When it comes to the “Twilight” Saga, I’m a lukewarm fan. The plot was vaguely intriguing, the writing fairly compelling, the characters surprisingly relatable, but it wasn’t anything that blew my mind.
Needless to say, I expected similar output from author Stephenie Meyer when I picked up a hard copy of “The Host,” for $6.99 at Barnes & Noble. Not being particularly fond of tales involving otherworldly creatures, the novel had its second strike before I even opened the cover. Add these strikes to the fact that the prologue and first couple chapters are suffocated with unfamiliar terms and unintelligible drivel, and I’m surprised I even persevered. But I’m glad I did. “The Host” now stands solidly on my list of recommended reading.
Her first few chapters are immensely challenging because Meyer immediately immerses you in an alien world. Literally. Spoiler alert: Earth has been populated by “souls” that invade human minds.
Their bodies remain intact and the only way you can tell a human from a host is the presence of a silver iris. Those who are uninhabited lie in hiding, subsisting on stolen goods and invisibility.
Small communities have sprung up and they all work together to secretly rebel against the new race. During raids, if luck is on their side, they are able to kidnap a silver-eyed soul, to return to their abode. There, they experiment with ways to remove the soul from the host, but their attempts prove unsuccessful several times over.
Our protagonist is the dual character of Melanie and Wanderer (affectionately nicknamed Wanda). Wanda is a soul who resides in Melanie’s body, and the latter is an obstinate host who refuses to have her presence suppressed, as the other hosts allows. At first, the two war against each other, not understanding the phenomenon of this duality, but they eventually begin to rely on each other, offering trust and even fondness.
Driven by Melanie’s memories, the two find themselves lost, sun-blistered and just moments from death in the desert. In this condition, the leader of a nearby community, Jeb, rescues them and brings the alien home to allow the rest of the group to determine her fate. Most of the humans condemn her to death, without a thought, and one of the most vocal proponents of Wanda’s condemnation is a man named Jared, Melanie’s former lover.
Things look bleak for Wanda (and, consequently, Melanie) until Jeb persuades the mob to take her prisoner, rather than killing her. Slowly, Jeb manages to ingratiate the soul into their community, by having her perform common chores and participate in routine activities. In this way, Wanda learns to care for the people whose planet she invaded.
Where some love triangles fall flat and trite, Meyer is able to make a love quadrilateral three-dimensional and self-sustaining.
Jared is in love with Melanie, a man named Ian is in love with Wanda, Melanie is in love with Jared and Wanda is in love with both Jared and Ian. Sound complicated? It is, but Meyer writes the intricate romance in such a way that you not only understand, but empathize with every character. You want them all to win in the end, but that couldn’t possibly happen…could it?
I’m currently pushing my way through J.K. Rowling’s adult novel, “The Casual Vacancy,” and although I haven’t finished and I can’t make a full report, I’m certain I can say this: It is a sad day when a Meyer novel can cast a superior shadow over the creator of “Harry Potter.”
It just goes to show you that you can’t judge a book by its cover—or its author.
