Book: The Host by Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Science fiction
Length: 619 pp.
Grade: A
Amazon Summary: Stephenie Meyer, creator of the phenomenal teen-vamp Twilight series, takes paranormal romance into alien territory in her first adult novel. Those wary of sci-fi or teen angst will be pleasantly surprised by this mature and imaginative thriller, propelled by equal parts action and emotion. A species of altruistic parasites has peacefully assumed control of the minds and bodies of most humans, but feisty Melanie Stryder won't surrender her mind to the alien soul called Wanderer. Overwhelmed by Melanie's memories of fellow resistor Jared, Wanderer yields to her body's longing and sets off into the desert to find him. Likely the first love triangle involving just two bodies, it's unabashedly romantic, and the characters (human and alien) genuinely endearing. Readers intrigued by this familiar-yet-alien world will gleefully note that the story's end leaves the door open for a sequel—or another series.
My Thoughts: I didn't believe that I could like Stephenie Meyer more than I already did after Breaking Dawn, but after reading this book, I see that I was wrong. Now Meyer has sky-rocketed to my top five favorite authors list, and I am looking forward to reading every single book she comes out with. The Host truly is science fiction for non-science fiction fans. Before reading this book, I wasn't quite sure about the science fiction genre, but this book really brought it to life for me.
I had originally wanted to read this book a few months ago after coming across it being talked about in school, but didn't get around to requesting it from my local library until July or so. And, of course, it took until now for my library to get a copy in again. During that time, I heard so many great things about this book and, frankly, I wondered if it could live up to the praise. After all, it seemed to have everything, and I know for a fact that no book is perfect. However, as soon as I started reading it, I knew all the praise was well-deserved.
From the very first page I was hooked, although it was a bit hard to get into. Once I got past the first few chapters, however, I couldn't put it down. Although it wasn't the fast-paced, good-versus-evil novel that I was expecting, it was still a marvelous story. It combines action, romance, intrigue, and conflict in a way that makes you ask the question: "What makes humans... human? What does it truly mean to be human?" I was skeptical of the book's power to do that at first, but it truly does.
At the beginning of the book, I immediately liked the "souls," especially Wanderer. The rest of the souls can't seem to comprehend what they're doing, but Wanderer does—or at least she does by the end of the book. She really grows as a character, from a soul who just wants to smother her resistant host, Melanie Stryder, to someone who would actually want to give herself up in order for Melanie to have the life she had before. It really strikes me the way Stephenie made me adore Wanderer. Instead of hating her and her kind for "invading" our planet, I came to really like her.
In fact, I liked the rest of the characters, even the souls. Probably the reason why I do is because... well, they think what they're doing is for the greater good. Commonly, they don't know how to comprehend that what they're doing might not really be the best and, as such, they can't stop. Also, that makes me feel pity for them, rather than hating them. In a way, the souls have it right, but then, the humans have it right. The dynamic between soul and human was masterfully written so that you can't side with one or the other. Or at least I could not.
And the humans. Jeb, Ian, Jared, Jamie, Melanie, even Kyle... I couldn't help loving every single one of them. The love triangle (square?) between Melanie, Jared, Ian, and Wanda couldn't have been written better. In the Twilight series, I ended up despising one of the characters in two of the books, but in this book, I loved both of them. And it all worked out in the end, which made me love them even more.
Wow, I can't even explain how much I liked this book. To me, it was Stephenie Meyer at her finest. I thought I liked Breaking Dawn the most out of all her books, but I think The Host just knocked it out of its first place spot. Like Ridley Pearson said on the back of the book, this is "a fantastic, inventive, thoughtful, and powerful novel. The Host should come with a warning label: it will grab you and keep you reading well into the wee hours of the night, and keep you thinking, deeply, hauntingly, well after the final word."
I tend to gush about books I like as much as The Host, just because it was so gripping and thought-provoking. It's books like this that make me want to shove the book into everyone's hands and get them to read it. It's for more than science fiction fans; to me, it's for everyone.
So, highly recommended, as you can see. If you haven't already, go out and read this book. You won't regret it, I'm sure.
Next Up:
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. Maybe I'll actually be able to finish it this time...
Genre: Science fiction
Length: 619 pp.
