The Host by Stephenie Meyer

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

(Little, Brown - 2008)

Rating: Excellent

This is one of those rare novels that feels completely perfect and self-contained, and leaves me in awe wondering if I'll ever been able to write anything as good as this book.

I'd read Meyer's Twilight a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it, but was waiting for the sequels to come out in paperback. When I heard that The Host was a standalone, I thought I'd give it a try.

I don't want to say much about the plot--I didn't read the cover blurb before buying it. Basically, the story takes place in a world in which human bodies are being taken over by aliens...though I promise for those who aren't fans of sci-fi, it's not technical or hokey at all.

Indeed, it's hard to define this book in terms of genre. Stephenie Meyer builds tension like very few other authors I know, but this isn't really a thriller...it's more about characters and their relationships. The character development and growth is fantastic, and the world-building is wonderful--this truly feels like something I haven't seen before. There's an interesting romance (or two) that had me rooting for the characters, though romance is not as much a focus in this novel as in Twilight.

If you're already a fan of Meyer's, definitely give this a try. You might also enjoy this if you're a fan of Sharon Shinn, Orson Scott Card, John Wyndham, or Anne McCaffrey...their novels all have a similar feel, to my mind.