BOOK REVIEW: The Host by Stephenie Meyer
By: Scott Rader
5/19/2008
The Host should have been called Love and the Bodysnatchers. That's a catchy title that'll grab anyone. Instead it's called The Host. But it's about love and the bodysnatchers. And if that doesn't make you want to read it, you are dead inside.
It begins with the body of Melanie Stryder being taken over by an alien named Wanderer. What's most interesting about this book is the fact that Melanie doesn't go away. This creates an interesting dynamic we don't usually see in bodysnatcher type stuff. What does happen to the human when their body is taken? Are they still there? If they are still there what are they thinking? And The Host does a fantastic job with those questions. The complexity of the relationship between Wanda and Melanie is one of the most interesting relationships developed in current science fiction.
Author Stephenie Meyer also mixes enough romance, action, SF-stuff to keep readers entertained along the way. That's not to say this book is flawless though.
For one it could have used a paper cutter. Not an editor, so much as someone with one of those big, dangerous looking paper cutters, to chop this thing in half. For everything great about The Host it still felt like a chore to finish it.
Still with relatable characters and an interesting plot, The Host manages to keep the reader reeled in from start to finish.
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