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The Host: A Novel | 
| Author: Stephenie Meyer
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Category: Book
List Price: $25.99
Buy New: $13.90
You Save: $12.09 (47%)
New (27) Used (4) Collectible (1) from $13.90
Avg. Customer Rating:  56 reviews
Sales Rank: 8
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 624
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.9
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 2
ISBN: 0316068047
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780316068048
ASIN: 0316068047
Publication Date: May 6, 2008 (New: This Week)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: BRAND NEW - EXCEPTIONAL VALUE - EXCELLENT BUY - QUICK SHIP - SECURE PACKAGING
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| 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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 51 more reviews...
 Amazingly Done! A Wonderful Treat! May 13, 2008
I'm absolutely thrilled to report that Stephenie Meyer has outdone herself with this one! I still can't get over her ability to take a genre that I have absolutely no interest in and make me an avid fan! I'm astounded and still can't get over it-I want to reread it already! I never thought to actually like Wanderer, simply because I originally saw her as a body thief and an alien, but I ended up liking her immensely. I even cried at one point with pity for her. I won't give anything away on this one; suffice it to say that it's worth the read!
 What a Tease! May 13, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I really wanted to love this book. I love Stephenie Meyer's first three books and after reading them, I told friends that I would read anything she ever wrote because she's really a great writer. So I read "The Host"... and... well... it wasn't quite what I expected. It was painfully slow in the beginning but I kept reading until I was too invested to stop. (Not finishing a book is a big pet peeve of mine.) I was hoping for a real page turner and I got it... well, occasionally... followed by a snoozefest... then a couple more exciting passages... then a snoozefest. The middle was good, the end was good but I feel like she just tried to bulk up the book with weak stories and conversations. It was all a bit predictable I prefer quality over quantity. And Wanda...UGH... give me a break! What a passive winer! I found myself rolling my eyes during several conversations between Melanie and Wanda. I just kept waiting for something really exciting to happen...never did. By the end, I was just waiting for it to be over. This book was pitched as a Sci-Fi/Romance... sorry... but I think Ms. Meyer came up short on both counts. Even the greater themes of the book (Love, Life, Relationships) was just weak, that's the only thing I can say about it... just really WEAK... in my little opinion of course.
Exceptional May 13, 2008
wow! I had been impressed with Stephanie Meyer's Twilight saga, so I had some expectations going into this novel, but I was awed! This story is so original and unique that it keeps you on your toes the entire time. You start thinking that it will be predictable, and then it blows you away. It kept me up until 4 in the morning reading this! Definitely one to recommend to all fantasy and scifi buffs out there, as well as fans of Meyer's other works.
 Exceeds expectations!... Meyer's first adult novel grips you till the end. May 13, 2008
Being a once reluctant fan of the Twilight series, I was soon engrossed in the sci-fi which was yet a cleverly realistic saga intended for teenage readers. Meyer's highly anticipated "The Host" was a welcome interlude while her fans of the Twilight series wait for the release of "Breaking Dawn" this summer. I had pre-ordered "The Host" along with "Breaking Dawn", though unbeknownst to me at the time; they would be shipped together only once the fourth novel of Twilight was released in August... So I found a copy of "The Host" on May 6, the day if its release and finished in a few days. The story captured my intrigue and imagination much like the plots in her Twilight series and kept me "reading well into the wee hours of the night" as Ridley Pearson's review claimed.
The once again far fetched yet realistic storyline of "The Host" becomes a believable break from reality that today's demanding readers covet. Her tale intertwines danger with comfort, doubt with certainty, rage with passion and I was happy to see similarities in her vivid emotional narrating of the myriad of feelings felt by her female lead-characters of which both her sagas perspective are from. The relationships and rollercoastering of emotions between Melanie/(Wanda) and Jared/(Ian) were as remarkably similar and pleasing as that of Bella and Edward/(Jacob). Meyer's gripping narrative has clearly matured since her initial appearance in the literary world with "Twilight". (I also caught no typos or grammatical errors of which I noticed many even in "Eclipse"). Overall, "The Host" showcases the limitless compassion of the human 'soul', and what we are capable of overcoming; in both good and evil. The truest dilemma that I saw was how the 'souls' invasion erased all that was negative about human society and act to make Earth truly a peaceful place. Though denying the natural inhabitants of their own planet the choice of life made them un-human and therefore stole everything it meant to be human. Wanda sees the natural tendency of human's fear to turn into violence and saw this as their untrue character but soon saw the capacity to change opinions and therefore their actions in the face of undeniable reason which turned their hatred to love and acceptance. Meyer gives us all a stimulus to look within ourselves and to see into our own 'soul' to view our character and what we are capable of. This helps us to see how truly "Life and Love live on".
 Tepid and a bit disappointing May 13, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I think that Stephanie Meyer started with a wonderful concept. I was prepared to like this book as much as the Twilight series, if not more, because I am an avowed science fiction fan and I think Ms. Meyer's writing in the Twilight series was captivating. In The Host, I did like the way the author tried to write the characters, especially the character of Melanie, from a filtered perspective. It is intiguing to think about another sentient species socialized with different objectives and moral codes. However, my biggest disappointment was that the end result did not provoke any intense feelings at all. I like to become involved in a story and vest myself in the characters and their loves, losses and challenges. Unfortunately this particular literary aspect, which is a must in great fiction for me, was absent in this novel. Well written and thoughtful subject matter but definately not worth buying the hardcover version.
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