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 enlarge | Author: Stephenie Meyer
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Category: Book
List Price: $25.99
Buy New: $11.84
You Save: $14.15 (54%)
New (75) Used (31) Collectible (8) from $9.94
Avg. Customer Rating:  628 reviews
Sales Rank: 76
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 624
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.9
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 5.6 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
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW COPY, NO UGLY REMAINDER MARKS.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Entertaining Read but Juvenile October 1, 2008
Though equally as entertaining as her twilight series, the Host fails to reach the more mature audience it is marketed to. The plot revolves around the same Romeo and Juliet tragic love story as her other books and the twists and turns of her characters emotions are more complicated than complex. The scramble at the end to make a PC 'happy ending' and the reveal at the end of a 'life lesson' are also geared toward a younger audience. Meyer's easy, black and white morality leaves this book seeming more fairy tale than sci-fi. Recommended for younger audiences and disney loving adults.
 better than I expected! October 1, 2008
So I did like the Twilight books alot. When I heard about the Host I was wary. Alien invasion? Been done before.. Not my type of thing I guess. Now that I've read it, I am very surprised. I didn;t expect it to be this good! I really became attached to the characters and really got involved with them. Yes it starts out slow but good. Sorry for doubting you Stephanie! I found it to be a great read. Looking forward to whats next.
Wonderful Saga September 30, 2008
Melanie, Wanda, Jarred, Jamie, Jeb, Ian, and Kyle are just a few of the people that I grew to know and love while consumed in Stephenie Meyer fictitious world in "The Host". Not since Stephen King's "The Stand" have I wanted so much to get back to a novel! It is a good sci-fi book, with no hard science but a lot of great speculative fiction. The parasitic aliens in this novel reminded me of a cross between Stargate's "Goa'uld" and Star Trek Deep Space Nine's "Trills." The "Souls" are a symbiont race capable of living multiple lives on multiple plants. Although the idea is not original, it does give us a more in-depth perception of the conflict between a host and a soul. I listened to the audio book (audible download) and it was a very enjoyable. The narrator, Kate Reading (how ironic :-), was awesome. I loved it!
compelling story September 30, 2008
Having initially bought both the hardback and audio book, I started listening on the way to work and was hooked from the start. The story was so compelling that I found myself listening to it at home for hours. I found myself drawn into another world, seeing things through the eyes of others. It was excellent story telling, the type of fiction that is impossible to put down or set aside until finished reading. The characters felt like people I knew, and having finished the book, I already miss them. The drama was gripping. And the book offered some deep insights into the value of life and what it means to be human, themes that resonated in the mind after the story wrapped up and the last word was said. I really liked the book and hope Stephenie Meyer is inspired to continue the story.
The Best Book I've Read in a While September 30, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
THE HOST was truly one of the best novels I've read in my life.
I'm a moderate fan of Stephenie Meyer, meaning that I like some of her Twilight books, but only barely - they're a silly guilty pleasure. I picked up THE HOST expecting yet another thoughtless read to snuggle up with and giggle at, but I certainly wasn't expecting anything spectacular. I thought the protagonist would be a Bella Swan remake in a futuristic universe. I was not expecting Wanderer, or Melanie Stryder, the two strongest, most intriguing and spellbinding characters that Meyer has ever created.
Earth has been invaded by Souls - strange, kind-hearted aliens who had taken over dozens of planets, each one different and unique. They live in an impossible utopia which used to be our planet, taking our human bodies as their hosts so they can survive. Nearly all of the human species had been subjectified to the invasion of the souls.
But some have not, and Wanderer, an experienced soul that had earned respect through living in eight different planets, is inserted into the body of Melanie Stryder, a ferocious human with a life she has left behind that she will not abandon. Wanderer is shocked and frightened when Melanie sticks in her head, speaking with her and showing her memories she does not want to see. Those memories are that of her life before being caught by the souls, of Jared, a man she had loved, and of Jamie, her beloved younger brother. As Wanderer grows to know them as much as Melanie does, she grows to love them as well, and decides to go on a journey beyond the comfort of her home in the midst of her species, into the unwelcoming hands of a human rebel group. As time goes by, Wanda grows closer and closer to Melanie, and to her new unwilling human allies.
THE HOST is an astonishing tale woven with such great skill that it is literally impossible to put it down. The story is so well paced that the reader actually feels like he has been sucked into this crazy world, where humans live underground in secluded caves, and feels for the unlikely pair - a soul, shoved into a human community that despises her, and a human, trapped in her body with someone she could only consider an enemy. The story is complex, intriguing and thrilling, to the point of breaking a sweat as you turn the page or having tears well up in your eyes in sympathy or sadness. Stephenie Meyer has greatly surprised me with this incredible novel, which is much, MUCH better than her popular Twilight series, and feels like it was written by someone else entirely than the person who wrote of the Mary Sue-ish Bella Swan and her sparkly vampire boyfriend. THE HOST is a story for adults, no doubt, and is devoid of the irritating teenage angst scattered all over the Twilight books. The crucial pain - physical or emotional - Wanda and Melanie experience together is staggering, and the fascinating story of the Souls will keep you up all night in thought. Every page of this spectacular novel is filled with hope and light, intertwined with fear and darkness. I hate myself for not savoring this creation - I read it in less than twenty-four hours for fear of losing the vibe, and I will surely be running for the next installment. I only hope Meyer had fully jumped up from her writing style in the 'Twilight' saga and will not disappoint with THE SOUL... I can't wait to see what further difficulties Wanda and Melanie will have to face.
Oh, and there's plenty of romance as well, for those of you just out of the Twilight phase.
The last thing I will say of this novel is that it was fascinating to read of the human race from a perspective that certainly was NOT human. Somewhere in the book, Wanderer comes across an old newspaper from the time where humans still ruled, and her righteous alien soul is apalled by the crimes and cruelty committed by humans, at which point Melanie tells us that humans first became suspicious when the world started 'cleaning up'. It is difficult to think of ourselves as monsters, but with all this food for thought, we will certainly be contemplating the option. And then there's the other side of the Alien point of view; no other species feels emotion, either scorching anger or piercing love, the way a human does, and no creature is so committed and devoted to their loved ones. This book will keep me thinking for weeks, and babbling to anyone who would listen.
In a nutshell: THE HOST is truly a fantastic novel, worthy of much more appereciation than Twilight and its sequels. No reader, even a reader who does not like science fiction one bit, will be disappointed.
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