Genre shifts are not something you see often with established writers, publishers being understandably reluctant to move
away from an established formula and risk also leaving behind the established fanbase. Iain Banks is probably the main name that springs to mind and even he seemingly needs to pretend to in fact be two authors (writing under the alias Iain M Banks when writing sci fi) in order that us poor easily confused readers won't... I don't know, twig that he is multi-talented presumably.
With
Stephanie Meyer's fifth Twilight book, Midnight Sun, on indefinite hold thanks to the insensitive and frankly illegal distribution of a draft copy of the work to the masses, the only remaining hit of the drug called Meyer is The Host, not only a science fiction flick but one that is marketed towards a more adult audience as well. I was curious, but I must admit an ulterior motive. As an aspiring writer in both the vampire and science fiction genres myself I was keen to know whether any author, much less one whose first saga was as popular as Twilight, could successfully pull off a stand alone novel in an entirely distinct genre and reader group.
The Host follows Wanderer, a Soul, aka body-snatching alien from a planet far far away who has bitten off more than she can chew. Her Host, Melanie Stryder, is refusing to stay unconscious causing some very disturbing emotions to come to the fore in regards to the Host's partner, Jared, who is presumed still alive among the last remaining human population on Earth. Slowly, Wanderer falls for Jared herself and this common ground is the start of a mutual respect between Host and Soul. The trouble is that the human population don't trust Wanderer because she is a body-snatching alien and certain among the Souls are also becoming a little wary of her schizophrenia. Instead of having a foot in both worlds, Wanderer is in danger of having no world at all.
Fans of the Twilight saga relax, this is the same Meyer that you know and love and that is both a compliment and an insult. Sci-fi roots aside this is a love story just as Twilight was, an explanation of that emotional place made admittedly more interesting by the two-minds-in-one-body concept. Only Meyer could take a concept as unsettling as body-snatching and somehow give it warm and fuzzy edges.
Ok, I'm going to come out and say it, I was a little disappointed. Surely the point of changing genres is to tell a different kind of story or at least focus on a different set of dilemmas. It is compounded by the marketing for the book, aimed at a more adult audience for reasons as unfathomable as why Twilight was marketed at a teen audience. It is another book that requires no age division, the scariest most disturbing elements this book has to offer are the often suppressed realities of a world where humans no longer live in their own bodies, and to be honest the unsettling parts of this book at few and far between. Furthermore, I'm not sure I particularly favour the ending of this book. Meyer's solution to the “how can these two characters ever truly have their own lives” problem that saturates the book from start to finish strikes me as being not only a little teeny weeny bit of a cop out but one that also completely disregards several of the interesting ethical dilemmas that were so important early on.
The problem with The Host isn't that it's “not as good as Twilight”. It is as good as Twilight, it's probably better. The problem is it doesn't reach the dizzy heights of Eclipse and certainly does not exceed them. It is a solid, good book and the only thing stopping me clasping it to my breast with girlish glee is... well I'm not a girl, but the only other thing is that I had expectations of this book. I had hopes that without having to appease her teen audience, Meyer might write something truly astonishingly powerful.
I have a lot of faith in Stephanie Meyer. From her writing I have always had the sense that she is a deep, conscientious writer that is in no way “trained” but simply has stories to tell and tell well. I don't think we have seen the best of Meyer yet, I am convinced that there is more to come bigger and better than the Twilight Saga or The Host. Read this book because you need your next fix, but don't expect it to raise the bar on the Twilight Saga. It is another paving stone along the road, but the road is long and I'll wager money that Stephanie Meyer is only just getting started.