'The Host' | Stephanie Meyer

 

To be honest, I didn't really go into reading this book with many expectations. I'd read the Twilight series, kinda enjoyed them but was under no illusions that they were great books. I'd heard about this when it was released and thought about reading it but never got around to it. Then last week I saw the trailer for the movie adaptation, thought it looked good and decided to finally sit down and read this. And I have to say, I was really pleasantly surprised.

'The Host' is about a not too distant future version of earth, where parasitic aliens have conquered our planet by inhabiting our bodies. Humanity is almost extinct. The story follows Wanderer (later known as Wanda) as she is put into one of these bodies. But her human host, Melanie, hasn't vanished entirely within her mind, and Wanderer finds herself drawn to the memories of Melanie's brother and lover (Jamie and Jared respectively) and wants to find them for herself and discovers a hidden colony of humans in the desert, beginning a journey that will forever change her.

I thought the concept was really interesting and really well written. It's obviously been given a lot of thought, and while the concept of parasitic aliens isn't exactly new, it felt like Meyer had taken a bit of a fresh twist with it. The aliens are not your typical enemies. Yes, they have wiped out humanity but they're all just so pleasant all the time it's hard to hate them (apart from the main antagonist, The Seeker (which is a kind of alien police force)).

It was nice that the book was told from Wanda's POV, it was really interesting way to go about it. We see everything from her POV, starting with the aliens (the souls) so you get to know this 'enemy' race from the beginning. Typically, when a soul is inserted into a human, the human mind is squashed and vanishes, but in Wanda's case her human host, Melanie, is very much present in her mind which troubles her. Melanie shows her memories of her brother Jamie and lover Jared, and puzzles over a map her uncle gave her to find him if the worst should happen (but she was caught by the souls before she could find them. Eventually, Wanda and Melanie begin to bond and go in search of Jared and Jamie and they discover this hidden, hold-out colony of humans. It gets really interesting then and it was at this point that I really began to get into the book. It was interesting to read Wanda's view of us as she saw them and was treated by them. She says (at several points early on) that humans are cruel and violent monsters, and seeing how she was treated and her justification it's really hard to argue with her. And the thing is, I know that humans would do some of that stuff in reality if this happened. It was really interesting to see humanity as the enemy through Wanda's eyes, and then see how this relationship changes and develops.

Wanda was a good main character, and I felt I could relate even though she was an alien, she was still quite human at heart (or soul). I did feel myself rooting her throughout, and Melanie as well. I felt really sorry for her at times, because I could relate to her, for example: SPOILER[ when Wanda stumbles across the humans attempts to separate aliens and human hosts, she's horrified, and the humans don't initially realise what's wrong because they covered the human bodies up, but then someone points out that they hadn't covered up the alien bodies which would obviously be more upsetting to Wanda]END SPOILER. At times I did find myself irritated by some of the conclusions she jumps to, or things she does, cos they seemed quite stupid. But then again, it was kind of nice when she would realise the truth for example or whatever, because it kind of reminded me that she was an alien and this is what she thought of what had happened, and obviously I knew the truth cos I was a human and I could see it.

I loved Jamie, he was just this energetic teenager, and it was just impossible not to love him. Jeb was a great, stubborn fatherly character too. Jared... I didn't really get for the most part. Melanie was head over heels for him throughout, and Wanda falls for him as a result, but for most of the book he was a bit of jerk and it was hard to understand that or to root for him. I mean, he did get better and I did like him more as it went on but I still didnt really see it, even though I knew I was supposed to. Then there's Ian, who I totally rooted for. Ian was really nice and friendly throughout and seemed to be one of the only people (if not the only one) who truly understood Wanda and didnt judge her and loved her, and he was just awesome basically. I loved him.

It was quite a gripping book, once I got into it (it was only when I was about 20-30% through that I really got into it). It's not a big action romp, although there is action in it. At the same time though, although there is a lot of melodramatic romance stuff in it that Meyer does so well, it didn't necessarily feel like a romance story. It was a story about an alien and her interactions and relationships with humans, with a bit of romance thrown in.

