, worthy of much more appereciation than Twilight and its sequels. No reader, even a reader who does not like science fiction one bit, will be disappointed.
Book Review: There are a Host of reasons to not read this book.
Summary: 2 Stars
I've never been big on sci-fi books but I've occasionally gotten into a few sci-fi movies/shows... I love me some Stargate SG-1 (Daniel Jackson= hot archaeologist... GREAT combo)! A friend was determined that I give this book a chance, so I decided to have a go. This one had two things working against it- (1) I don't do aliens and (2) If you've read my Twilight series reviews, you know how I feel about Stephanie Meyer's writing skill... However I was willing to hope that perhaps she was just bad at writing the Twilight series.
This book, for those who don't know, is essentially about an alien invasion. These aliens, called "souls", come to Earth and fuse themselves to the spines of humans. They then inhabit the human, obtaining all of its memories and essentially taking over the host's life. The human consciousness is suppressed until it essentially disappears. The souls then live out the lifespan of their host and then transfer to another. They do this on a number of planets, not just Earth. The book focuses on a soul named "Wanderer" who is put into the body of a young woman. Typically the transition is easy and the human is immediately suppressed. Instead, this one remains as a very annoying voice in the head of Wanderer and makes life very hard. Along with acquiring memories, a soul also acquires the human's feelings, so it wasn't long before Wanderer wanted to see "her" family as badly as her human host. From there it's just a long line of mishaps and troubles with people wanting to kill her.
There were a few things I enjoyed about the book. It was certainly a different story than my norm, and I'm always happy to try something new. The relationships were more tolerable than those written by Meyer in the Twilight Series. They were more "normal" if you will, in terms of not being over-the-top, mental case levels of attachment. I will admit, by the end of the book, I felt bad for the dilemma the Wanderer suffered from, wanting to remain on Earth with people she had become attached to, but knowing she was an unwelcome guest in a body that wasn't her own. It's one of the only Stephanie Meyer characters I've ever felt for, aside from Jacob Black. There were a few turns of events in the book which kept it interesting, and added some unique perspective (typically with the body-snatcher scenarios you only ever get the crazed aliens who only want to dominate the planet where-as with Wanderer you experience other emotions regarding the whole scenario).
Like the Twilight series, Stephanie Meyers has an unnatural talent for being long-winded. She takes four pages to say what I could write in a paragraph. She becomes overwhelmingly focused on details to the point where you're mentally begging her to move along! She is also painfully repetitive, reiterating facts every three or four chapters that really don't need to be repeated. For example, the "soul" abhors violence. Rather than say it once and hope the reader has the mental capacity to remember, she feels the need to remind us at every unfortunate turn of events that the soul refuses to defend herself because it would be violent. And then you're stuck reading multiple pages of her arguing with the voice in her head about it as though the argument will actually result in any change in personality.
The story lacks originality in my opinion... parasitic aliens who take over the human race. From Invasion of the Body Snatchers to Animorphs, the story line has been played out. I've heard some people say they couldn't put it down, but I'd have to say there was no easier task for me to perform. I was hoping to read the book quickly and return it to the loaner, but it ended up taking me about four weeks to push myself through. As I reached the third week and had only finished half the book, I had to force myself to sit down and read the rest before I saw the friend again.
The book had a very slow start, and the story took too many chapters to develop. Once the story was finally on a roll, it didn't stop. I mean, it would NEVER END. You sit there thinking, "I'm only 2/3 of the way through the book... how much more can she possibly drag this out?!" No one can beat a dead horse like Meyer can!
In the end, I'd have to say the read wasn't worth my time. Stephanie Meyer lacks writing skill above that of many high school kids, and I find it very difficult to enjoy her books. Something about her writing style reminds me of when students have to write term papers and they add in random adjectives and repeat themselves a dozen times in an effort to make their papers longer.
Book Review: More like 3.5 stars...interesting but not exciting
Summary: 3 Stars
This is a very popular and widely reviewed book and opinions about seem to be all over the place. I actually listened to this as an audio book. The quality of the audio book was very good. While I didn't enjoy the book that much, I found it very interesting in parts.
Foremost I have to say that Stephanie Meyer has a very, very distinct writing style. Her writing is a bit meandering and deliberate; and it focuses almost solely on the characters in the book and not on outside events. Her books are very much people books and not event or action books. That being said if you loved the style that the Twilight series was written in then you will probably also love this book. This book is written very much in the same style as that series. If you liked the characters of Twilight, and suffered through the style the books were written in, this is not the book for you.
The book is done from the viewpoint of Wanderer. Wanderer is a Soul (an alien species who has taken over all humanity) who has been placed in the host body of Melanie. There is only one problem, Melanie is still in her body with Wanderer; as such Melanie is caged in Wanderer's head. Melanie was part of a human resistance and the Soul's Seekers (the enforcers of the Soul's society) want Wanderer to try and get information about the rebels from Melanie. Unfortunately Melanie is only concerned about one thing and that is protecting those she loves; specifically a man named Jared and a boy named Jaimie. Melanie begins to drive Wanderer crazy with a need to find out if Jared is okay. Wanderer finally submits and Melanie/Wanderer go wandering through the desert in search of the rebel human faction.
