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The Host: A Novel Audiobook
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Plot Summary
Melanie Stryder is one of the last free humans alive in a world inhabited by "Souls," an alien race that takes over human bodies, completely erasing the original person. Melanie is eventually invaded by a Soul named Wanderer, but she refuses to fully succumb to this alien intrusion into her body. Melanie bombards Wanderer with emotions and memories of her loved ones, including her lover Jared Howe. Unable to emotionally detach herself from the desires of her host, Wanderer sets out to find Jared and the other humans.
Wanderer soon finds herself near death, lost in the desert. Against the wishes of the other humans, Melanie's uncle allows Wanderer to rest and receive care in the human cave. As Wanderer infiltrates the camp she is accepted and begins to develop her own love affair with Ian O'Shea. Her loyalty is put to the test when she discovers the humans are experimenting with methods of extracting their alien hosts. However, their methods end in death for both the human and the Soul. Wanderer knows of a method that will only result in the death of the Soul. Will she reveal it, basically sacrificing herself? Through many trials Wanderer proves her loyalty to the humans and deepens the unique love triangle created between Wanderer, Melanie and the two different men they love. These two unlikely allies face difficult decisions that mean life and death for them and the rest of humanity.
The Host is a brilliant blend of the science fiction and romance genres.
Stephanie Meyer is an award-winning author and producer, most famous for her vampire romance series Twilight. She was the bestselling author in America in 2008 and 2009, selling 29 million and 26.5 million copies respectively. Time magazine ranked her no. 49 on its list of "100 Most Influential People" in 2008, and Forbes put her at no. 26 on its "2009 Celebrity 100 List" and ranked her the 59th most powerful celebrity in 2010. Additionally, USA Today named her "Author of the Year" in 2008.
Meyer has revealed that she plans to make The Host a trilogy, calling the second and third books "The Soul" and "The Seeker." Meyer lives in Cave Creek, Arizona with her husband, Christian, and three sons, Gabe, Seth and Eli.
"The Host is another wonderful book by the author of Twilight. This book is going in a completely different direction than Twilight though. This book is all about aliens that inhabit human bodies as souls and take over the world. There is a coven of humans hiding from the aliens though. When one soul, the Wanderer, inhabits her body, the soul of the human is too strong to let her completely take over. This book follows the soul and her body on their adventure to find the humans and reunite with the people that the human body loves. I loved this book when I read it as a teenager, and I definitely think that it would be a wonderful addition to a classroom. I would suggest this book for the seventh grade or higher."
— Breanna (4 out of 5 stars)
Publisher Summary
Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take 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'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 herself from her body's desires, Wanderer yearns for a man she's never met. As outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off to search for the man they both love.
Featuring what may be the first love triangle involving only two bodies, The Host is a riveting and unforgettable novel that will bring a vast new readership to one of the most compelling writers of our time.
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Quotes
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“Stephenie Meyer is an amazing phenomenon—out of the brightness of her mind and spirit comes the illuminated darkness of her stories. For no matter how much pain her characters suffer, Meyer infuses the tales with light and hope.”
— Orson Scott Card -
“A fantastic, inventive, thoughtful, and powerful novel. The Host should come with a warning label: it will grab you and keep you reading well into the wee hours of night and keep you thinking, deeply, hauntingly, well after the final word. Stephenie Meyer captures characters and handles story line like a master—a hybrid combination of Stephen King and Isaac Asimov.”
— Ridley Pearson, New York Times bestselling author -
“An epic story of love, family, and loyalty…The Host is The X-Files meets Days of Our Lives.”
— USA Today -
“Meyer is more interested in relationships than in flashy genre conventions…Meyer’s affirmative life lesson is disarming.”
— Entertainment Weekly -
“Meyer has, like one of her vampires, turned into something rare and more than merely human: a literary phenomenon…The way she manages the reader’s curiosity, maintaining tension and controlling the flow of information, is simply virtuosic…People do not want to just read Meyer’s books; they want to climb inside them and live there.”
— Time -
“A brilliant and fascinating premise…Its mix of adventure and new love on a new Earth is just right to get lost in this summer.”
