Marianne

Stephenie Meyers (so far) stand-alone novel, The Host, departs from her popular Twilight series and explores the theme of bodily possession of humankind by alien souls. As we follow the soul of Wanderer, who is implanted into the body of her host, Melanie Stryder, we gradually learn the history of… more this alien species and how their possession works. The spanner in the works for Wanderer comes when she realises that Melanies soul has not given up the body, and that they inhabit the body together. Having at first dutifully reported this to her supervisor/advisor, a Seeker, she begins, eventually, to have sympathy with her host and manages to escape. The real fun begins when she manages to track down a colony of humans who have so far escaped possession, including Melanies younger brother Jamie and her (pre-possession) lover, Jared. This is a thick book to read, but Meyer keeps the readers interest easily. The situation where Wanderers (Wandas) soul and Melanies soul, both inhabiting the same body, have fallen in love with two different men, creates an especially delicious dilemma. This was a great read, and, with the Twilight series complete, let us hope Meyer turns her talent to more like this one. There are rumours of sequels in the pipeline called The Soul and The Seeker. less