Grade: A
Amazon Summary: Stephenie Meyer, creator of the phenomenal teen-vamp Twilight series, takes paranormal romance into alien territory in her first adult novel. Those wary of sci-fi or teen angst will be pleasantly surprised by this mature and imaginative thriller, propelled by equal parts action and emotion. A species of altruistic parasites has peacefully assumed control of the minds and bodies of most humans, but feisty Melanie Stryder won't surrender her mind to the alien soul called Wanderer. Overwhelmed by Melanie's memories of fellow resistor Jared, Wanderer yields to her body's longing and sets off into the desert to find him. Likely the first love triangle involving just two bodies, it's unabashedly romantic, and the characters (human and alien) genuinely endearing. Readers intrigued by this familiar-yet-alien world will gleefully note that the story's end leaves the door open for a sequel—or another series.
My Thoughts: I didn't believe that I could like Stephenie Meyer more than I already did after Breaking Dawn, but after reading this book, I see that I was wrong. Now Meyer has sky-rocketed to my top five favorite authors list, and I am looking forward to reading every single book she comes out with. The Host truly is science fiction for non-science fiction fans. Before reading this book, I wasn't quite sure about the science fiction genre, but this book really brought it to life for me.
I had originally wanted to read this book a few months ago after coming across it being talked about in school, but didn't get around to requesting it from my local library until July or so. And, of course, it took until now for my library to get a copy in again. During that time, I heard so many great things about this book and, frankly, I wondered if it could live up to the praise. After all, it seemed to have everything, and I know for a fact that no book is perfect. However, as soon as I started reading it, I knew all the praise was well-deserved.
From the very first page I was hooked, although it was a bit hard to get into. Once I got past the first few chapters, however, I couldn't put it down. Although it wasn't the fast-paced, good-versus-evil novel that I was expecting, it was still a marvelous story. It combines action, romance, intrigue, and conflict in a way that makes you ask the question: "What makes humans... human? What does it truly mean to be human?" I was skeptical of the book's power to do that at first, but it truly does.
At the beginning of the book, I immediately liked the "souls," especially Wanderer. The rest of the souls can't seem to comprehend what they're doing, but Wanderer does—or at least she does by the end of the book. She really grows as a character, from a soul who just wants to smother her resistant host, Melanie Stryder, to someone who would actually want to give herself up in order for Melanie to have the life she had before. It really strikes me the way Stephenie made me adore Wanderer. Instead of hating her and her kind for "invading" our planet, I came to really like her.
In fact, I liked the rest of the characters, even the souls. Probably the reason why I do is because... well, they think what they're doing is for the greater good. Commonly, they don't know how to comprehend that what they're doing might not really be the best and, as such, they can't stop. Also, that makes me feel pity for them, rather than hating them. In a way, the souls have it right, but then, the humans have it right. The dynamic between soul and human was masterfully written so that you can't side with one or the other. Or at least I could not.
And the humans. Jeb, Ian, Jared, Jamie, Melanie, even Kyle... I couldn't help loving every single one of them. The love triangle (square?) between Melanie, Jared, Ian, and Wanda couldn't have been written better. In the Twilight series, I ended up despising one of the characters in two of the books, but in this book, I loved both of them. And it all worked out in the end, which made me love them even more.
Wow, I can't even explain how much I liked this book. To me, it was Stephenie Meyer at her finest. I thought I liked Breaking Dawn the most out of all her books, but I think The Host just knocked it out of its first place spot. Like Ridley Pearson said on the back of the book, this is "a fantastic, inventive, thoughtful, and powerful novel. The Host should come with a warning label: it will grab you and keep you reading well into the wee hours of the night, and keep you thinking, deeply, hauntingly, well after the final word."
I tend to gush about books I like as much as The Host, just because it was so gripping and thought-provoking. It's books like this that make me want to shove the book into everyone's hands and get them to read it. It's for more than science fiction fans; to me, it's for everyone.
So, highly recommended, as you can see. If you haven't already, go out and read this book. You won't regret it, I'm sure.
Next Up:
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. Maybe I'll actually be able to finish it this time...
no subject
Date: 2008-08-06 05:47 pm (UTC)From:I hope you'll like Ender's Game. It's one of my favourite books.
no subject
Date: 2008-08-06 05:59 pm (UTC)From:I hope I like Ender's Game too. I've been taking it out from the library once every month or so, but I can't seem to actually get around to reading it. Hopefully this time I will, though, because it seems like a really great book! :)
no subject
Date: 2008-08-06 06:05 pm (UTC)From:Hopefully this time I will, though, because it seems like a really great book! :)
It is :) I'll keep my fingers crossed you think so too.
no subject
Date: 2008-08-16 12:53 am (UTC)From: