The Host

A Novel

By: Stephenie Meyer

Narrated by: Kate Reading

Length: 23 hrs

Publisher's summary

Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. Earth has been invaded by a species that takes over the minds of human hosts while leaving their bodies intact, and most of humanity has succumbed.

Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, knew about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the too vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts with visions of the man Melanie loves - Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer yearns for a man she's never met. As outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off to search for the man they both love.

Featuring what may be the first love triangle involving only two bodies, The Host is a riveting and unforgettable novel that will bring a vast new readership to one of the most compelling writers of our time.

©2008 Stephenie Meyer (P)2008 Hachette Audio

#OnTheRoad #HadtoKeepDriving #Suspenseful

I have to say this book is very, very good. One thing Stephanie Meyer can do, and do well, is write that angsty feeling of being in love. She captures the essence of longing in this book as well as hope and the drive to feel complete.
The alien elements, the world building seem simplistic at first but as the story develops a real genuine sense of genius comes across.

I suggest it to anyone interested in the notion of aliens, otherness, and romance. It has all three.

Plus the suspense. It is predictably unpredictable at first...but then it takes on new dimensions of Koontz like suspense at later stages as the true dilemma unfolds.

Amazing, gripping, emotional, creative, absorbing!

I wish there were more but the ending was satisfying and what I hoped for. I won't give much information about the story itself, as I don't want to ruin it for others with spoilers, but I will say that as things became more desperate, life-threatening decisions looming ahead, hovering menacingly, and filling me with dread, I found myself frequently choked up. I read and re-read this book, over the last few years, saw it in the theater, bought the DVD and eventually bought the Audible version. The narrator did a fantastic job. I was amazed at how well she portrayed the voices of so many different people; old and young, men, women, children...The further she progressed into her reading of the story, the more realistic the individual voices became, and I was truly impressed by the way she could manipulate her own voice in such a convincing manner. When she read the parts for the men, for example, I wasn't sure it was her. It was so convincing, I thought at times that there were men and children co-narrating the story. She was very expressive, and made it interesting and exciting. Even after reading, listening, and watching the story so many times, I have been caught up in its spell, literally fighting tears at times. It is well worth reading and listening to, and I loved every bit of it. It never got boring. I don't know how it is possible, but this is one of those rare stories that held me spellbound, attention fully riveted, every single time, as if hearing it for the first time. This is one of those stories you don't want to miss. Stephanie Meyer is amazingly talented in her ability to move between genres and audiences so convincingly and create such a compelling story that she amasses a huge audience of nearly rabid fans. I don't know if this story is designed for a younger audience, as I suspect it may be, but as a 53 year old woman, I loved it and was every bit as absorbed by it as any teen might be. I also like that her stories are clean, not peppered with foul language and strong sexual situations. She is able to tell a fantastic story without having to resort to lots of sex and excessive "language" to create and keep an audience spell-bound. These days, it seems like that is quite a feat. While there were a couple things that were distracting to me because I found it hard to suspend my disbelief over those parts, the human (and not so human) drama reeled me in and made me feel as though I were a part of the story most of the time, and made me feel I was the protagonist, with all her emotions, angst, joy, sorrow, love, and even fear and revulsion. I was right there with her through every uncertainty and injustice, every love and loss, every hope, dream and moment of deepest despair. If I had been the writer, I would have chosen a different transformation for the protagonist, towards the end, however. I would have chosen someone more "adult", less childlike, stronger, and more suited to her past experiences, but maybe that's just me. Still, I will probably listen to this again and again over time, re-read, and re-watch it on DVD, although the movie doesn't begin to do justice to the book. I am pretty certain that it will continue to affect me in the same emotional ways in the future however. Each time, I get a little something different out of it also, as my experience is also transformed by time.

I can’t complain!

This is one of those situations where I’d rate the book and movie about the same. The book can be “wordy” but I liked the ending better then the movie, the movie cuts out a lot of “words” :) but was overall pretty good. I could have easily spent a credit on book two if there was one. The narrator is very good with an exception, and the exception could just be me so I won’t set you up on that one, judge for yourself but I had a few moments of “wait, who’s talking?”. You grow to like the characters, I think they’re well developed, if they aren’t they don’t matter. The real draw is the background of the aliens, if I could dream this stuff up I’d be a writer too! It’s worth the credit!

Love it

I’ve always liked this book, since the first time I read it to myself. The narrator is captivating and the story is made even more enjoyable in her hands. 10/10 would recommend.

good book bit seems slow at parts

I struggled to keep interest in the story.i took a couple weeks to finish this one.

The host

I wasn’t able to finish the physical novel, wasn’t able to get into it. The audio book was easier to enjoy and I found the book entertaining.

Work of art!

I don't know if I can find the right words to describe how incredible this story is. I've read A LOT of books and listened to A LOT of audiobooks, and this one had me captivated from word one like no other. The narrator is superb!

I'd get interpreted during listening only to find that I had tears running down my face. This happened several times. I laughed out loud often. I felt every emotion of every character like they were my own. I envisioned every moment of this story from beginning to end.

If you like sci-fi, this is a story for you. If you like conflict, physical and emotional, this is a story for you. If you have ears, eyes or any other way to consume a novel, this is a story for you :)

Pleasantly surprised.

I'm not a Twilight fan, so I was dubious when a friend reccomended this, but I was happily surprised by the writing, imagination, plot, and character development. Not an epic, but entertaining and interesting, keeps you listening to find out how the unusual love triangle will be resolved... in tragedy or joy.

Exceptional Read and Concept

I absolutely love this book! I've listened to it or read it at least 20 times and I always come back to it. It highlights both the good and bad in the human race but proves that good traits tend to be more prevalent. I cry and laugh each time I read it. Stephanie did and exceptional job making Mel and Wanda come alive as individuals and their narrative easy to follow. Can't wait for the sequel!

Good story

But in my opinion it take too long until the story start to be interesting…