The ending was very happy, and I was interested in some of the things brought up in the last chapter, such as: SPOILER[the introduction of other human cells (which I knew would exist and was wondering if they would be introduced sooner) and another soul who has "gone native". I want to know more about these people and how this will affect our group] END SPOILER. I felt that the ending wrapped things up sufficiently for it to be a stand alone book, although I did want to know more about some of the stuff which was nice. It's good when a book leaves wanting more. I have heard that Meyer might write a sequel (or trilogy) which could be interesting and introduce more of this stuff and carry on the story, but at the same I felt it stood well on it's own and I worry that a sequel won't quite live up to it, or will ruin it a bit like I felt later Twilight books.

Overall though, I felt that 'The Host' was a really good book and it pleasantly surpassed my expectations. The characters were good and relatable, no one was perfect, everyone was a bit flawed. I really rooted for Wanda and Mel and Ian and etc. Overall, a great book.

Oh, and for those interested, here's the trailer for the movie adaptation:

'The Lands of Ice and Fire' | George R. R. Martin

 

It's strange reviewing a book that isn't really a book.

This book contains 12 maps of the world in which George R. R. Martin's amazing 'A Song of Ice and Fire' series is set (A Game of Thrones for those unfamiliar with the book series but know the HBO TV series better).

The maps are absolutely beautiful. It's nice to be able to study them and see how certain things link up. For example, the first map is an entire map of the world, showing the precise location of Westeros in relation to Braavos, the Dothraki Sea, Valyria etc. which hasn't been seen before, and the scale as well is mind blowing. Most of the maps after that are then more detailed versions of different areas of the first, and I'll admit while some are interesting and mark locations mentioned in the books but not marked on the far less detailed versions of maps included in the books some do feel unnecessary (such as beyond the wall in my opinion).

Probably of must use and interest is the Journeys map which shows the path each of the main characters takes from the beginning of Game of Thrones up to A Dance With Dragons. This is immensely useful and interesting to look at, but I felt that there needed to be a better key for whose path was whose as it took me a minute to identify a couple people's paths. Also, because they used the totally to scale map of the whole world (the first I mentioned above) I felt some of the paths were too generalised, and maybe a few smaller maps that showed more detail might have been nice.

Speaking of, all the maps were the same size and quite large, and I felt that maybe a mixture of huge maps and smaller maps, where appropriate, might have been nice.

And as noted, the Journeys map will obviously become dated with the release of the last 2 books in the series which is a slight let down and I wonder if an updated version of the whole book will then be released, and I only hope it is possible to buy an updated journeys map on its own for those of us who bought this edition.

Overall though, an excellent set of maps that are really interesting to look at. A must for any true ASOIAF fan.

'Insurgent' | Veronica Roth

 

So, I literally just finished this book, and all I can think is "wow... oh my god".

'Insurgent' is the amazing sequel to 'Divergent' by Veronica Roth. It continues the story of Tris who lives in a dystopian future version of Chicago where everyone lives in one of 5 factions (well, those 5 and there factionless). Tris chose to be Dauntless who value bravery, right before the Dauntless became mind-controlled the Erudite, who value intelligence. But she wasn't affected because she's Divergent, which means she doesn't really fit into just 1 faction like most people. That was the first book. 'Insurgent' picks up where book 1 left off, with Tris, boyfriend Tobias/Four and their companions Caleb, Peter and Marcus heading for the safety of the Amity headquarters now that the city is erupting in war.

What I missed most in 'Divergent' was getting to see more of the other factions. We saw lots about Dauntless and Abnegation, some of Erudite, heard a bit about Candor and little about Amity. Thankfully, Roth thought the same and 'Insurgent' gives us a good glimpse at all of the factions, particularly those we didn't see in 'Divergent'. It was really nice to see all of the other factions, which were obviously so carefully thought out and planned by Roth.

I felt we learnt a lot more about the characters introduced in 'Divergent' as well, and they became even more real and well rounded. It was nice to see a lot more of Tobias, a.k.a. Four, as we didn't really learn much about him in the fist book, and while I did like him him 'Divergent' I liked him a lot more in this book. It was nice to see a truly vulnerable side to Tris as well, as she deals with the pain of what happened at the end of the last book, when she shot one of her best friends who tried to kill her while under the mind control. At times her dragging out this pain was a little annoying, but it was also nice to see in that it was fairly realistic and gave her more depth.

The story was a lot larger than in 'Divergent' and more complex, and there were many times I really wasn't sure what was going to happen next. I was gripped throughout this book and I just wanted to know what happened next. While the story was bigger and a lot more happened and the characters moved around a lot more this time around, I felt that sometimes the characters coming together then separating a bit and coming together several times whilst moving between factions was a little repeatitive, but what happened each time was so different and exciting that I still found it really exciting and I can forgive Roth for it.

