The Host: A Novel | 
 enlarge | Author: Stephenie Meyer
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Category: Book
List Price: $25.99
Buy New: $13.00
You Save: $12.99 (50%)
New (54) Collectible (7) from $13.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  386 reviews
Sales Rank: 27
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 624
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.9
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.5 x 2.1
ISBN: 0316068047
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780316068048
ASIN: 0316068047
Publication Date: May 6, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: ALL orders shipped with delivery confirmation!
|
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
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
Product Description
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.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 381 more reviews...
 Too many pages, too little content July 6, 2008
Honestly, I read the first 100 pages and the last 100 pages. The basic story was somewhat interesting, but the filler was way too tedious to stick with through 600+ pages. I don't get what all the fuss is about Stephanie Meyer. Having read the Twilight Series (again, way too much filler), I feel this book is still young adult fiction with a smaller typeface.
 Simply Amazing! July 6, 2008
I, too, am an avid Twilight fan and have been since the year Twilight was first published so when I picked up The Host, it was purely because I admire Stephenie Meyer as an author. I put off reading this for a few months but then picked it up on a whim, convinced that it couldn't rival Twilight. I was mistaken! This novel is amazing! From the first pages, I was intrigued by the entire universe within the pages and I loved the compassion and love emanating from every soul. The characters were all different and wonderful people; some I hated, some I loved. I think that The Host might just knock Twilight off of it's standing next to Harry Potter in my bookshelf because i enjoyed every part of it, where in Twilight, I disagreed with and thus was frustrated with many parts of it. I also admired how far Mrs. Meyer has come in her writing. She has improved immensely and I feel that the Host displays that. It is more mature of a novel than Twilight, and I took away many lessons about love, and what it truly means to be human. I really hope that Mrs. Meyer creates a sequel or series from this novel because a) what will I do without Twilight?; and b) I don't think I can let Wanderer, Melanie, Jared, and Ian go...
 Good, but Missing Detail July 6, 2008
I'm a big fan of the Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer. Her books are what YA is all about. Originally, I had an intense aversion to this book. I mean, it is a vampire romance, but it's much better than you'd expect. Anyway, I decided to buy her next book, The Host. It is the first of her novels to be printed as an adult novel. In my opinion, it feels very much like her YA novels, and I don't see exactly what is so adult about it. She could have had it published at Little, Brown under the YA category without me seeing the difference. I suppose that she's trying to reach a wider audience.
As I've already said, this title is very much like the rest of her works. Her plot isn't driven as much by events as it is by character realizations. Emotions are the main device driving you through the novel, which I don't mind. Meyer does quite well with first person, introspective sorts of work. She's also not afraid to gray things out. While you may initially classify things as black and white at the beginning of the novel, Meyer has tried very hard to slosh the black and white into grayscale.
I will say one thing I was a little disappointed in was the details on the medicine... It seemed much too easy, and any real science buff will be scratching their head wondering what the mechanics of Heal, Seal, and Clean are and why they need specialist for this medicine when a kindergardener could administer it. The lack of detail explanation and the simplicity of it, I think, will turn off true science fiction fans. Science fiction is usually very heavy on explaining things; We want to know not just that it worked but how it worked. Science fiction is different than fantasy. Take the vampires she wrote about in her previous books. I don't care how vampires work biologically that much, because I know that vampires don't exist. They're outside explanation. Science fiction is about what we may be capable of within the usual scientific limitations.
One other note, I think I wouldn't have minded the unhappy ending. Those of you that have read it will know what I'm talking about. I feel like she tacted on the last bit, making a magical solution, where she should have just let it be. She let the character be saved at the last minute, and as an author, I've got to protest against that. Your characters have to solve their own problems, through their own cleverness, but I'll let it slide just this once, because it did make me stop crying at the tragic ending. What can I say? I'm a big softy.
bring on the body-snatchers July 6, 2008
Meyer set herself a tremendous challenge with THE HOST. First and foremost, she's tasked herself with the job of making an appealing protagonist from a body-snatching alien. We find out as the book opens that Melanie Stryder tried to kill herself rather than let the aliens possess her body - but she failed, and the alien called Wanderer is planted in her brain and narrates our story. To my great surprise, I sympathized with Wanderer immediately - I loved her distinctive, serene voice, her pragmatism and fearlessness.
THE HOST is a stretch in another sense as well. Lovers of the TWILIGHT series know that Stephanie Meyer has a talent for love triangles - but THE HOST doesn't contain a love triangle, it's more like a love pentagram. Or some other complex shape that may not exist in two dimensions. Melanie loves Jared. Then Wanderer loves Jared. Jared loves Melanie...could he also love Wanderer? But that's not complicated enough, so Meyer adds Ian to the mix. Ian loves Wanderer, not Melanie, and Wanderer loves Ian...but, since Wanderer shares a body and mind with Melanie, maybe Ian loves Melanie too? Again, to my surprise, Meyer pulls this off with flying colors. Each relationship is distinct, and the characters involved are richer and more real because of their unique dilemma. I felt that Jared reminded me a lot of Jacob, from the Twilight series, and Ian was a modified Edward...but I didn't mind seeing them reincarnated here, they're still very yummy.
The story itself is pretty interesting. The body-snatching aliens are peaceful altruists; there is no disease on their earth, no violence, no hatred. They justify their presence on earth by the improvements they make - and there are many. Stephanie Meyer isn't the first person to wonder if a "perfect" human is human at all - but she's opened up the question here in a pretty interesting way, and I hope there are sequels in store.
Her BEST work yet! July 6, 2008
The summary on the back of the book is not a very good incentive. I looked at the book three different times during the past month and didn't buy it until the fourth time. The novel is brilliant! By page five i was absolutely hooked! The characters are dynamic and diverse. The plot keeps you guessing and guessing. It is such a real perspective to who we are as humans, and it includes what we love from the Twilight series, romance.
|
|
|
