The Host

Nice idea, but characters are chattering away and nothing really happens.

First off, I adore this book. Here’s why: Let’s talk about the characters first. I wasn’t very fond of Stephenie Meyer’s characters in the Twilight series, for the simple reason that they are unrealistic. It bothered me that Bella was a girl who was completely dependent on the guy she was in love with (at what, 16?) and was willing to sacrifice everything for him. Then there’s Edward as a character who’s up to his neck in guilt and self-loathing that he hardly has time to notice anything else (besides Bella’s smell, obviously). Anyway, we don’t want to talk about Twilight now. What I’m trying to say is, that the characters in The Host are far more realistic (well done, Stephenie). Melanie is pretty kick-ass most of the time except for the parts where she’s so dependent on Jared that it’s like she couldn’t live without him (sensing a pattern here, Stephenie Meyer) but, at least, it makes sense in this context because it seems like they’re the last two people on Earth and she hasn’t met another human (apart from her younger brother) for months. The moments where she doesn’t think or act rationally because of her emotions aren’t annoying but make her human. Wanderer (or Wanda, as she’s called later on in the book) is fairly naive at times and wants to please everyone and she’s still good to people who tried to kill her (multiple times). This wasn’t annoying, though, because she isn’t human. She doesn’t know much about humans, so her behaviour is completely different from them. Apart from that, she comes from an extremely peace-loving society and her race has invaded Earth and she knows she’s unwelcome, so her self-sacrificing behaviour makes a lot of sense and shows good writing skills (well done, Stephenie Meyer). Nonetheless, in the end, she was brave and kind and just a brilliant character in total. Jared is a character I didn’t enjoy much. I understand that he is trying to shut off his emotions in order to function ‘right’ and make rational decisions but sometimes it was too much. There were times I just wanted to punch him in the face for being so stubborn because he made a lot of things more complicated than they had to be (but then, the story wouldn’t have been as extensive, would it?). I don’t want to say too much about Ian. I liked him but I he didn’t stand out to me. I was surprised at how things turned out because I hadn’t thought he would take on such a big role throughout the book. I was cheering for him and Wanda, though. (Jared certainly wasn’t someone I wanted her to be with.) As far as characters go, I was very grateful for Uncle Jeb. I didn’t know what to make of him at first because I wasn’t sure if he simply was open-minded and kind or if there was a plan behind it. Luckily (otherwise I would have been really mad), he was nice throughout the whole book. Now to why I am grateful for him. He just accepted Wanda (I’m just gonna call her that from now on) and took her in despite/because of the fact that she inhabited Melanie’s body. And he was the only one (at first) who believed that Melanie was still alive. He protects her and helps her and is interested in her, which is very new to Wanda. Here, Wanda is an alien, but in my opinion, this behaviour is applicable to everyday life. Jeb is just one of those people who accept others, no matter what their heritage, skin colour, religion or sexual orientation might be. I’m always grateful for characters like that. The plot was interesting over all and it made me want to keep reading at all times, but I think the most important part of a story are the characters. If they’re annoying or boring, the reading experience isn’t much good, even though the plot might be well-wrought. (The other way around it works better – brilliant characters can make a dull plot more fun to read.) And I think Stephenie Meyer did an amazing job with these characters. I really liked the ending (don’t worry, I’m not going to spoil anything) – it turned out to be even better than I had hoped. I was even a little surprised by it (partly anyway), which doesn’t happen often. I usually have a pretty good idea how a book will end while I’m reading it. The writing style was good, nothing too fancy, but I actually like Stephenie’s writing very much. It’s descriptive but still ‘clean’ and not confusing. She doesn’t need a lot of words to describe something, which I like. Sometimes you read descriptions that are longer than 2 pages and you feel yourself getting bored and annoyed. Those are usually books that take me a lot of time to get through even though I was really excited about them beforehand – and that’s kind of sad. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy and/or science fiction, although I think, people who aren’t too keen about the genre should give it a try because it’s not set far in the future or in a completely different world. It’s not so different. Wanda’s a bit different but she becomes more and more human over time – which, I feel, is what this book is about. What does it mean to be human? What does it mean to be good (or evil for that matter)?