And the cliffhanger at the ending... just wow! I cannot wait to see what happens when the third and final book is released next year and I cannot even begin to guess what might happen! All I know is, I just cannot wait. This is one exciting book and even better than 'Divergent'.

'Divergent' | Veronica Roth

 

I think the fact that I devoured this book in 2 days is proof enough that I really enjoyed it.

The book is set in a dystopian future where everyone lives in one of 5 factions: Abnegation, Dauntless, Erudite, Candor and Amity. When a child turns 16, they can choose to either stay with their faction or move to another. Beatrice Prior is a girl from Abnegation, the faction that values self-lessness above all else who chooses to transfer to Dauntless, the faction that values bravery above all else, and becomes Tris. Tris struggles with Dauntless initiation but feels that this is her home. But Tris has a secret: at the aptitude test to determine which faction best suited her she tested Divergent, a rare trait and dangerous, for if the Dauntless leaders discover this, then she might find her life in danger...

The world of Divergent is intriguing in itself, with the idea that the world is split into these 5 factions each with different roles and jobs and society and with different traits that they believe in. I kinda found it hard to believe that it would work so naturally and efficiently at the beginning of the novel, but that was were Roth really stepped up, addressing these concerns in the latter half of the novel.

Roth also creates some interesting characters. Tris herself feels very real to me and multi-dimensional, if sometimes a little slow on the uptake. But she is fearless. The other initiates she meets are all great characters, with various facets as well, including the girly best friend Christina, tough guy Will, and sadistic bully Peter. And then there are the instructors, quiet but kind Four and cruel Eric. All of Roth's characters are well thought out and well rounded and she's obviously thought about all of them and their histories.

Roth's storytelling is quite compelling too, and I soon became quickly engrossed in it. I got caught up in Tris's story and her initiaton and wondering how Divergence made her so different, and what would happen to her next. I found that the story wasn't overly predictable which was nice too, and some things that I thought I'd predicted Roth managed to make me doubt and hide it well too.

Overall, I thought this was an excellent novel, and certainly a lot more to it than I was initially expecting. It was a great book, and I can't wait to start Insurgent!

'Under the Never Sky' | Veronica Rossi

 

This was an enjoyable book, if a short one (compared to what I've been reading lately anyway).

'Under the Never Sky' is about a dystopian future, where humanity has basically been split into two. One half of the human population live inside Pods, where they spend their whole lives inside Realms, basically virtual realities where they can do whatever they want or desire. The other half lives outside, hunting for what food they can find and trying to survive the dangerous Aether storms that threaten to destroy their villages. Aria is from the Pods and has always lived in comfortable ignorance and bliss, where as Perry is an Outsider who has always struggled to survive. Aria suddenly finds herself outside the safety of the Pods and their two worlds are suddenly brought crashing together and they need to depend on each other.

I thought the world this book was set in was really interesting and quite different to other stuff I've read and was rather well thought out. I felt it took a little while to grasp everything that was going on here and to understand everything as some stuff isn't explicitly explained straight away, which makes sense in a way as we are dropped into the action and characters wouldn't just explain everything about their lives for no reason if you know what I mean.

I thought the characters were really well written and thought out as well. Aria starts off as somewhat annoying which makes sense given where she's grown up, and Perry can be harsh as well, but they both grow softer and nicer as the book goes on and they adjust to each other's company and they fall in love. Both main characters grow and develop and change as well which was nice to see. Which I thought was another well written aspect, as it does take it's time to develop and it isn't instantaneous. Roar was a good and amusing character, the perfect joker best friend really. Cinder was an interesting character as well, who I look forward to seeing how he develops and his past is explained in future books. Marron was a good character too.

I thought the overall story was really good and the events were pretty true and realistic for the world. I thought the ending part was a tad rushed though but it'll be interesting to see what happens in future books. I thought the ending, although a bit rushed, was good though and set up the characters in a nice way for the next book... until the very last page though which was just cliched and silly and just obviously so it would have a happier ending.

Overall, I thought this was a good book, well thought out and the characters were good and really interesting, and I'm interested to see what the next book is about.

