The Host by Stephenie Meyer

  I was scared.  Who wouldn’t be?  I picked up the ARC for the new Stephenie Meyer book and it doesn’t have Bella or Edward in it.  Can she really write or was it just a lucky break?  And what a departure.  The Host is touted as pore science fiction.  I mean who does she think she is to try and write cross genre?  Well, it turns out she is a truly amazing author.  She can do sci-fi and not just do it, but do it well.  The Host was admittedly a bit slow to start off, but once you got into it you are in for the long haul and can’t put the book down til you’re done.  It reminded me of Puppet Masters by Heinlein (how do you pronounce his name?????).  The souls took over earth in order to make it peaceful.  They act as symbiotic beings in a sense.  They are implanted into humans and take over their consciousness.  One day, a soul is planted, but the person inside doesn’t leave.  And so begins The Host.  As usual, Meyer does a great job with characterization and relationships.  This is a chilling look at a seemingly benign alien invasion told from the point of view of both alien and human.  It was very well done, and, I am happy to say, will make the wait til August 3 more bearable.  Now I guess I’ll have to start wishing for her to write faster.