— Pittsburgh Post-Gazette -
“Shines with romantic intrigue.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“Reading beautifully expresses the confusion of a creature who is accustomed to a certain compassionate detachment and who becomes quickly overwhelmed by the strong passions of her human encounter. These emotions drive Wanderer to seek out the loved ones whom Melanie left behind…delivers both emotional satisfaction and a somewhat morally ambiguous ending.”
— AudioFile -
“The Host lives up to the hype, blending science fiction and romance in a way that has never worked so well.”
— Library Journal -
“You might assume that Meyer’s bestselling Twilight series, about the intense love between a human teen and a vampire, takes the interspecies relationship thing about as far as it can go. There’s where you’d be wrong. Meyer’s ingenious adult-market debut, heavily but not tediously indebted to Invasion of the Bodysnatchers, imagines the tangled web of attachments between an alien parasite and the colony of humans to which the alien’s host body once belonged…The view of the apocalypse from the vantage point of one of its horsemen makes for propulsive reading, laden with unforgettable, unsettling scenes that raise fascinating questions about distinctions between essential human identity and its physical vessel. Consider buying duplicate sets of Meyer’s ouevre, one for adults and one for YAs, since this entertaining, somewhat soft-focus SF saga will only serve to broaden the penumbra of Meyer’s fame.”
— Booklist -
“Mature and imaginative…propelled by equal parts action and emotion…Its unabashedly romantic, and the characters (human and alien) genuinely endearing.”
— Amazon.com, editorial review -
“Host will likely appeal to readers interested in supernatural romance or character-driven science fiction. Questions of what defines humanity and love add a philosophical angle to an engaging and entertaining title.”
— School Library Journal -
“Evocative…Readers will feel bereft by this bittersweet tale, full of of longing.”
— RT Book Reviews
Awards
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A New York Times bestseller
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A USA Today bestseller
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An Amazon Best Book of the Month, May 2008
The Host Listener Reviews
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MadKing, 10/18/2022
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LA.YAM, 10/24/2020
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" I really enjoyed the struggle to understand the nature of humanity and the way the author created a situation in which we are forced to think about our consciousness and the many different ways we feel and give love. The discussion questions at the end really gave me a lot to think about and the playlist she offers in the end is intriguing. I might have to try it out. "
— Pigeon, 2/8/2014 -
" Stephenie outdid herself on this book. I loved this story more than Twilight! I really with that she would finish the next book in this trilogy. Very Sci-Fi with a neat twist on human souls! Don't read this expecting another Twilight kind of book. Great storyline! "
— Kim, 2/8/2014 -
" I loved how Stephanie was able to capture the perspective of both the humans, and the "aliens" and make it seem like there was no true "evil" yet everyone was a little creepy, guilty, confused, and had there own idea of "good" and "bad". Make no mistake though this book isn't cheesy, or full of rainbows and butterflies nether is it that gruesome. Its just awesome a great book, the first few chapters were a little confusing but ones you get in to it it's so totally worth it. "
— Zion, 2/5/2014 -
" Meh, kinda book. It's a bit slow, but it is intriguing. "
— Jillian, 1/18/2014 -
" Another great love triangle by Stephenie Meyer! You will not be disappointed! Just saw the movie last week and it does a great job of following the book. (See the movie after you read the book!) "
— Pam, 1/10/2014 -
" good at the beginning but started to wear off on me at the end "
— Roxie, 1/9/2014 -
" interesting take on the concept, but very Juvenile and predictable. "
— Sarah, 12/31/2013 -
" Although I couldn't read even the first book of the Twilight series (a little too much teenaged angst for my tastes), I enjoyed reading what is sort of the backstory to Invastion of the Body Snatchers. It was a pretty light read, but sometimes that's OK. "
— Jeweleye, 12/13/2013 -
" Actually, I liked this book. It was definitely "out there" but it had the traditional human spirit despite the alien influence. "
— K8, 12/7/2013 -
" A great book! Waiting on the sequel. "
— Laurie, 9/20/2013 -
" It didn't read as a science fiction really. I liked the way the relationship between Mel and Wanda progressed. I would recommend reading it. "
