As a teenage lover of the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer, I finally have made my way to reading The Host; a science fiction novel set in a dystopian world. As a fan of reading post-apocalyptic fiction of many varieties (Stephen King, Scott Westerfeld, John Marsden) this was definitely up my alley in terms of books I enjoy.
Recommended to: Lovers of Twilight, young adult fiction, Vampire Academy readers (although less adult themes)
Rating: ☕ ☕ ☕
Synopsis
Earth has been taken over by an alien species called “Souls” that are inserted into a ‘host’ creature (geddit?), or in this case, humans. The aliens are small, squid-like, silvery creatures that are inserted into the brain via the neck. They have access to their hosts’ memories, and in the case of Wanderer, the person has not truly disappeared and remains a constant voice throughout the novel. Melanie is ever present and both she and Wanderer converse frequently, which is unusual for the Souls to experience. Wanderer seeks to silence Melanie, yet starts to be given flashbacks to the love of her life Jared and brother Jamie. She overrules the conventions of society and heads out into the wilderness, searching for these two characters. She finds them alive in a commune with other humans, including her ‘crazy’ Uncle Jeb, the man responsible for the shelter and in charge of the community. A love triangle, danger and tough decisions ensue.
Opinion *read at your own risk*:
The Host was well written and followed the conventions of a novel almost perfectly. I preferred the writing style of this novel compared to the Twilight series, probably because Meyer had a chance to hone her craft and was not catering to a horde of Edward and Jacob fanatics. She seems to capture the ‘first love’ of teenagers quite well, understanding passionate and spontaneous infatuation. I did find the love triangle (square?) between Melanie, Wanderer, Jared and Ian quite similar to Twilight, and it was quite frustrating to have 20-year-olds behave this way, with the two males in love with Melanie/Wanderer (Jared for Melanie’s body and Ian for Wanderer’s soul).
I was not a fan of how Jared was depicted – he was extremely angry at Wanderer when she arrived because her existence meant the death of Melanie, his lover. That part is understandable, sure – but he physically attacks her and shuns her throughout the novel until near the end, and is rewarded by Melanie’s unrelenting love throughout the novel, her jealousy of Wanderer’s physical proximity to Jared, and finally, her return. Other characters distrust and dislike Wanderer, but only two males are physically violent to her – the rest either refuse to acknowledge her or come around quite quickly through discussion. I am not a fan of Meyer’s reduction of male-only characters to being violent, and both of the main perpetrators are forgiven by the end with little punishment or character growth.
I did enjoy the plot by the end and the Souls are quite interesting and fantastical creatures with an unusual society and history. There is romance but nothing in the physical sense – the females lie about their ages to develop their relationships with the male characters, who treat them respectfully but give importance to virginity. This could be a reflection of Meyer’s Mormon background or the fact most readers will be teenage girls. The ending was sweet – Wanderer was allowed to live on, though attempted suicide through selflessness, in the character of a girl who apparently looked innocent and reflected Wanderer’s personality. Ian’s character grew on me when he mentions that he took care of her soul (as a silvery worm) whilst they were finding a body, and he loved her regardless of her form. I feel that this was a better depiction of love than the Melanie/Jared dynamic that dominates the majority of the novel (and the previous paragraph explains how I feel about Jared).
This novel did bring into question the dynamics of good v. evil and what it means to be human – although it’s also good for a light weekend read.
Love, Edie 