The Host: A Novel
by Stephenie Meyer
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Book Summary Information
Author: Stephenie MeyerEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-05-06
ISBN: 0316068047
Number of pages: 619
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Book Reviews of The Host: A Novel
Book Review: Phenomenal!!
Summary: 5 Stars
The Host: A Novel
SPOILERS!!!!
I being an avid "Twilight" series fan was a little nervous about this book. I read excerpts of it on Stephanie's website, and was a little on the edge on whether or not to read it. As many others felt, I was nervous if it was worth reading without Bella, Edward, and the rest of the Cullens. This book exceeded all of my expectations and more.
The Host starts off slowly which did at first bothered me. Wanderer, a foreign soul, has been sent to Earth and inserted into Melanie Stryder. Melanie was part of a resistance group against the souls who were invading Earth. By this point in the story there is only a small handful of humans left. When Wanderer becomes conscious, she realizes after some time that Melanie never left. Melanie is still a conscious entity in Wanderer's mind. Wanderer has control of Melanie's body but Melanie's thoughts never go away.
For the next few chapters Wanderer and Melanie go through conflicts with themselves; we learn about Wanderer's life in the civilized community the souls have developed. Wanderer often has trouble accessing Melanie's memories, because Melanie suppresses them, but she does remember one important thing. Jared and Jaime. Jared and Jaime were Melanie's loved ones when she was alive. Jaime, her brother, and Jared, her lover. Because Melanie never left and because her body loves them; Wanderer finds her self madly and irrevocably in love with them as well.
So Wanderer and Melanie set off to find them in the desert. Melanie knows the way to them, but only lets Wanderer remember so much at a time; Melanie fears if Wanderer learns all of the directions she will go back and lead the other souls to her family. After many days of wandering in the heat, scrounging for food, and suppressing fatigue, Wanderer and Melanie have had too much. Their body can no longer withstand all the physical wear that was required to get them that far. Both are prepared to die together, only that wasn't the case. Melanie's Uncle Jeb found them in the desert and carried them back to his home. Jeb had spent many years before the invasion preparing underground caverns as a safe house, in case something such as the invasion ever occurred. The caverns consisted of irrigated farm plots, a fiver for bathing, a kitchen, storage, bedrooms, and much more. Jeb and about 35 other survivors resided in these caverns, including Jaime, Jared, and Melanie's aunt and cousin. When Wanderer and Melanie are brought into the cavern, there is much dispute as to what should be done with them. Most of the survivors want them killed. Jeb insists that they are guests and no one is to harm them. (at this point in the story, no one is aware of Melanie's presence in Wanderer's mind) As the story progresses Wanderer and Melanie become part of the community, working the fields, doing chores, and most of all telling stories. Wanderer tells stories of her past lives in other hosts. These stories keep everyone aware of the soul's invasions of other planets. As her time spent in the community goes on many people begin to accept her as a member of the community. Jaime loves her and talks to her quite often, but Jared is still in denial. Ian one of the many who originally hated her, came to be her body guard.
Eventually even Jared comes to accept her, only after he learns that Melanie is still insider of her. But none the less, he comes to like Wanderer as a friend as well. By this point in the story everyone begins to call Wanderer, "Wanda". Wanda continues to tell her stories and lives in the community for what seems to be months. When out on a raid searching for food, Jaime is injured. Jaime fell on his knife and his leg was cut open, and becomes infected.
Ian comforts her, assuring her that Jaime will overcome the infection. When the infection grows worse Wanda knows there is only one way to save her and Melanie's brother. Wanda knows that the souls medicines are far superior to that of human medicine; soul medicine had cured even the worst kinds of cancer easily. Wanda suggests that she go to a soul hospital and steal the necessary medicines. Everyone objects to this for the obvious reason that they think she won't come back or lead other souls there. Jared sneaks Wanda out and they begin their journey into the night. But in order to go to the hospital she will need a reason to go there posing as a patient. She makes Jared hit her in the face with a rock; to make the scar she had bleed. Next, Wanda stabs herself in the arm with a knife to replicate Jaime's wound.
The Healers in the hospital fix her up to perfection. Wanda asks them for water and when she is alone she steals many canisters of medicine. When back in the caverns everyone is outraged that Wanda left. But Wanda ignores everyone and helps Doc heal Jaime.
Wanda realizes that her time on Earth is over. She thinks hard about everything she is loosing. Ian, the man she has come to love on her own, Jared, the man she came to love through Melanie's memories, Jaime, the brother she and Melanie both shared, and everyone else she has come to know as family over the subsequent months. Finally she makes up her mind and she decides to teach Doc how to remove a soul from a human body. She would agree to teach him but on the one condition that he will remove her from Melanie, giving Melanie her body back. Doc agrees and they begin to work. Wanda and Doc remove three souls and only two of the three had their host come back to consciousness. Finally it was time for Wanda to leave. Doc does the procedure and Wanda is gone, or so she thought. Jaime and Melanie, who is now back in her body, pick out a dormant host for Wanda. Ian inserts her into the new host body and Wanda comes back to life. Wanda now has her own body and is again part of a family. Ian tells her once she has come to, "I held you in my hand, Wanderer. And you were so beautiful." it is at that moment that Wanda learns what it truly means to love. She is born to love everyone and everything, but she saw that everyone, Ian included can come to learn to love everything as well, even a soul.
This book was absolutely sensational. It had many aspects of the Twilight series. First it is about a "girl" who falls in love with someone she was never meant to, a human. All the humans hate and despise her because she isn't one of them. Also a call back to Twilight where the Cullens at first don't like Bella because she is human. The one big difference in this story is the obvious one: Wanda isn't human. But in the end it didn't matter who or what she was. Also in this book she falls in love with the man you never thought she would, which put an amazing twist on the story. Everyone who said it started out slow is right, but it was done with good reason. During the slow beginning we learn who Wanda is and how she learns to accept and deal with Melanie. This plays a key role in the story, because we get a better idea of how and why Wanda reacts to things in the way she does. I thought this was an epic love story torn between two identities, one human and one a soul. I absolutely recommended this book, but to an older audience, for its dialog and language is a little too complex for some of the Twilight fans.
Summary of The Host: A Novel
The author of the Twilight series of # 1 bestsellers delivers her brilliant first novel for adults: a gripping story of love and betrayal in a future with the fate of humanity at stake.Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of their human hosts while leaving their bodies intact, and most of humanity has succumbed.
Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, knew about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, 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.
Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts 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 yearns for a man she's never met. As outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off to search for the man they both love.
Featuring what may be the first love triangle involving only two bodies, THE HOST is a riveting and unforgettable novel that will bring a vast new readership to one of the most compelling writers of our time.
Amazon Best of the Month, May 2008: 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. --Mari Malcolm
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