The Host: A Novel

Da non paragonare assolutamente alla saga di Twilight...questo romanzo supera qualsiasi aspettativa! L'occhio della copertina cattura l'attenzione; la lettura del libro trasforma il lettore in un protagonista! Melanie, umana, soppiantata da un "anima" Wanderer che si è impossessata del suo corpo; non un "anima" qualsiasi...Wanda è matura, ha già vissuto molte vite prima di questa, conosce i...more

Da non paragonare assolutamente alla saga di Twilight...questo romanzo supera qualsiasi aspettativa! L'occhio della copertina cattura l'attenzione; la lettura del libro trasforma il lettore in un protagonista! Melanie, umana, soppiantata da un "anima" Wanderer che si è impossessata del suo corpo; non un "anima" qualsiasi...Wanda è matura, ha già vissuto molte vite prima di questa, conosce i "mondi" ed imparerà presto a conoscere anche quello degli umani; grazie proprio a Melanie che dall'animo forte non si fa azzittire e annientare ma reagisce con forza estrema a quella presenza estranea dentro di lei! Wanda non conosce i sentimenti ma sarà costretta a fronteggiare la timidezza, il timore di non essere accettata, la vergogna, l'affetto, la rabbia e l'amore, che la sconvolge più di tutti. Un'amore fraterno e un'amore passionale che riesce a gestire e le permetterà di crescere ed evolversi, facendosi conoscere per quello che è veramente. Non sarà più la nemica dell'umanità, ma anche lei parte di un'umanità che lavora ed affronta le difficoltà di una vita in fuga. Solo il lettore, attento protagonista, alla fine si sentirà ospite di una comunità di uomini dal cuore grande che accolgono senza pregiudizi (sempre dopo un'attenta valutazione)il prossimo e lo trattano come fratello. Wanda ormai è una di loro! Consoliamoci...il nostro mondo esiste ancora!   hide

One of my favs! Started off slow, but turned out to be a fantastically entertaining read! So far, a very interesting concept... Just got done reading "The Host" by Stephenie Meyer- loved it! She beautifully captured the essence of humanity, even through the voice of an alien. It was a rich blend of sci-fi, mystery, love story, and down-right entertainment. I love Meyer's...more

One of my favs! Started off slow, but turned out to be a fantastically entertaining read! So far, a very interesting concept... Just got done reading "The Host" by Stephenie Meyer- loved it! She beautifully captured the essence of humanity, even through the voice of an alien. It was a rich blend of sci-fi, mystery, love story, and down-right entertainment. I love Meyer's first-person narrative, which entangled my own emotions and experiences into the life of the main character. She effectionately described the struggle we all eventually face between selfishness and loving others - survival vs. sacrifice - self preservation vs. selflessness. There are distinct themes of life choices and inner battles. Also, a colorful array of human experiences are displayed: love, happiness, fear, desire, jealousy, tenderness, understanding, shyness, uncertainty, and awareness. This book is full of heart and genuity. Stephenie Meyer does not disappoint!   hide

With “The Host,” Stephanie diverges from her previous focus on blending real world teen age drama with vampires. This time we’re faced with a semi-science fiction world. Earth has been invaded by aliens. But they aren’t the kind you can fight with guns and nukes – no these aliens live inside us. A parasitic race that literally takes over the body of its host. And they’ve...more

With “The Host,” Stephanie diverges from her previous focus on blending real world teen age drama with vampires. This time we’re faced with a semi-science fiction world. Earth has been invaded by aliens. But they aren’t the kind you can fight with guns and nukes – no these aliens live inside us. A parasitic race that literally takes over the body of its host. And they’ve pretty much won – minus a few pockets of resistance, they control earth. Oddly enough, the story is told from the perspective of one of the aliens living in a human host that is still someone conscious. But the aliens are the bad guys, right? Maybe – maybe not – it’s up to you as the reader to decide. This story though is VERY worth reading – I started it on. It’s really a story of what it means to be human. More importantly, what it means to be a GOOD human. It’s chalk full of adventure, hope, heartache, and beauty. I recommend it highly.   hide

I usually do not read science fiction but then again I never thought I would like a story about vampires either. I read this book immediately after the Twilight saga looking to get my "fill". It took me about 70 pages to get into the story because it is nothing like Twilight at all. Once I finally got into the story it really did turn out to be a page turner. Written very well and the thought...more

I usually do not read science fiction but then again I never thought I would like a story about vampires either. I read this book immediately after the Twilight saga looking to get my "fill". It took me about 70 pages to get into the story because it is nothing like Twilight at all. Once I finally got into the story it really did turn out to be a page turner. Written very well and the thought that was put into the characters was excellent. Stephenie Meyers has this way of writing about the human spirit and emotions unlike any other author I have read. This book is nothing like Twilight but was written extremely well and once I did get involved with the characters I could not put it down all the way to the last page. Very thoughtful and intriguing and the two main characters share the same romantic quality that Bella & Edward did, only in a completely different way.   hide

he Host by Stephaine Meyer Now many I know did not have rave reviews for Meyer's Twilight series, and I generally gave it 3/5 overall. So why am I reading another one of her books?? To be honest, the description of the plot snagged me. I walked away a few times, but then broke down and picked it up. It is a story of an alien species that call themselvs Souls, in our tongue. The souls...more

