The Host (The Host, #1) in Easley Library Bookworms

Aug 18, 2010 Werner rated it it was amazing

Shelves: science-fiction, books-i-own

The description above gives a very accurate idea of the premise of the book; but accuracy can sometimes be misleading. :-) For most readers of SF in the conventional mode, this sounds like a set-up for a typical space opera "us-against-them" scenario, as resourceful and good humans face off against evil alien body snatchers/brain stealers in rousing combat action and the protagonist saves Earth from the invaders at the eleventh hour. And indeed, in lesser hands, that's probably exactly what it w The description above gives a very accurate idea of the premise of the book; but accuracy can sometimes be misleading. :-) For most readers of SF in the conventional mode, this sounds like a set-up for a typical space opera "us-against-them" scenario, as resourceful and good humans face off against evil alien body snatchers/brain stealers in rousing combat action and the protagonist saves Earth from the invaders at the eleventh hour. And indeed, in lesser hands, that's probably exactly what it would have been. But not in Meyer's. The first indication that this will be a very different treatment of this theme comes at the outset, when we find that our protagonist and viewpoint character is Wanderer --one of the alien invaders, implanted in an unwilling human "host."

Wanderer's species are intelligent parasites, resembling three-inch long silver worms with hundreds of small antennas, who fuse themselves to the back brains of sentient hosts, taking over their bodies and memories, and normally elbowing out the host's consciousness into complete oblivion. (The latter doesn't always happen with humans, though, our species being more emotional, mentally complex, and unruly hosts than the aliens are used to.) But it's important to realize that the "Souls," as they call themselves in English, are not consciously malevolent or vicious. On the contrary, they have (within their own framework) a highly developed sense of ethics, and their interactions with each other are characterized by a high degree of altruism, caring and cooperation. They're good environmental stewards of the planets they take over, viewing themselves as constructive improvers, not brutal conquerors; indeed, they avoid inflicting physical pain even on their hosts, for the most part. (Some violence and deceit in taking over a planet and maintaining control of it is inevitable, and this is handled by Souls called Seekers; but that "Calling" is viewed by most Souls as a necessary evil, pursued only by the less "evolved" among them.) But they don't see taking over other species' bodies and ending their conscious lives as a violation of their rights, because they don't see them as having any; they're simply viewed as nonentities who don't possess the same moral status as Souls. The natural history and biology of the Souls is a brilliantly original SF idea, well worked out; but their moral attitude is a stroke of literary genius, which holds up to the reader a perfect mirror of real-life humanity. That's exactly the way that good, moral people in all times and places have managed to rationalize crushing oppression of anyone outside the pale of moral concern --anyone who's not a real "person," not as "human" as we are, whose "quality of life" isn't deserving of as much care as ours. And humans, in this book, can look at Souls the same way. But both groups can learn.

I recommended this book for science fiction fans; but in reality it's for any reader of serious fiction --and I use that term to mean, not artsy pretentious gibberish that appeals only to a snob clerisy, but rather well-written, intelligent fiction that deals with serious ideas and does so in a fashion that makes ordinary literate people want to read it. That's a description perfectly applicable to this book; and some of the serious ideas involved are the meaning of being "human," the value of love (male-female love, love of friends, love of family, etc.), the question of how you should treat others and why, the significance of how we relate to the Other, the "enemy" who's across some boundary line from us. (These are also underlying themes in the Twilight series, though the two works are very different in other ways.)

Meyer does a wonderful job of characterization with both major and minor figures in this book, and her plotting is perfect. The narrative drive has an absolutely gripping force, a "what happens next?" tension and suspense that hooked me from the outset and never once let me go, and the kinds of situations and relationships the author sets up here are emotionally compelling to a degree that I've seldom experienced in a work of fiction. This is a masterpiece, at once beautiful and scary, heartbreaking and uplifting. In literary quality, it brooks comparison with A Canticle for Leibowitz and Dune, and IMO is better than either. If literary prizes were given based on the actual merit of the book, I believe this should have won the Hugo, the Nebula, and the Pulitzer. Where I approached it with an initial skepticism, now my only regret is that I waited so long to read it! It's my new all-time favorite science fiction book, barring none, and a new jewel in the crown of a lady who had already become one of my favorite authors. ...more

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