The Host - Softcover

S. Meyer

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0316056421 ISBN 13: 9780316056427

Publisher: Black Bay Books : Little, Brow, 2009

Synopsis

The alien invasion is over, and, uh, we kind of lost. Oops. The story opens with an alien parasite being implanted into a human body. They call the alien Wanderer, and Wanderer's job is to access the memories of her host body, Melanie, and tell the Seeker where to find more humans. The thing is, Wanderer starts liking Melanie. More than that, she likes the way Melanie's memories of her hunky boyfriend, Jared, make her feel. Wanderer wants to find Jared and Melanie's brother Jamie herself. To make sure they're safe and keep them that way. Deciding to betray her species, Wanderer sets off into the desert and uses Melanie's memories to find Jared and Jamie's hideout. Unfortunately, she's not very good at resource management. She guzzles through their water supply way too fast and passes out from exhaustion in the desert. Don't try this at home, kids. Melanie's Uncle Jeb finds Wanderer/Melanie in the desert and gives them a drink of life-giving water. They revive, only to find themselves confronted with a dozen or so angry, alien-hating humans. With guns. Dehydrating in the desert is starting to look good after all... She finds out that Jamie and Jared are still alive, but Jared is so not happy to see her. He greets her with a backhand to the face. Yikes. Well, it's not like Emily Post has an etiquette tip on what to do when your girlfriend has been taken over by an alien parasite. For all we know, this might be the preferred method of action. At least he didn't shoot her. Jeb doesn't want Wanderer/Melanie dead, though. And since he's in charge, what he says goes. He puts Wanderer/Melanie into a tiny little prison cave, where they keep her fed and watered like a scraggly houseplant until they decide what to do with her. Over the next few weeks, Wanderer slowly acclimates to cave life, and the humans kind of get used to her, too. Jamie doesn't think she's half bad, and becomes like a brother to her. They start calling her by the less creepy name of "Wanda." Wanda tells them stories of her lives on other planets. One of the cave dwellers, Ian, might even be falling in love with her. Life is fairly calm for a bunch of alien-resisting rebels. Unfortunately, Walter, one of the cave dwellers, has cancer and is dying. On his deathbed, he mistakes Wanda for his deceased wife Gladys. She goes along with it, offering him comfort and compassion until he dies. This compassionate act endears her to Doc, the cave's flamenco dancer. Kidding, he's a doctor. Not all the humans like her, though. Jared loves Melanie, but still kind of hates Wanda. Ian's brother Kyle hates her enough to try to drown her in the bathing cave. He doesn't succeed, but Wanda refuses to let the others punish him. She believes that most humans are ruled by their anger, and Kyle isn't any different. One day, Jared and Jamie return from a supply run. It was Jamie's first, and he fell on his knife like a doofus. His injury becomes infected and life-threatening (worse part about the alien invasion/zombie apocalypse: no more penicillin), so Wanda convinces Jared to take her to a healing facility in Tucson. There, Wanda deceives the souls and steals their awesome drugs. (The legal, healing kind.) Her heroism saves Jamie, and everyone pretty much loves her after that. Except Kyle. He's still a jerk. Seeing the benefits to having Wanda on their side, Jared takes her on a supply run. She can shop in alien-run stores without raising suspicion. They return from a supply run and discover that the Seeker killed a cave dweller and has been taken hostage. Wanda doesn't want the Seeker to be killed. She believes she can save both the Seeker and the body she resides in. Wanda performs a surgical procedure safely removing the Seeker. It's much less gory than Doc's previous efforts, which always resulted in the death of alien and host. They put the Seeker in a cryotank and blast the Seeker into space. Don't let the moon hit ya on the way out!...

About this title

Review

Amazon Best of the Month, May 2008: Stephenie Meyer, creator of the phenomenal teen-vamp Twilight series, takes paranormal romance into alien territory in her first adult novel. Those wary of sci-fi or teen angst will be pleasantly surprised by this mature and imaginative thriller, propelled by equal parts action and emotion. A species of altruistic parasites has peacefully assumed control of the minds and bodies of most humans, but feisty Melanie Stryder won't surrender her mind to the alien soul called Wanderer. Overwhelmed by Melanie's memories of fellow resistor Jared, Wanderer yields to her body's longing and sets off into the desert to find him. Likely the first love triangle involving just two bodies, it's unabashedly romantic, and the characters (human and alien) genuinely endearing. Readers intrigued by this familiar-yet-alien world will gleefully note that the story's end leaves the door open for a sequel--or another series. --Mari Malcolm

About the Author

Stephenie Meyer is the author of the #1 bestselling Twilight Saga and The Host. She graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in English literature, and she lives with her husband and three young sons in Arizona.

About this edition

• Publisher: Black Bay Books : Little, Brow
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0316056421
• ISBN 13: 9780316056427
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback