The Host: A Novel

In a dark time where the Earth is taken over by parasitic alien "souls," love and a sense of family prevail and provide hope. Melanie Stryder is unwillingly made the host to a soul named Wanderer. However, Melanie's love for Jared and her brother Jamie is so great that she refuses to simply disappear.

The relationships in The Host are quite complex. Meyer presents another love triangle (i.e. Edward/ Bella/ Jacob). This time it involves Wanderer (and Melanie) and the two men that she loves - Jared and Ian.

As a Twilight Saga fanatic, I wasn't sure if I wanted to read this novel and have it spoil my Edward and Bella high. I am so glad that I decided to read it. Meyer has proved with this novel that her talent extends past vampires and werewolves. It is a touching and thought-provoking must-read!

"Okay, this book is huge, so it can be a little intimidating for people who read slowly, but let me assure you that it is extremely worth it.
The blurb on the flyleaf could lead you to think that the book is kind of 'cheesy' with all the love stuff it mentions. That would be completely wrong. I don't even like romance novels and this is nowhere near one.
This is an awesome story about AFTER aliens have pretty much taken over the planet. But, it's not a violent takeover, for the most part. This book is not about fight scenes and gross alien abductions. This book takes you inside the alien viewpoint in a wonderful way. You actually care about both the alien and the human viewpoint.
I was afraid it would have a really bad ending (have had that happen with some really awesome books). But, you will love this book in its entirety from beginning to end.
Fast paced, articulate, engaging, and insightful. Stephanie Meyer has done a great job on her first 'adult' book. If you want a GREAT read, buy this book today!"

Rarely do I read fiction, but this one kept my attention despite its length (probably because I like space alien shows). The parasite in the neck thing reminded me of the Stargate TV series where parasites (symbiotes) take over hosts. It also had a taste of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but better.

What interested me was the allusion I thought Meyer was making to real world groups. Since Myer is Mormon and I grew up with that as well, I kept wondering if she was hinting that the "souls" (alien parasites) were like church members... oddly calm (like in the sleepy, boring church meetings), peace loving, desirous to push their views on others even though most don't want it, all of the same mind, and robot-like conformity. I know this isn't a perfect comparison, but I wondered if she was implying this.

Others have compared Mormons to the Borg on Star Trek, though that alien group is too militant for a truly good comparison. The "souls" of this book are closer. My thought was: Could she be making a subtle hint to Mormons (and other groups that think uniformly) that they should try to think outside the group at times, rather than thinking so uniformly?

I thought this partly because the "souls" were the nice beings who brought order, peace and goodness to the universe, to "improve" species like humans who were were emotionally ravaged and violent. (Sort of reminded me of Mormon missionary efforts to convert people from their evil ways to the peace of the gospel)

Plus, it is a rare person from any group that is able to see the error of his/her group and really do something to alter the group's course. So, when the "soul" in the girl's body came to realize its invasion wasn't really moral, "it" thought for a long time about whether to do the right thing even if it meant going against its kind, and it took action to reverse the invasion (conversion)....similar to what some dissidents from religions (exMormons) or political movements do.

Anyway, I enjoyed the book, but some people I know had a tough time following the first couple of chapters where each paragraph flip-flopped between thoughts from the host and the "soul".

This book is worth reading. This is the first Sci-Fi type book that I've read, but I've read Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series, and at first, I was a little sketched out about this one, but it turned out to be a fantastic read! I could not put it down; it only took me three days to read the 624 pages! The way Stephenie describes the area where the book is to take place is excellent; I could really picture what she was taking about. The soul called "Wanderer"/"Wanda" has "gone native". She adds a significant amount of helpful work to her new found friends.
The suspence and romance added together creates such a spectacular story.
The first ever, love quad(for lack of better word) between three bodies.
Overall a clever novel =D.

I was a Twilight fan and that was the reason I purchased The Host. I knew the plot of the book and wasn't really excited to crack it open as I'm not into sci-fi. It took awhile to get into but it was definitely worth reading. It has excitement, adventure, love, compassion, a little bit of everything. And besides the fact that the main character is an alien, it is a very human story. After finishing the book - I do hope that she continues this story in a series.