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The HostFinally, a sci-fi book I could get into!

The Host, by Stephenie Meyer, grabbed my interest on page one and didn't let go.

In my opinion, most sci-fi suffers from one or more of these three fatal flaws: It sacrifices the story to make room for the science; it’s a regurgitation of 1000 other stories I’ve already read or seen in the theater; and/or it has the old negative cliché theme of “You think life sucks now? Well, in the future, people are just as shortsighted, self-serving, and unwise as they are now…but in the future, the robots are pissed off”.

I admit I was expecting more of the same after reading the back cover synopsis of The Host (There’s an alien invasion of Earth! Humanity may be doooomed! And all that.)

I was pleasantly surprised, however, to find the story to be more like a combination psychological thriller, drama, social commentary, and romance novel. And, oh yeah, it happens to take place in the future, and there is an alien invasion. Fatal flaw count: 0.

The Host is sci-fi that’s really “fi-sci” because the fiction is far more important to the story than the science. And that’s so refreshing, especially after reading three or four “life sucks and you think you got it bad now, just wait” novels in a row.

So, THANK YOU Stephenie Meyer for a new perspective for the genre. There may be hope for the human race after all.