The Host by Stephanie Meyer

[aaronsmom]

Noticed there was a thread on her YA series (Twilight) but not on this. It's her first adult novel and man, I'm only 200 pages into it but it is so good! I'm loving it. It's the kind of book you stay up into the wee hours of the night reading even though you know you should be in bed.
Anybody else reading it?

[ananas]

I finished it a while ago. It was awesome!

[aaronsmom]

Woah! Just finished it (literally 2 minutes ago). The best book I've read in a long, long time. Definitely didn't expect it to end the way it did. Loved it!

[Debstmomy]

Desention here, I thought it was just ok. It took me a REALLY long time to get into, and actually thought it was hard to follow in the beginning. That is not to say, I did not enjoy Wanderer, I did. But it took a while to really get there, for me anyway. I also thought the end was so so. Not sure I agreed with it, but it is what it was. (Oh that is not to say, I don't think it would make a good movie, I do. Proably would be a rare one where the movie would be better than the book!)

[aaronsmom]

semi-spoilers below!

semi spoilers below!












The pace of the book was a little slow. When I first read the synopsis I thought it there would be more external struggle. But really the book was a character conflict...lots of internal struggle. Melanie vs. Wanderer. Then there was the crazy love "square" that technically only involved 3 bodies.
What I really wonder is what's going to happen after the end? Do they end up coexisting somehow? Do the humans drive them away completely with the exception of a few souls? It would be cool to read a sequel.
The only problem is the souls are not really confrontational enough to have much conflict or war.
Another thing that sort of bothered me was how long it took Wanderer to realize how barbaric it was to just take over someone's mind and body without their consent!

[Debstmomy]

Originally Posted by aaronsmom

The only problem is the souls are not really confrontational enough to have much conflict or war.
Another thing that sort of bothered me was how long it took Wanderer to realize how barbaric it was to just take over someone's mind and body without their consent!

For me this did not make any sense at all. How can they invade a planet & take over a living thing, but still have the huge capability for peace & compassion??? Is it because only the seekers had desires of evil?? If so, how did they even co-exist with other souls, in peace??
Yes a sequel would be good. As I see it know, I see humans & souls co-habituating. With the souls ending their stint here on earth.

[aaronsmom]

Originally Posted by Debstmomy

For me this did not make any sense at all. How can they invade a planet & take over a living thing, but still have the huge capability for peace & compassion??? Is it because only the seekers had desires of evil?? If so, how did they even co-exist with other souls, in peace??
Yes a sequel would be good. As I see it know, I see humans & souls co-habituating. With the souls ending their stint here on earth.

Well, the seekers aren't evil. Just the one seeker following Wanderer seemed a little over the top because she had the same problem. She was trying to project what was happening to her onto Wanderer.
The souls see humans (and possibly other civilizations they've taken over) as barbaric. They think they're helping by invading and taking over and then essentially creating a utopia.
And it also says in the book that other species were more accepting (some even preferring) of the souls presence.

[JessasMilkMama]

I absolutely loved this book. I really got into the characters and that place. I thought she did a great job writing it. It was too bad she never got to punch that seeker in the face :P I would LOVE a sequel!

[LiLStar]

If there's a sequel, I'd love to "meet" the family Wanda saw at the park, with the toddler that the parents allowed to stay human.

[aaronsmom]

Originally Posted by LiLStar

If there's a sequel, I'd love to "meet" the family Wanda saw at the park, with the toddler that the parents allowed to stay human.

Ditto. That makes me wonder if it's foreshadowing Ian and Wanda having human children.

[Sisyphus]

Good to know. I was looking at this for the kindle but wasn't sure because I hadn't read her Twilight series. I'll get it on my kindle now! Thanks for the rec!