Search - The Host

Stephenie Meyer is a HUGE success because of the characters and world she intricately spun with the Young Adult "Twilight" series. Part of her success was her ability to draw in an adult audience, similar to the appeal of Rowling's "Harry Potter" series. (Additionally, romantic stories about vampires carry their own loyal following.)

"The Host" is marketed as ADULT fiction and strays from the vampire-genre completely. However, making the protagonist slightly older than teen-aged and removing high school as the setting does not necessarily "mature" the subject matter.

I found a similarity between "The Host" and the "Twilight" saga (particularly "Eclipse," book 3)in that the main characters in both novels were conflicted with their inner-natures as well as feeling divided between two very different types of love.

However, the mechanics of the science-fiction aspect of this book were so weak, it took all that I could muster not to cringe. Also, some of the specifics seemed very similar to older story/concepts like "Stargate" and the like, without any efforts of improvement or development. Because of this, I would have to say the transition from more "fantasy" to this "sci-fi" genre has left Ms. Meyer "out of her element."

The Host is far less fluffy than Meyers Twilight series...but also much more difficult to get into. It felt like a chore to be reading it for the first ten chapters or so..I abandoned it for other books several times. Once it gets going though...watch out, you'll be hooked! While I don't agree that this is a brilliant or groundbreaking book, it does boast likeable characters, a coherent plot, and a complex love triangle and in general has more substance and food for thought than the superficial guilty pleasure known as the Twilight Saga. Stephenie Meyers has a way of writing that I'm pretty sure she'd be able to get me to read anything cover to cover, regardless of any real quality. The Host is a good indication that over time she will mature as an author. I look forward to future titles...and the open ending of The Host begs a sequel!

While Stephenie Meyer seems to be best known for her Twilight Series. After reading The Host I think perhaps it is the best of the five. It takes place on earth after humans are gradually taken over by an alien species, the 'Spirits'. One Spirit in particular finds a home inside a woman who doesn't submit and so the story is about them sharing a body. It reminded me of some science fiction I'd read many years ago and I recommend it to any of you who enjoy Sci-Fi.

It only took me two days to read Twilight, this book had taken me a month and half to read however, I think that The Host is a much better book than all of the Twilight books (even though I love all of Twilight books and am a total Edward freak!) While the Twilight saga focuses on a complicated and unconditional love story this book (while it does have a complicated Love Parallelogram (not Triangle) it focuses on what it means to be truly human. Is it the soul and mind of the person or does the body make a person a human?

I have never read any real science fiction and before any of the Twilight books had never read anything about Vampires but was willing to see what they were all about. I think Stephenie Meyers does have a talent for creating interesting stories, characters and worlds in the same vein of J.K. Rowling and her Harry Potter universe. I know a lot of readers have criticized her word prose but hey no one is perfect and if she continues to go write I am certain that she will only get better and better.

It is completely ironic that it is the nicest of all aliens that come down are the ones to take over Earth but I thought that was a really nice change from all of the other movies and books about alien invasions. Wanderer is such a sweet and peaceful creature that you can't help but love her but at the same time she is the enemy and you find yourself rooting for Melanie, in whose body Wanderer has been implanted in. However rather than trying to destroy Melanie's thoughts she begins to work with her to help Melanie find her family whom she has grown to love but watching Melanie's memories. I kinda hated Jared sometimes but he is a good person, but always loved Ian and Jamie and was yelling why doesn't Wanderer see how perfect Ian is for her!

I do not want to give away any of the ending but I really enjoyed this book and found myself laughing and crying and rooting for Wanderer and her newly adopted human family

This book was slow to get in to - but eventually it starts to make sense. It has a good story and and pretty good ending.
Very different from the Twilight series of books...

The human race is now peaceful after the Souls have invaded Earth and inserted themselves into everyone's brains. The famous soul Wanderer, so named for her numerous adventures on various worlds with various hosts, is chosen to be inserted into the body of Melanie Stryder, a suspected human rebel, one of the few who managed to evade the Souls for a while.

Wanderer was told that being in a human host would be difficult, what with the influx of unfamiliar and strong emotions. What she wasn't prepared for, however, are the remnants of Melanie inside her head, yelling at her, talking to her, otherwise making her stay in Melanie's body uncomfortable. Melanie fills Wanderer with memories of her younger brother, Jamie, and the man she loves, Jared. Melanie believes that they are still alive out there somewhere, and pretty soon Wanderer gets caught up in caring about these strangers as well.

The two of them, in one body, set off to find Melanie's family. Wanderer finds them all right, but they get much more than they've bargained for. Instead of being happy that Melanie is alive, the human survivors are afraid of and angry at the "parasite" in her head. Even Jared is conflicted between his former love for Melanie and his disgust that her body has been invaded by Wanderer, whch sends Wanderer into a tailspin of torrid emotions at being hated by Melanie's love.

Despite Jared's coldness, though, Wanderer is not completely alone. Jamie takes to "Wanda" and Mel as separate and both good almost immediately. And there's Ian, who sees and loves Wanderer's goodness far before anyone else even trusts her. But how can Wanderer feel free to love Ian when Melanie's body and voice yearn for Jared?

While THE HOST will probably never be as popular as Stephenie Meyer's phenomenal TWILIGHT series, it is a touching story of love and survival in its own right. Meyer's strength comes from her portrayal of complex but real characters, and THE HOST certainly makes the most of it. This is a good choice for readers who are impatiently waiting for BREAKING DAWN to come out.