— Robin, 8/25/2013 -
" I loved this book. It was amazing. "
— Éilis, 5/12/2013 -
" I never knew she could write this kind of amazing suspense! "
— Rachel, 5/5/2013 -
" Interesting! I didn't put it down once I started reading it. "
— Veronica, 10/10/2012 -
" FABulous beach read if you loved anything about the Twilight series "
— Claire, 2/24/2012 -
" This is a much more tolerable Stephanie Meyer book. Again, the sci-fi aspects are just fun to imagine, but this one has much less lovey-dovey junk in it. There is, of course, a love triangle though. Overall, I liked it. "
— Laura, 12/16/2011 -
" this book is awesome, I loved it! "
— Darron, 11/29/2011 -
" I really enjoyed this felt more grown up than the original twilight. Really great original story a completely different take on post apocalypse earth and I different kid of apocalypse felt a little like tomorrow when the we began "
— Kassandra, 11/2/2011 -
" An easy read with promising plot creativity. "
— Merilee, 10/15/2011 -
" This was fluffy but entertaining read. "
— Erikka, 6/5/2011 -
" I was'nt sure about it from the start- i only started it because it was a decent size, and i did'nt have anything else. I think i should have tried to keep going- it probably would've got better, but i just could'nt hang on that long to see if it got me going. "
— Lydia, 5/23/2011 -
" I found the way the Author played the whole aliens invade the plant truly different and captivating. "
— Fernando, 5/23/2011 -
" I like Stephanie just for this book. Kinda hate the end, but it's great anyway. "
— Raíssa, 5/22/2011 -
" Much better than Twilight. A struggle for love and survival. "
— Holly, 5/22/2011 -
" While i actually really did like this book, (it was a welcome change from twilight!) the lead character, Wanda, really irratated me! i didnt like the way she seemed to rhink she was entitled to take a human body... Apart from that, it was an enjoyable book with a nice plot. "
— Grace, 5/22/2011 -
" Interesting and rather original idea, but she butchered it. Such wasted potential. "
— Rebecca, 5/22/2011 -
" This book was the worst.I could not finish it and i tried twice. I don't recommend it. Its confusing and makes no since. Most of the time you don't know whats going on. This world she tried to make for this book was so over the top it put you to sleep. she should stick to vampire books. "
— Lizzy, 5/22/2011 -
" First of all Melanie Stryder. HA!!! Stephanie Meyer named a character after herself. HA!!! <br/>Second. This book went on FOREver! i mean i liked it and all it was just sooooooo long. for no reason! like over half the book is just 'ugh, why wont this story go on' <br/>yeah. okay. "
— Monster, 5/22/2011 -
" Good story! Not really a romance untill later in the book.Wonderful! <3 "
— Izzy, 5/21/2011 -
" I loved this book. The characters were so alive that they popped out of the pages. One of my all time favorites! "
— Mary, 5/21/2011 -
" I really enjoyed this book. I have never read anything like it before. It made sense. Aliens on Earth is an old topic but this is a whole new way to handle the topic. I can not wait for the sequels to finally become available. The Soul and The Seeker. "
— Sandi, 5/21/2011
About Stephenie Meyer
Stephenie Meyer is the bestselling author of the widely popular Twilight Saga. It all started on June 2, 2003, when the stay-at-home mother of three young sons woke up from a dream featuring seemingly real characters that she could not get out of her head. She invented the plot during the day then wrote it out late at night, when the house was quiet. Three months later she finished her first novel, Twilight. Twilight was one of 2005’s most talked about novels, and within weeks of its release the book debuted at number five on the New York Times bestseller list. The highly-anticipated sequel, New Moon, was released in September 2006 and has spent more than twenty-five weeks at the number-one position on the New York Times bestseller list. In 2007, Eclipse landed literally around the world and fans made the Twilight Saga a worldwide phenomenon. Meyer’s highly anticipated debut novel for adults, The Host, debuted at number one on the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. The Twilight novels have since been made into blockbuster films, launching Meyer even further into the spotlight.
About Kate Reading
Kate Reading, named an AudioFile Golden Voice, has recorded hundreds of audiobooks across many genres, over a thirty–year plus career and won the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration. Among other awards, she has been recognized as an AudioFile Magazine Voice of the Century, Narrator of the Year, Best Voice in Science Fiction and Fantasy, and winner of an Publisher’s Weekly’s Listen-Up Award. She records at her home studio, Madison Productions, Inc., in Maryland.