I've glanced at the Host off and on at work for a while, but due to the fact that I thought Twilight taught us that it's perfectly fine to be so dependent on another person that you curl up in the fetal position and want to die when they leave ... I've stayed away. Love is one thing, but what Bella and Edward had was unhealthy. She wasn't really a strong person to begin with, but she just got so much WORSE once she got involved with Edward. Totally co-dependent. As for the Host, I don't like the sounds of it already. I'll stick with other YA paranormal/fantasy stuff and likely walk away better for it.
SilverRam is right. They even advertise themselves as being Sci-fi for those who don't like it. Click What does that even mean? To answer that question, I picked up my wife's copy and started reading. It only took me a few pages to realize I wasn't going to like it and by chapter 10 I had no trouble putting the book down and shaking my head. I can see why there may be a niche audience for this book, but I cannot honestly fathom how such a bland book can be so widely popular. Marketing, my brain tells me. For it cannot be the writing or the plotline. The one good thing The Host did for me was make me feel more optimistic about getting my own work published. If Stephanie Meyer can take someone into publishing her drivel, then perhaps I might have a shot.
I actually find it really interesting. Original. What I love about it is the internal conflict. But I don't see how that's going to be interpreted into a movie. Would be kind of interesting to find out.
I actually far preferred the Twilight quartet to The Host. I tried to read The Host and found it too disturbing and kinda dragged on too much to make me continue. For me, Twilight isn't about a destructive relationship, it's about sacrifice and how love makes it almost impossible not to sacrifice everything you take for granted.
I liked twilight better. The host was just a little bit to weird for me. I really like her new character though.
I loved the Host far better than Twilight as I actually saw a point to the story and found a few - okay, three - characters I liked in it (Mel, Jared and Jeb). I'm surprised how much I loved it considering that the girl whose eyes we see the world though was my idea of a complete twit (excuse my British ). There were a couple of instances I remember thinking "...well duh" at unnecessary explanations, but I thought the original idea of the book was the best thing about it. I'm sorry to say I was slightly stereotypical about beginning this book. I read Twilight (and I'm proud to say I read the first before it was trendy) and a girl I knew who was obsessed (and on top of which I didn't particularly like) told me "Don't read that. It's really boring." I attacked it with vigour.
