Stick with the Teens, Stephenie

I've read Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series, and even finished the last three books in the same week. Anyone would admit that though they're not exactly fine literature, they are popular fiction at its best, and indulgently (dare I say wickedly?) entertaining. I personally love any story that sucks me in, and leaves me dazed and lost in a fictional world for days. I love it when I can't think of anything but the characters in the book I'm reading, and have to grudgingly count down the minutes at work until I can hurry home and see what happens next (you don't have to tell me, I know that sounds lame). Meyer's style is simplistically pleasing, and flows well, allowing for the rapid consumption of her delectable vampire saga.

I was therefore relatively excited to read Meyer's first adult lit novel, The Host, though I knew it was unlikely to knock my socks of in any philosophical sense. I am not, however, a huge fan of science fiction, though I have been known to quote Star Wars on occasion (Come on, everyone knows "I am your father!"). Certain reviews marked the novel as science fiction for people who don't like science fiction, however, so I decided to give it a shot. What did I have to lose?

Hours of my life.

The novel's basic premise is as follows: Earth has been taken over by a group of alien beings called "Souls," who can exist only when supported by a "Host" body. Humans, of course, have become the Souls' hosts. When a Soul takes over a human's body, the original person's mind is always completely erased. Always, that is, until Melanie Stryder, a human who survived the initial takeover and has been living in hiding with other rebels for years, is captured and Wanderer, an old Soul, is placed inside her body.

Melanie does not fade away. She and Wanderer must fill the same space.

Eventually, through a series of events I will not get into, Melanie shows Wanderer that humans are not the horrible, violent creatures the Souls thought them to be, and Melanie, in turn, learns that Wanderer is not a monster. Yawn.

The style Meyer employs in her Twilight series simply doesn't cut it in a serious novel. She addresses some heavy themes in The Host, including ideas of love, goodness, and what truly defines humanity. I don't doubt that Meyer herself is an intelligent person often engaged in contemplating such complex issues. She does not, however, explore them well enough in this book. Her efforts to delve into such themes seemed juvenile, overtly transparent, and utterly contrived. It's hard to define what exactly went wrong in her efforts--please just trust me when I say that it did. It was annoying to encounter them again and again, blatantly splashed across the pages without even the slightest air of subtlety. It was, in my opinion, truly horrible. The story itself quickly loses its sparkle, and monotonously drags on and on, attempting to really make the readers think, but actually only killing their brain cells one at a time.

My pet peeve concerning the story is the ending--I won't spell it out, I don't want to spoil it for anyone who may still read it--but I will say that the idea is presented that maybe one day the host species and the Souls can coexist.

Um.................no.

They steal human bodies. They kill human minds. I don't care how nice they are. They cannot coexist with anyone. Sorry. It's just not logical.

Sorry, Steph. Perhaps you simply tried your hand at it a little too early, but if I'm to judge your skill by this novel alone, you aren't cut out for the adult market. Please continue writing the young adult thrillers (if you so desire--goodness knows you don't need to--you've made your fortune already), because I'll gladly sink my teeth into those.

The Host: A Hurricane.

Stephenie Meyer: An Azalea.