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As a follow up, Stephanie Meyer has targeted "The Host" at an older audience although it has a similar sci-fi/another world theme about it. The idea of this story is that another world of aliens has taken over the Earths population by entering the minds of humans but leaving their human ... Read review
Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that takes ... more
over the minds of their human hosts while leaving their bodies intact and most of humanity has succumbed. Wanderer the invading 'soul' who has been given Melanie...
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Clicking the above will open iTunes and take you to the iTunes store The HostStephenie ... more
MeyerHachette DigitalMay 3, 2013Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that takes over the minds of their human hosts while leaving their bodies intact, and most of humanity has succumbed. Wanderer, the invading soul who has been given Melanies body, knew about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the too-vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didnt expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind. Melanie fills Wanderers thoughts with visions of the man Melanie loves - Jared, a humanwho still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her bodys desires, Wanderer yearns for a man shes never met. As outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off to search for the man they both love.About the AuthorStephenie Meyer graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in English Literature and lives with her husband and three young sons in Arizona. She is the author of the Twilight series and THE HOSTAbout IcebergThe Iceberg Reader revolutionizes the reading experience by combining the familiarity and timelessness of books with the convenience of New Media. Iceberg makes it easier than ever to browse, buy and enjoy the written word.Features- Natural book-like reading experience with full pagination, like the original printed editions.- Each title includes cover art, front matter, running heads and page numbers.- Table of Contents incorporates one click navigation.- Vertical and horizontal page orientation.- Adjust font size with a pinch, text reflows automatically.- Brightness adjustment with paper-like backgrounds.- Swipe to turn the page.- Search the text within a book.- Create margin notes with user notation.- Integrates with iTunes bookstore, so your next Iceberg book is just one click away.About Hachette/Little Brown UKTwice winner of the KPMG publisher of the year award, and with a string of top sellers in each season, Little, Brown Book Group has a proven history of success.We pride ourselves on our focused publishing strategy: whether in fiction or non-fiction, we believe we should publish a limited number but a broad range of titles and our aim is to buy the best in any category and publish it with flair and enthusiasm.We focus on getting the most out of each book through detailed attention to every stage of the process, from editorial to design, the marketing and publicity campaigns and the retail strategy with key customers. We do this quite simply because all of us here at Little, Brown love books and love publishing.Little, Brown ebooks are published under the Hachette Digital imprint, and our list contains exciting titles from a wide variety of genres.www.littlebrown.co.ukAbout ScrollmotionScrollMotion, creator of the Iceberg Reader, is a content technology company based in downtown New York City. Our proprietary technology is reshaping how people experience digital information and entertainment, and ScrollMotion is also helping many of the greatest names in traditional media tap the vast potential of the mobile space. For more information, visit www.scrollmotion.com.SupportIf you have any technical problems please email us at icebergsupport@scrollmotion.com before you post a review.
Postage & Packaging:refer to website Availability:Release Date: 25 June 2009
Advantages: an all round engrossing read Disadvantages: took me a couple of chapters to get to grips with
...pretty up to date with the best sellers lists in fiction, (that is if, like me, you spend half your lunch break most weeks gazing at the lovely new books out in the book shops!) it would be hard to miss this author and the massive popularity of her previous series of books for young adults about a normal girl falling in love with a vampire. So successful was this series, it was made into a film with the further books being made soon I assume. ...sci-fi/another world theme about it. The idea of this story is that another world of aliens has taken over the Earths population by entering the minds of humans but leaving their human bodies in tact. These centipede-like aliens believe that humans are corrupt and evil and the spread of disease is out of control, so by controlling their minds they are creating a peaceful land with no need for war, violence, disease or hatred. (they have medicines ... more
If you are in to books and keep pretty up to date with the best sellers lists in fiction, (that is if, like me, you spend half your lunch break most weeks gazing at the lovely new books out in the book shops!) it would be hard to miss this author and the massive popularity of her previous series of books for young adults about a normal girl falling in love with a vampire. So successful was this series, it was made into a film with the further books being made soon I assume.
As a follow up, Stephanie Meyer has targeted "The Host" at an older audience although it has a similar sci-fi/another world theme about it. The idea of this story is that another world of aliens has taken over the Earths population by entering the minds of humans but leaving their human bodies in tact. These centipede-like aliens believe that humans are corrupt and evil and the spread of disease is out of control, so by controlling their minds they are creating a peaceful land with no need for war, violence, disease or hatred. (they have medicines to cure all illnesses and afflictions.)
