The Host

You wake up and see through eyes that are no longer yours. You hear a voice in you head, that isn't you. And worst of all, that voice talks to you.

This is the setting for Stephenie Meyer's first adult novel The Host.

Planet Earth has been occupied by parasitic aliens that attach themselves to host bodies, meaning us. Melanie Stryder is one of the few humans to survive the invasion until a risky plan to save a loved one sends her into the heart of the beast. She is captured and becomes the host body for the alien Wanderer. But Melanie does not go away lightly. Melanie becomes a nagging presence in her hijackers mind.

The two slowly from a bond to find the one that they both love, Jared. Through this sci-fi love story we learn a lot about perseverance and what it means to be human. Melanie and Wanderer's shared love for Melanie's lost flame, Jared, unites the two unlikely allies.

This is the first Stephenie Meyer book that I have read. I have heard a lot of great things about her Twilight series, so I thought I would give this a try. It has it's ups and downs. The first couple hundred pages are an exciting thrill ride, that mixes past and present in unfolding the story. The middle of the book can be a slow read. Some parts of it had me yearning for the end. However, once the book starts to race towards its somewhat expected ending, the love comes back and you don't want to put it down.

This was a very interesting twist on the whole body-snatchers/alien invasion genre. I thought it was well written and well thought out. There could have been some parts nixed in the final draft, but all in all it is a solid book.

I give this book high B. If it wasn't for some tedious parts in the fat of the book, it would have probably received an A.