Book Title: The Host
Author: Stephenie Meyer
Date Started: April 8th 2013
Date Completed: April 14th 2013
Genres: Dystopian, Thriller, Romance
Rating: Four stars
Review:
I admit it: once again I am pleasantly surprised. To be honest if I'd just read this, I wouldn't have known it was the author of Twilight. I'm surprised I read it anyway, but I ended up enjoying it quite a lot.
First of all, before I get judged by all you people - I read this book because a book group I follow had it as their to-reads for this month, and also I enjoyed the film and wanted to see if the book was bearable (which for reference, I did not find the twilight series were).
The short synopsis is that Earth has been invaded by completely peaceful aliens that possess the human's bodies. There is now no violence or danger. Apart from the survivors. The story focuses on one of the souls (the aliens) called Wanderer, who is inserted in the body of a girl called Melanie. Usually, the soul will just live it's life on the planet without any problems until their host dies of old age, however Melanie's memories keep coming back to Wanderer, and then she starts talking and fighting her. It eventually leads to Wanderer straying from her society and falling into the hands of the resistance, where a complex and confusing love triangle emerges and other stuff happens.
First of all, the writing has improved greatly. I've heard many people say that Stephenie Meyer has matured as a writer and I definitely agree. I tried to read Twilight but honestly the writing had me bored and I gave up a short way in because frankly it made me feel slightly nauseous. But the writing here was perfectly adequate - in fact I quite like the style of Meyer's writing. It flows very well and it also relatable. I also like the way Melanie and Wanderer's thoughts are presented and how you can still tell them apart as you get to know the characters.
When I first started reading this I had guessed it would be a very typical Young Adult books, therefore it was going to be absorbed and slightly over-heavy with the romance. However I was impressed by how much other information and action Stephenie Meyer managed to pack in. I admit, the love does get a little bit cliche in some places, but nothing that made me want to stop reading it. And it was realistic. (Here we go again. Sorry.)
The action. Oh the action. There may not be any big battles, but there's movement added into every chapter. I often grow tired of books that are mainly directed at speech, or at action, or at inner thoughts - which to be honest, is what the majority of my books are like. It's simply because certain authors specialise in certain parts of writing. (I'm better at action scenes than anything else, so I completely understand.) But there was a good balance of both the dialogue, the inner monologue, the action and the romance in this book. Again, I'm impressed.
The whole concept also intrigued me. Although aliens possessing human bodies is nothing new to me, the way the soul's world and previous lives was presented was very interesting and engaging - I actually became quite fascinated with Wanderer's previous experiences: especially the Bear and Bat worlds (you'll know what I mean if you've read it, or when you have if you do.)
So, all in all, the first thing I'd say is don't be put off by the fact that it's written by Stephenie Meyer. I am not a fan of the Twilight series at all, yet I really enjoyed this book. I would recommend it to anyone who likes romance (obviously), but also any sic-fi lovers as this book is, essentially, a sci-fi thriller and romance novel.
But even if those two things aren't your genres (I, myself, prefer dystopian action adventures mostly) if you have the patience to read a 600 page book (I was surprised I did, but it gripped me if I'm honest) then you should certainly give it a try. There's a little bit in there for everyone, although it relies a bit on how much perseverance you have.
I admit it: once again I am pleasantly surprised. To be honest if I'd just read this, I wouldn't have known it was the author of Twilight. I'm surprised I read it anyway, but I ended up enjoying it quite a lot.
First of all, before I get judged by all you people - I read this book because a book group I follow had it as their to-reads for this month, and also I enjoyed the film and wanted to see if the book was bearable (which for reference, I did not find the twilight series were).
The short synopsis is that Earth has been invaded by completely peaceful aliens that possess the human's bodies. There is now no violence or danger. Apart from the survivors. The story focuses on one of the souls (the aliens) called Wanderer, who is inserted in the body of a girl called Melanie. Usually, the soul will just live it's life on the planet without any problems until their host dies of old age, however Melanie's memories keep coming back to Wanderer, and then she starts talking and fighting her. It eventually leads to Wanderer straying from her society and falling into the hands of the resistance, where a complex and confusing love triangle emerges and other stuff happens.
First of all, the writing has improved greatly. I've heard many people say that Stephenie Meyer has matured as a writer and I definitely agree. I tried to read Twilight but honestly the writing had me bored and I gave up a short way in because frankly it made me feel slightly nauseous. But the writing here was perfectly adequate - in fact I quite like the style of Meyer's writing. It flows very well and it also relatable. I also like the way Melanie and Wanderer's thoughts are presented and how you can still tell them apart as you get to know the characters.
When I first started reading this I had guessed it would be a very typical Young Adult books, therefore it was going to be absorbed and slightly over-heavy with the romance. However I was impressed by how much other information and action Stephenie Meyer managed to pack in. I admit, the love does get a little bit cliche in some places, but nothing that made me want to stop reading it. And it was realistic. (Here we go again. Sorry.)
The action. Oh the action. There may not be any big battles, but there's movement added into every chapter. I often grow tired of books that are mainly directed at speech, or at action, or at inner thoughts - which to be honest, is what the majority of my books are like. It's simply because certain authors specialise in certain parts of writing. (I'm better at action scenes than anything else, so I completely understand.) But there was a good balance of both the dialogue, the inner monologue, the action and the romance in this book. Again, I'm impressed.
The whole concept also intrigued me. Although aliens possessing human bodies is nothing new to me, the way the soul's world and previous lives was presented was very interesting and engaging - I actually became quite fascinated with Wanderer's previous experiences: especially the Bear and Bat worlds (you'll know what I mean if you've read it, or when you have if you do.)
So, all in all, the first thing I'd say is don't be put off by the fact that it's written by Stephenie Meyer. I am not a fan of the Twilight series at all, yet I really enjoyed this book. I would recommend it to anyone who likes romance (obviously), but also any sic-fi lovers as this book is, essentially, a sci-fi thriller and romance novel.
But even if those two things aren't your genres (I, myself, prefer dystopian action adventures mostly) if you have the patience to read a 600 page book (I was surprised I did, but it gripped me if I'm honest) then you should certainly give it a try. There's a little bit in there for everyone, although it relies a bit on how much perseverance you have.
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