As you can see, this idea isn't entirely new to the science fiction genre, and as I don't really read this sort of stuff, I would never be inclined to pick it up if I didn't already have an understanding of the authors writing style. Added to the fact that I enjoyed Meyers previous books, I was further intrigued by the story surrounding the "host body and its new occupant.
A little bit about the story...
The story is this. Wanderer, one of these centipede aliens, is placed in the human body of Melanie. Unlike most of Wanderers kind who enter human bodies, she is unable to entirely suppress Melanie. Usually what happens is that the aliens enter the bodies and before long the humans just fade away. Melanie is part of a small group of humans who have thus far refused to be captured by the alien invaders and has hidden, along with her brother and boyfriend, for years before eventually being captured resulting in Wanderers presence in her body. Melanie now refuses to leave Wanderer to her body so effectively she and Wanderer both share the same mind, although Wanderer is in control for most of the time.
Despite the resentment of both sides, Wanderer and Melanie are soon reunited when they realise they have the same goal and they go in search of Melanie's younger brother Jamie and her boyfriend Jared....
Once this last plot summary was revealed, I was hooked enough to get the book and I wasn't disappointed. it's a fairly hefty book and the first few chapters were hard to get my head round and made me worry slightly that this was just a little too sci fi for me; as I have mentioned, most sci-fi things go straight over my head so all the mention of host bodies and dealings with outer space were alien to me (ha ha). However, I wasn't put off and slowly the author explains everything fully and I was gripped by Melanie and Wanderers plight.
How did it compare to previous books by Meyer?
There are some definite similarities to the Twilight Series I found and I couldn't help but compare the way in which the main characters were drawn. It seemed that Melanie was a stronger version of Bella from the Twilight books and Jeb (Melanie's uncle) seemed to be made from a similar mould to that of the wise Billy Black from the same series.
The strongest similarity between the two however seems to be the love triangle - and in this case love square - that occurs in each book. Melanie and Wanderer both find it difficult to cope with each others strong feelings towards Jared and equally it is complicated even further when Ian, another member of the rebel group to remain human, falls in love with Wanderer. In a similar vein to the dilemma presented to Bella in the Twilight series between her, Jacob and Edward, the body of Melanie is constantly torn between her conflicting feelings for Ian and Jared.
At first I found this storyline irritating, after all Meyer has already played a similar scenario out before. However, I remembered how well she does at presenting the agony of love and how wonderfully descriptive she can be about characters feelings and this is her main strength as a writer. Unlike Bella, (who, if you have read my reviews you will know irritated me immensely for most of the books) Wanderers kind spirit is evened out with Melanie's much more practical human one and so the love storylines are not as annoyingly sickening as Bella's. The way in which the characters emotions are drawn out really got me involved with the characters feelings and it was this main area that became the hook for me.
Sci-Fi For Beginners!
As for the science fiction part of the book, I am no expert. However, I don't believe that the author herself is an expert and so her perception of such a genre appealed to me. The story was intriguing extremely engrossing and very simplistic. She didn't take anything too complicated to understand and for that I was grateful, I could follow without getting too lost or bogged down in the science of it. As well as that, action and suspense were thrown in for good measure; I was unable to put the book down at some points which meant many a late night finding out what happened next. Overall, Meyer manages to pull a difficult genre off very well and not alienate her audience (there I go again!) and blind them with too much sci-fi jargon. As always, her characters and their emotional lives are the main attraction and she had my undivided attention. I am keen to see what she comes with next.
Advantages: There's too many to write hear, read review! Disadvantages: If you get upset easily, this book is not for you
For the past 5 days I could have written this review, but not only did I not have the time, but I was really afraid of writing it. This was because I have been so comfortable writing my reviews on Point Horror books, and those structures are pretty simple, I'm scared of coming out of that whole structure and re-building it from scratch. But I have to do exactly that based on the fact that I have read all my Point Horror books!
If you had asked me ... ...think of the author: 'Stephenie Meyer'?" I wouldn't be able to reply as back then I had never heard of her, but when November 2008 came around, nearly everyone had heard of her, as one of her books was being released as a film. So I managed to buy the whole Twilight set of books all for only £14.99 from my school library catalogue called Scholastic. Anyhow I ended up with: "Twilight", "New Moon" & "Eclipse" all in paperback, and "Breaking Dawn" in ...
Jonni_boi 13.07.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Host - Stephenie Meyer
Advantages: Breathtaking page turner, great characters, great writing Disadvantages: The name Wanda is my only gripe!
...her new novel for adults, The Host, was released earlier this month I knew that I had to get it.
