The Host by Stephenie Meyer

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The Host by Stephenie Meyer is touted as a science fiction/romance novel, though I have to say it was simply science fiction. Yes, there is a bit of romance, but all human relationships are highlighted in the novel and love features in a ton of traditional sci-fi stories. To be honest, I enjoyed it, so I don't want to call it a romance novel, okay?

There are bits of The Host by Stephenie Meyer that are reminiscent of more famous science fiction novels. There is an invasion of the body snatchers thing going on in The Host that brings to mind Stephen King, not to mention a host of moviemakers (no pun intended). However, Stephenie Meyer makes her body-snatching aliens very kind with few exceptions (kind of like the sparkly, vegetarian bloodsuckers of Twilight). The personalities that she gives her aliens and their motive for invading Earth is what makes The Host stand out from other body snatching science fiction.

Without giving away too much, The Host is essentially about one of these body snatchers who cannot drive the human from the body she has snatched. Therefore, she is forced to share that body. Over time, she becomes sympathetic to the human's plight and sees the error of her species' well-meant ways. What follows from there is an adventure that takes the alien (Wanderer) and her host (Melanie) from being hated by the humans to finding their place among the few who have survived the alien invasion. Stephenie Meyer has done a great job of seeing human emotion through the eyes of a gentle soul from outer space.

Of course, there are a few things about Stephenie Meyer's The Host that could use a little more detail. Given that this is her first science fiction novel, I think that we can forgive her for not giving us more information about the alien invasion on Earth and more. What makes science fiction novels like Dune, Fahrenheit 451 and The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (to name a few) so popular is that background of the novels, in my opinion. Sci-fi readers want rich history and detail. I still enjoyed The Host by Stephenie Meyer, but I would be lying if I said it would ever be on par with those great classics.

If you have read The Host by Stephenie Meyer, let me know what you think about in the comments section. I would love to hear how others are receiving this book. Mind you, it is not new. It has just been horribly overshadowed by the Twilight series.

Shelly Barclay