This story has more potential than Twiligjt! At least in my opinion!

I'ver read the host multiple times now since I bought it way back in 2009 when I was 15 years old and even today it is one of my absolute favorite books. The stroyline is one I have never seen before and I was so excited to start reading. At first it progresses slowly explaining the world and the universe it is set in and how the souls' nature is. But once it really starts, it really starts.. I wasn't able to put the book down after that and I finished it in less than two days. The evolving of the relationship between the two main characters was so well written and interesting to follow, the thoughts they both have and their sometimes contrary feelings were described so well.

Firstly, I've never read the twilight-saga books, I never finished them. I started them, and with Breaking Dawn I was almost at the middle of the book when I got sooooo bored. I never would've bought this book 'The Host' myself, because it was so expensive and I wasn't sure I would like it. Then I won it in a book contest and I was like - well, I get this book FOR FREE, why not give it a chance? And there we go. What I think about the story: I finished this book 2 days ago and I have to say I really liked it. I found it was an intresting and unique storyline, I also had no clue we would get to the real story so quick, I had expected to have to read 400 pages of 'we're on a trip to find our family' haha :) I really liked the idea with the cave, it was really cool. What I think about the characters: WELL. I haven't really read the twilight books but I've seen the movies and I know enough about the characters to say: *spoiler* Doc was so much like Carlile. Their spirit and kindness and so on was so alike I found! Jared was a bit like Edward, but really just a tiny bit. Edward is described as being flawless and perfect I guess - Jared HAS his flaws and he has enough of them. For more than half the book he HATES Wanda and he would kill her if he had the chance, then suddenly he starts to like her and get close with her. Ian was a bit like Jacob - jealousyyyy all over again ;) It was almost annoying to see how jealou and selfish he was, I wished he was a bit more patronizing. *spoiler* Wanda was nooothing like Bella really, neither was Melanie. I liked that because I never was a fan of Bella. Wanda was really nice and kind and I really liked that about her. Her fights with Melanie were intresting to read and it was something different. I liked Wanda and I could understand her and her reactions like 92% of the time. What I think about this book in general: It was soooo loooong. Really. Some people said it didn't felt like 600 pages but for me it did. Actually, I'm german and i read this book in my language an there it was 860 pages uuuuugh. It was the longest book and the most pages I've ever read. I think, 300-400 pages would've been good too. I believe the only reason she stretched the story so much was to get a big book :D I also don't think there should be sequels, the storyline is finished, it's done and she should leave it like that. Again, I think she only wants to do sequels for the money.. anyways. I also was waiting for a plot twist, something that would've surprised us all. The ending was so predictable really. Conclusion - I would recommend this book to fans, non-fans and enemies of the twilight saga because it's so different from it! The characters are a bit alike, but that's not a reason to not read this book. :) I liked it, 4* our of 5. Because of the stretching and it wasn't MIIIIND BLOOOWING but it was surpisingly good :)

first read in 2008 reread because the movie is coming soon

Ich kam erst schwer rein, aber nach einem guten Viertel hat es mich dann doch ziemlich in seinen Bann gezogen. Zwischendurch fand ich dieses Aufopferungsvolle ziemlich nervig, aber die letzten 3 Kapitel flossen bei mir Tränen ohne Ende, die die negativen Stellen wieder wett gemacht haben. Inhaltlich hat es mich anfangs ein wenig an Stargate erinnert, aber dann nahm die Story doch ihren ganz eigenen Lauf. Gott sei Dank war die Geschichte deutlich anders und hat sich nicht so schwach entwickelt, wie die Twilight-Teile. Gefiel mir ausgesprochen gut (vom holprigen Start abgesehen).