'Among Others' | Jo Walton

 

'Among Others' is the story of a teenage girl from Wales called Morwenna Phelps, or Mori for short. Mori is no ordinary teenager, she and her twin sister Mor are able to see fairies and use magic, like their mother. Except their mother is evil and the twins decide they must stop her at all costs. In their attempt to stop her however, Mor was killed and Mori is left with a crippling injury in her leg that forces her to use a cane. Mori flees Wales to find her father who left when she was a baby, and 'Among Others' tells Moris tale after this, as she's sent to boarding school and attempts to deal with the magic, but also to come to terms with Mor's death.

'Among Others' is an interesting book. It's told from Mori's perspective through diary entries, and I think style really works to tell Mori's story as months pass in the novel and both her daily activities and her thoughts are recorded.

For the most part the book is your average, teenage boarding school story, detailing life at Arlinghurst (the school) and when Mori comes home for the holidays and such, as well as the usual teen dramas that come with it (eg. boys). But woven throughout is magic, and Mori spends a great deal of time wondering about magic and it's effects. Walton uses a different kind of magic system in this book which is really intriguing, whereby there's no magic spells or incantations, and things don't just magically happen, but rather events conspire to make things happen. For example, she might use magic to make a bus come around the corner when she wants it to, but events along the way will make the bus come at that time, if you get what I mean. It's more coincidental magic really. I couldn't decide however if the magic and the fairies that Mori spends so much time talking about would end up being real or not, and if I wanted them to be real or not.

Mori herself is an interesting character, but I just couldn't really get behind her or like her too much. On the one hand she is incredibly independant and strong-willed, and I love her story. But on the other hand, she just seemed really childish to me a lot of the time, but other times would suddenly grow up and be a teenage girl before reverting to her more child-like persona. I mean, she spends a lot of time thinking fairies and the way writes and the things that happen to her made me think of her as being no older than like 12. But then later on she reminds the reader that she's 15 and I just don't quite remember being like that at 15. And there are moments when she is shown to definately be this grown up 15 year old, doing things with boys (or at least thinking about it). Sometimes it was really disconcerting, for example at one point like halfway through the book she was thinking her usual thoughts about magic and stuff, then all of a sudden just off-handedly mentions that she then masturbated while thinking about a boy, and I just read it and was like, "wtf?!". It was just jarring.

But on the other hand, over the course of the book, Mori does grow up. This book is another one of those books which is essentially a 'coming of age' tale. And I feel that the more adult Mori seems to be more present in the latter half of the book, which I suppose reflects her personal journey which sees her growing up and accepting Mor's death.

I found it quite hard to get really into the book however, or feel gripped to know what was going to happen next, and I do think that some threads were kinda left abandoned at the end (although some were really quite unimportant overall), and that the ending part was really rushed. I mean, I can see how we're supposed to think that Mori just carried on living and that some stuff would carry on after the books ended, but it all just seemed a bit rushed and over quickly and in a bit of a cliched manner.

Mori also spends a lot of time reading science fiction books and talking about them, and while that was nice and interesting, I felt Walton made a lot of references to science fiction texts and stuff, and it sometimes felt that the reader might be missing out on something if they hadn't read all or most of the hundreds of books mentioned, although it would make a good list of books for anyone wanting to read more science fiction/fantasy! I did like the irony that Mori hates fantasy books, and yet that's what her story is basically.

Okay, I seem to have rambled a lot!

Overall, I thought the book was interesting, and got more interesting as it went along, but I felt that there was just something missing from it and Mori could be quite jarring personality wise at times. I felt that the main plotline got quite buried, and it was only at the end really that I was able to go "Oh, it was about her growing up and dealing with Mor's death" which I feel should maybe have been more obvious earlier on, but looking back I can see hints of it earlier on. Overall, a good book, but not great.

'The Twelve' | Justin Cronin

 

'The Twelve' is the sequel to 'The Passage' but Justin Cronin, and the second in his 'Passage' trilogy.

The basic premise of the trilogy is that the American government discovered a strange virus in Bolivia in our not too distant future, and they government try and use this virus to create super soldiers out of 12 death row inmates, but instead create vampiric like creatures, Virals, who ultimately escape and take over the American continent. Near 100 years later a greatly reduced human population still exists, trying to survive against these creatures and save humanity, as seen by protagonist characters Peter, Alicia, Michael etc. But then there's Amy, who was a 6 year old girl when the outbreak first occurred, and was infected by the government with the virus shortly beforehand, but it changed her in a different way to the others, in the 100 year gap she has barely aged, but has all the abilities of the other Virals but without the blood thirst or other weaknesses. This is all covered in the first book.

