The Host (novel)
 Front cover of The Host | |
| Author | Stephenie Meyer |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science Fiction, Romance |
| Publisher | Little, Brown & Company (Adult) |
Publication date | May 06, 2008 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 624 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-316-16017-2 Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character |
The Host is a science fiction/romance novel by Stephenie Meyer, the author of the Twilight series. The Host introduces an alien race called Souls who take over Earth and its inhabitants, and describes one Soul's predicament when her host body refuses to cooperate with her takeover.
The Host was released on May 6, 2008.[1] However, an international version of the novel was released on April 2 2008 in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Indonesia, the Philippines, Australia, and Hong Kong by the UK publishing division.[2] The prologue and the fourth chapter of the book can be found on Meyer's official website.[3]
Background
Before writing The Host, Stephenie Meyer had published three books: Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse, the first three books in the Twilight series.
The idea for this book originated on a trip from Phoenix to Salt Lake City. Bored, Meyer made up stories to entertain herself, and was halfway through outlining the story of The Host in her head before realizing what she had created. She notes that the story grabbed her attention, and that she "could tell there was something compelling in the idea of such a complicated triangle." Originally meant to be a side project, The Host became a priority. [4]
Plot summary
Melanie Stryder is one of few "wild" humans, rebels who avoid the alien Souls that have taken over their planet. With her younger brother Jamie and the man she loves, Jared, Mel is on the run from Seekers, Souls whose Calling it is to hunt down host bodies for use. When she is finally captured, Mel is certain that it is the end.
Souls are creatures that rely upon host bodies to survive. Inserted into the back of the neck of their host bodies, the soul extends antennae throughout the body, erasing the mental presence of the being there before and establishing a claim over the body and mind.
Earth is Wanderer's ninth planet, and her ninth host body. Woken from her cryogenic sleep and given a new body, she is warned that the human body would be like no other creature she had inhabited before, for humans experienced much more passionate and vivid emotion than other beings. Shocked not only by the vividity of the emotions, the memories, and her new senses, Wanderer quickly learns that Melanie Stryder is not willing to give up her mind.
The book ends with a group of the rebels on a raid with Wanda, but are pulled over and discover a different rebel group who also have a Soul amongst them, and is left open enough to have a possible sequel.
References to Other Works
True to her other books, Meyer's book The Host includes a poem at the beginning of the novel. Her most recent selection is titled Question, by May Swenson, and ties into the idea of the mind's reliance on the existence of the body, just as Melanie experiences when inhabited by Wanderer.
Reception
The Host was named one of the 'Best Books of May' by Amazon.com, and also received praise about its ending saying, "Readers... will gleefully note that the story's end leaves the door open for a sequel--or another series."[5]
The Host was also named a #1 New York Times Bestseller. [6]
References
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