A friend of mine recommended that I read Stephenie Meyer's novel, The Host. I downloaded it to my e-reader and left it sitting for awhile until I decided to read it. I read the entire Twilight series previously and liked it well enough.
The Host is a much different story. The basic premise reminds me of the film, "Invasion of the Body Snatchers", whichever version you prefer...me, I like the original black and white one better. Be that as it may, this novel bears little resemblance to the old movies.
Yes, it's about an alien race that gradually takes over the Earth by capturing the humans and implanting themselves into the humans' bodies...Yuck, right? Seen it before? Well, no you haven't seen this before...It's the story of Wanderer, a female alien with a long past of becoming other species on other worlds. She is implanted in the body of a young woman named Melanie. Only problem is Melanie refuses to go away. There is a running inner dialogue between Wanderer and Melanie as they first fight for control and then develop quite a relationship. They are surrounded by other characters just as fully drawn as they are.
I won't spoil this wonderful story by telling you much more about it. Both Wanderer and Melanie are vivid characters, believable in their strange circumstances. That's what the best writers of science-fiction, fantasy, or the paranormal genres do. They create believable characters with whom their readers can easily relate, no matter the sci-fi, or fantasy, or paranormal world they inhabit. They create beings who touch your heart.
Ms. Meyer has created a universe of sapient lifeforms whose actions and motivations will surprise you as the story progresses. Wanderer is not adverse to sharing tales of her many lives as many species, some of them gloriously beautiful, some of them not so much.
I'm not ashamed to admit The Host made me cry, not just tears, but audible sinus clearing boo-hoos and multiple tissues, the full gamut. It also made me laugh. More importantly, it made me care about these beings, alien and otherwise.
This is a more mature work than the Twilight series. It is a great read and hard to put down. It's one of those stories that stays with you, long after you've finished it.
Please read this great novel. You will enjoy it.
My only problem with any of this is if this story is optioned by Hollywood, I hope they bring a truer version of the book to the screen than they have with the Twilight series. I know a film is a different medium from the written word. There has to be visual stimulation, not just spoken lines.
Just don't ruin the lovely quality of this story, okay? I promise I'll go to see it...I went to see most of the Twilight movies even though I was well past the target age and endured the sighs and whispers of a legion of young girls whenever Edward looked soulfully at Bella or Jacob took off his shirt. Actually Jacob took off his shirt a lot...not that I minded, of course.
That was a rough experience for me. I haven't been a teen-ager since the days of rotary dial telephones...what's that? If you have to ask, don't worry, it's not relevant to you...
I just found out they did option this book for a film and it is completed. It's due out in the spring of this year. I am looking forward to seeing it.
Happy reading and viewing and listening! Until next time, take care.
By the way, yea Adele for winning the Golden Globe for best song for the movie "Skyfall" - lucky girl, not only did she win, she was sitting with Daniel Craig.
No comments:
Post a Comment