Monday, March 23, 2009

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

Title: The Host
Author: Stephenie Meyer
Pages: 619
Rating: 4/5

Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy. Humans become hosts for these invaders, their minds taken over while their bodies remain intact and continue their lives apparently unchanged. Most of humanity has succumbed.

When Melanie, one of the few remaining "wild" humans is captured, she is certain it is her end. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, was warned about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the glut of senses, the too vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

Wanderer probes Melanie's thoughts, hoping to discover the whereabouts of the remaining human resistance. Instead, Melanie fills Wanderer's mind with visions of the man Melanie loves—Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she has been tasked with exposing. When outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off on a dangerous and uncertain search for the man they both love.

Review: Stephenie Meyer, I am very disappointed in you. 

This book was truly not that great. For 100 pages I was just waiting for something remotely interesting happen. And after all the hype that it has gotten, I was expecting so much. Nothing much was explained for a while, so I was very confused. Wanda (I hated the name, becuase that was my grandma's name, and it did not fit Wanderer) and Ian's relationship was weird. I felt like it didn't really fit. He was clingy and acted like a teenage boy for most of the story.

But don't get me wrong, the middle and end of this very breathtakingly unexpected. I loved the imagery it proposed. With all the different planets and the darkness and intricacies of the cave. I wish you all could see the pictures I had in my head when I read this. And I loved Melanie, Jared, and Jamie's triangle of love. So amazing and long-lasting. Also, the selflessness expressed in the book was awesome.

And the conflict! It was great! The action could have been better, but the tension made most of the story flow. I seriously was on my toes for a section of the story, because I was just waiting for something to happen. And when, as a reader, I inferred that something would happen,  I was wrong almost all of the time. Something completely out of the blue would come up and slap me in the face. That really was the best part about reading The Host. 

I would only recommend this to people who like Science-Fiction and Romance. More Romance I think, than Science-Fiction. Stephenie Meyer was right to call this "sci-fi for people who don't like sci-fi." Don't read this if you are looking for a companion to Meyer's Twilight series. You will just get your hopes crushed. 

And you must be thinking, Emily, why did you give it a 4/5 if you didn't LOVE it? Well, the answer to that is that the breathtakingly creative ending made up for the well... shitty beginning. The ending saved this whole book. So don't give up on it. Even though this book made me not want to read for a month... that's besides the point. Read it. You just might like it.

7 comments:

Unknown said...

A lot of people can't get past the beginning since it's pretty boring and you don't know what the hell they're talking about at first. To those people I say press on, it gets better. I think part of Stephenie Meyer's problem is her popularity, in that since her name sells books now, they figure the bigger the book the better. What she needs is an editor who will actually do his/her job. I like science fiction and thought the idea was creative and all that. Meyer just needs to stop reiterating the same things over and over. She wouldn't know subtlety if it bit her on the ass. I totally agree with you on the ending!

Amanda said...

My one friend LOVED reading The Host but another couldn't even get past the first 100 pages..so I'm not sure if I want to read it.

Hailley said...

I loved this book, i think most people don't like The Host cause they start reading and their like weres Edward and Bella, but this book was amazing yes i was confused to start with but it gets so good and the Love between Wander and Ian was so beautiful. one of the best books i've read!!!!!

Bookworm said...

I really don't like sci fi. And his one's cover is creepy.

Angela said...

Interesting. It just goes to show how everyone has different reactions to the same book. I LOVED this book. The beginning felt a little slower than I was expecting for Meyers to pull me in (as compared to Twilight that sucked me in from the start), but I wasn't bored with it. I think this story showed how Meyers is growing and learning and I can't wait to see what stories she has to tell next!

Sadako said...

Sorry you didn't like it--the cover looks cool but I haven't read it yet, not sure I will now.

L.Fitz said...

A friend of mine read this book and said she likes it, but I've never really read sci fi before.
BTW I nominated you for the sisterhood award.