This book, true to the main character's name, wanders a lot. It is slow moving and spends a lot of time dealing with how people feel for one another and how they react to one another. An inordinate amount of time is spend listening to Melanie and Wanderer argue in Wanderer's head; especially in the beginning of the book. Wanderer's tendency towards hysterics when encountered with any, even mild, violence got irritating. I understood the point the author was trying to make, that even though they take over worlds the majority of Souls are not used to any form of violence, but this was driven home so much throughout the story that it got excessive.
The special thing about this story is that it spends a lot of time on the philosophy of humanity. What makes humans, human? How much of what makes us human is linked to our bodies and how much is linked to our minds? What makes humanity unique and special as a species? How does an alien civilization promote themselves as peaceloving yet take over whole worlds of species? As with Twilight, a ton of time is spent dealing on the subject of the strength of love. How much of love is based in body, mind, memories, etc? Meyer continues with the overlying theme that she worked with in the Twilight series; which is love conquers all. I am beginning to wonder if this will be the theme of every book that she writes.
There are also interesting questions in dealing with the society the Souls have set up on Earth; although these are small asides in the story. For example if two Souls in human body have a child and they love that child what will happen? Their society is one based on peace and love; so will the society allow the Souls to keep their child and let it grow up human or will they force the Souls to give up their child so that it can be implanted with a Soul.
I did kind of have to slog through this story. Things moved very slow and very deliberately. Many times I found the characters frustrating. There were some moments that I really loved though. I loved Wanderer's stories about planets where she had previously lived. Although I wondered about the limitation of the planets she had lived on; do we really think humans are that unique as a race? I also loved the descriptions about how the rebel human society lived. The characters made the book, (Wanderer and Melanie were not my favorites) I really liked Jeb and Jaimie though.
Will I read another book if Stephanie Meyer comes out with one in the future? Yeah probably, but if her books continue on preaching the same themes of love conquers all and questions of humanity I might give her up after her next book. The best thing about this book is that it makes you think; the worst is that it is much too long for what it delivers.
Book Review: The Host of Humanity
Summary: 5 Stars
Stephenie Meyer's The Host: A Novel is a fantastic science fiction novel for even those who do not read science fiction. While Meyer creates another world to immerse her characters in, the storyline is believable and captivating. Melanie Stryder, her brother Jamie, and Jared Howe along with all of humanity are thrust into a fight for their way of life and their humanity in Meyer's first attempt at an adult novel. I hope this too becomes a movie someday.
***Spoiler Alert***
Melanie Stryder is a tough go-getter who is caring for her brother while on the run from the Seekers. She meets up with Jared unexpectedly, and they both mistake one another for a soul--or a human possessed by an alien soul. Jared, Jamie, and Melanie end up on the run together, sort of like an instant family in these desperate times. She falls in love with Jared and vice versa. However, once they are separated when Melanie seeks out her cousin Sharon, all hell breaks loose. Melanie is captured and implanted with the Wanderer.
Wanderer struggles to gain full control over Mel, but it becomes a loosing battle for some time. When she finally gets into a routine at her Calling as a teacher at the San Diego university, Wanderer begins to grow uncomfortable with her host and her seeker. The seeker constantly follows her and harasses her about whether she has learned about any other humans that Mel may have been with or hiding. Wandered grows weary of these interrogations and makes an attempt to head east to Tuscon, Ariz., where she will see her Healer, who attached her to Melanie.
On her way through the desert, Wanderer decides its time to pull over, get something to eat, argue with Mel, and then decipher the lines on a map from Mel's memories to find a possible hiding spot for Jared and Jamie. Mel wants to be assured they are alive and to keep her promise to Jamie that she would return. Wanderer is not entirely comfortable with the plan, but succumbs to the urge because she has grown fond of Jared and Jamie through Mel's memories.
Once Wanderer and Melanie enter the cave dwelling of the rebels, they both face serious harm and torture. Jared is angry and frustrated and elated to see Melanie's body, but he is distraught that Wanderer is inside. Ian and Kyle, the brothers, are ready to kill Mel to prevent Wanderer from telling the Seekers where they are. The believe they are the last human rebels on the planet and they want to survive at all costs.
***End Spoiler Alert***
The interplay of the characters at the end of the book in the last 250 pages is infectious. You get caught up in the intrigue and the action. While the action is great, the evolution of the characters is fantastic in this novel. Wanderer remains true to herself and is altruistic to the end, and her anger toward Melanie softens and transforms. Melanie's anger toward her softens and transforms as well; there grows an understanding between the two who share one body. Their friendship grows as does their affection for one another, and this friendship helps turn around the reactions and actions of the other humans in the caves.
Many of the reviews I saw have talked about the love between Jared and Melanie and Wanda and Ian, but I think that this book is more about how many people judge books and people by their covers before they get to know and understand them.
Souls take over the planet because humans are too violent to truly enjoy their world, and by taking them over, the souls are doing humanity a favor. Humans view the takeover as an invasion as the souls take over bodies and push the personalities and human minds out of those bodies, essentially killing those humans. However, souls are not all bad and in many ways they do not realize the extent of the devastation they cause on Earth because previous hosts have been so different and less individualized--less human. Humans also are not all bad and prone to violence as Wanda learns with Ian and others in the book.
After reading Breaking Dawn, I sped through this book. I didn't find any ruts in the narrative and the action was well worth the ride. The one drawback for me was the intractable characters of Sharon and Maggie, who do not evolve at all. They maintain their hatred of the Wanderer regardless of her altruistic behavior and her hardcore work ethic.