Being in France meant that I wasn't able to read it until a couple of weeks after publication, but what better way to spend the nine hour ferry journey home than with what promised to be a great book?
**Synopsis** (from back of book)
Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that takes over the minds of their human ... ...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 ...
amytheduck 30.05.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Host - Stephenie Meyer
Advantages: An amazing story with strong loveable characters Disadvantages: 617 Pages just isn't enough! I want more!
Stephenie Meyer is the author of the best selling Twilight series which is now more popular in the U.S.A than the Harry potter books are. The Host is not part of the Twilight series, it's a totally separate book but if you liked the Twilight series then you'll love this book. It was released in May 2008 so it's still quite new.
I have read the first three books in the Twilight series; Twilight, new Moon & Eclipse and I have just been out to buy ... ...I saw this book in the local library I snapped it up, it wasn't part of the Twilight series as I had hoped but it was still by Stephenie Meyer so I decided to give it a try.
It's the first book she has written for adults all of her others have been for teenagers. This is also the first book in which she has created a whole new world, a new way of being. In her other books which are about Vampires she keeps the world the way it is but this one is ...
faders321 04.08.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Host - Stephenie Meyer
Few people can have missed the Twilight series of books . The first book was made into a major motion picture, with the film 'New Moon' based on the second book in the series, scheduled to hit cinemas this November . There is no denying that Stephenie Meyer has made a big impact on the literary world . She is, to vampires, what J.K Rowling is to Wizards . She made them cool again . Unlike J.K Rowling,she isn't a one trick pony . While Rowling focused ... ...book, aliens have taken over the earth . Well, that isn't anything new, except these aliens have taken over earth with the intention of making everything better ? War, Famine , Disease ? These don't exist, what with the 'Souls' using us as 'Hosts'. They can access our memories and our emotions, but at the same time, they can control our reactions - and they are kinder than humans . . They are particularly interested in controlling Melanies reactions ...
Thehonesttruth 22.08.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Host - Stephenie Meyer
Advantages: I loved every page of the story. Disadvantages: Personally, I could not find any bad points tohe story.
The Host is quite a complex book, as it talks about the human populations in crisis, human beings being taken over by silver, worm-like creatures from a planted years away from ours. Humans go into hiding from the creatures and think that they are all the same, he want to take every human being as the host. But infact they can change and learn to live with humans and eventually love them.
This book by Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight Saga, ... ...makes the reader completely hooked on her every sentence. In my opinion, there are a few times where I thought I can't carry on reading this as there are a few scary parts but I loved every page and chapter of this book.
I will definatey read this book again. ...
wolf957 14.11.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of The Host - Stephenie Meyer
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Advantages: Fantastic storyline, delving into an unknown world. Disadvantages: The first few chapters are a little hard going.
After reading and re-reading the series of vampire books by StephenieMeyer, I was on the hopeful side when seeing the advert inside the front cover of one of afore mentioned books for her newest book.
After going away for the weekend with my husband and having the option or should I say privilege of wandering round shops without the kids, I ended up in the extortionately priced Waterstones?.having the time to browse!
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Advantages: Very thought provoking, good read Disadvantages: NA
For fans of the Twilight series of Stephanie Meyer, please be warned that this is a completely different kind of story. Catered for the adult market, it is a sci-fi written in a very different style to the other books of Stephanie but it?s still very much amazing.
It accounts a world which has been invaded by an alien race, the souls. They take over the minds of the humans while leaving their bodies intact and retaining their memories. The story is about a particular soul, Wanderer/Wanda.
Being the strongest soul, she?s been given the strong body of Melanie, one of remaining human rebels, who refuses to fade away. She has a hard time adjusting to the new life on earth as Melanie refuses to cooperate and very often, Wanderer is torn between the two minds. On one hand, she tries to get as much as possbile out of her human ...
Advantages: Part novel, part comic, really good, it's intriguing Disadvantages: maybe the cover!
This is a book I talk about non-stop! If someone asks me to recommend them a book, this one pops up in my mind, but it's usually the 3rd one I say after talking about Twilight and The Host, but who can blame me?
This I picked up as a 3 for 2 offer at Waterstones! I bought it along with "The Host" bye StephenieMeyer, and "Prom Nights From hell". So out of all 3 of those books this ends up being the last one left to review! It was a heat of the moment thing, I was looking for another 3 for 2, one that looked interesting, but my mom said to hurry up, and I hat it when she tells me that because I might totally miss a really good book, anyhow I had been uming and aring about whether this one should or shouldn't be my 3rd book, but I picked it up anyway and I paid for it, also getting some extra points on my Waterstones advantage card ...