he Host by Stephaine Meyer Now many I know did not have rave reviews for Meyer's Twilight series, and I generally gave it 3/5 overall. So why am I reading another one of her books?? To be honest, the description of the plot snagged me. I walked away a few times, but then broke down and picked it up. It is a story of an alien species that call themselvs Souls, in our tongue. The souls require a host to live in to survive and have recently colonized the planet Earth and taken up residence in the humans. Wanderer's human host seems to be something special. Melanie's consciousness won't go away like most human's do once a soul as set up residence. In fact, her will is so strong that she holds complete conversations with Wanderer and talks her into trying to find her family. I absolutely loved the relationship dynamics between Wanderer and Melanie. They way they interact was fascinating to me. The reactions of otheers to her unique circumstances seemed very fittingly varied and realistic. The plot moves nicely along most of the time. There are a few sections that I had to take a break from because they were slightly drawn out, but to be honest, I'm not sure how you could shorten them up and still make the point needed. Stephanie Meyer's writing in this book seemed much more fluid and easy to read than her Twilight series and because of this I enjoyed the book much more. 4/5   hide

I feel guilty for liking the Twilight books. They seem like exceptionally addictive candy, and I'm not used to being taken with such things--I tend to lead toward less romantic and more, well, high-minded and difficult lit. Some friend said she thought those books are written just write to bewitch smart women, which in retrospect seems right. So when I read THIS book... I couldn't figure out...more

I feel guilty for liking the Twilight books. They seem like exceptionally addictive candy, and I'm not used to being taken with such things--I tend to lead toward less romantic and more, well, high-minded and difficult lit. Some friend said she thought those books are written just write to bewitch smart women, which in retrospect seems right. So when I read THIS book... I couldn't figure out if it made me feel better or worse about liking Meyer. Certainly, the premise is more original and the different planets souls live on, in particular, is well thought-out. But at times it's a little dragging, and it never grabs you by the heart and makes you sick to see what happens next like Twilight and its sequels. Overall, though, I enjoyed it. I think Meyer is still working toward saying what, in later works, might be some very very good stuff.   hide

Im not the kind of person that will gladly sit down and read a novel no matter how many great reviews it has received and no matter how many people tell me its a great read. But After months of being nagged about the twilight series of books I decided to read them and see what all the fuss was, that was when I joined the millions of people that became addicted to the series. I also decided to...more

Im not the kind of person that will gladly sit down and read a novel no matter how many great reviews it has received and no matter how many people tell me its a great read. But After months of being nagged about the twilight series of books I decided to read them and see what all the fuss was, that was when I joined the millions of people that became addicted to the series. I also decided to give a go at reading the host. I did hope that the book was totally different to the style of her twilight series, and I was glad to see that it was, still a love story with a bit of danger and action, but thats were the similarities ended. I have to admit that I thought that this was going to be the same as the body snatchers, and that I wouldn't enjoy it because of that thought. But even though these are an alien species that take over the human body I thought that her story was an original take on that style of alien invasion. I loved the characters in this novel some of them were quite easy to relate to and you would feel the love and warmth of them and you would feel sad when they were sad. Stephenie Meyer has a real way of making her characters seem so real to you that you wish that you could reach out and hold them, wipe away their tears when they cry and even rejoice with them and feel the love they feel for their partner and families. great job.   hide

Meyer's first novel for adults definitely lives up to the hype. It's "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" where the aliens are completely nonviolent. They are parasites that live in the brain stems of their hosts, controlling the minds and bodies of the hosts. Wanderer, an alien who has lived on many worlds, is in for a shock when she is inserted into a rebel named Melanie...more

Meyer's first novel for adults definitely lives up to the hype. It's "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" where the aliens are completely nonviolent. They are parasites that live in the brain stems of their hosts, controlling the minds and bodies of the hosts. Wanderer, an alien who has lived on many worlds, is in for a shock when she is inserted into a rebel named Melanie Stryder. Melanie fights Wanderer and refuses to fade away. Melanie, desperate to protect the man she loves and to find her brother, shields their whereabouts from Wanderer. But when they meet a Seeker who threatens them both, they dicide to work together. Melanie floods Wanderer with memories of her love for her small family. Through Melanie's memories, Wanderer also comes to love Jared. It's a strangely compelling love triangle, with three unique personalities, but only two bodies. The ending is beautiful and oh-so-right. Meyer manages to make the ending satisfying and complete while also leaving a possibility for a sequel.   hide

This is honestly Stephenie Meyer's best book by far!! It reminds me a bit of the journey that the viewer takes when watching the movie The Last Samauri. In that movie, the viewer ends up following the main characters opinion and respect for the Japanese people - he starts out hating the Japanese and throughout the course of the movie, he has grown to deeply respect their sense of...more

This is honestly Stephenie Meyer's best book by far!! It reminds me a bit of the journey that the viewer takes when watching the movie The Last Samauri. In that movie, the viewer ends up following the main characters opinion and respect for the Japanese people - he starts out hating the Japanese and throughout the course of the movie, he has grown to deeply respect their sense of honor. This book is a lot like that. There is an alien invasion of the earth, and humans lose the battle. You start out seeing humanity from the eyes of the aliens race - cruel to each other, news stories about murder, kidnappings, wars, home invasions, robberies, etc...but as the novel goes on, the alien invader begins to see the good in humanity as well. It was a very good storyline and I dare you not to look at the human race from a glass half full perspective after reading it.   hide