'The Twelve' follows the same split narrative as 'The Passage'. The first third or so of the book goes back to shortly after the Virals escaped and started to spread, but focuses on a new set of characters in a new situation. There's Kittridge, aka Last Stand in Denver, who initially holed up in a high rise in Denver sniping Virals but then was forced to flee. Then there's Danny, a somewhat ... 'simple' man who drove a school bus and who rescues teenagers April and Timothy. They later met other survivors in Pastor Don, Dolores etc. Together they try and escape the Quarantined south. Also introduced here is government official called Guilder, who discovers that Grey (who had been a janitor at the facility where the original Virals were created) survived the massacre there and tries to find him. But the virals are spreading fast...

Following this, the story jumps forward to 97 A.V. to rejoin Peter and co., 5 years after their exploits in 'The Passage'. These 5 years has seen the characters spread out and separate, and they've all changed and grown a bit in these five years. Peter has joined the Expeditionary and along with Alicia is still trying to hunt the Twelve (the original Virals, and if they die each of the Virals of their 'bloodline' will die as well). Considering the last book with these characters focused on them exploring their environment and trying to find a better home, this time around they are all trying to move on from the events of the last book, with the hope that they can track and kill The Twelve.

Having said that the characters have grown in the last 5 years, they've mostly developed through grief at the Roswell Massacre, which was heartbreakingly revealed in the last lines of 'The Passage' without much detail, but the detail of which (along with who out of our main characters died) is finally revealed in this book. The characters have been grieving, and although they have changed, there is a sense that theyve been in a kind of limbo since then, finding a new path and sticking with it. And all of a sudden at the beginning of this book, for various reasons, the characters are forced to move on and progress, and slowly head towards dealing with a new threat.

I enjoyed the story, I thought it was intriguing and it was nice to see different sides to the story, both in the 'present' type setting and the future, and that the stories told in this book weren't exactly the same as in the Passage just slightly changed. They were very different stories presented this time around which was good to see. It was also nice to see more of the future America, to see more of what happened then rather than just the small snapshot from 'the Passage'.

On the whole though, I think I preferred the 'present' storylines. They were very different to before. In the first book in the present, we mostly dealt with the major characters related to the virus, but this time around we deal with a bunch of "average joes" so to speak, whose lives are suddenly changed and they have to flee. I found their stories incredibly interesting and gripping and I couldn't wait to see what would happen next. The 'future' storylines, while still interesting slowly kind of lost my keen interest over time. It was interesting to see this new world, but I felt the story jumped around too much and it was kind of hard to get my bearings. Just as I started to get used to one character and their environment it would change to someone else and something would change there. It was a little confusing at times. Also, I felt that although you could kind of tell what the whole story was building to, I didn't really feel on the whole that it was something I really wanted to see happen and there didn't seem to be any real sense of urgency or danger like I felt in 'The Passage' or the first part of this book, and so it kinda felt like something was lacking for the most part. Having said that, it was still very enjoyable and interesting and I loved reading about it.

I also felt that some of the technical stuff to do with the Virals (and Amy and Alicia etc.) didn't really get explained, and sometimes things would happen or change with them and it just wasn't really clear why this happened other than for story purposes, and while the whole 'the characters wouldn't know or figure it out so I won't/can't explain it' is kinda nice and realistic, it did just feel like Cronin and had decided it was a nice story tool for this happen or for this character to have gained this ability etc. and there was just no explanation for it. SPOILERS: for example, Amy undergoes a bit of a change, where she seems to have extreme period cramps for awhile, then suddenly turns into a woman rather than a being this immortal child/teenager (which I didnt like happening, as I liked the idea of Amy being this immortal child until the end of the trilogy at least) and then at the end of the book suddenly turns into a Viral through force of will (which I didn't like happening either). Lila's abilities to control the Virals are never really explained to my satisfaction. Neither is Carter's apparent ability to create an experience a sort of 'alternate world', for example when Amy visits him he looks normal and she sees places from his human past - how he does this is never really explained. These are examples of things where I just didnt really think things were fully explained and it just bothered me a bit. END SPOILERS

Overall, I enjoyed the book and I am eager for the next book in the series to be released, which will probably deal with finding and killing Zero. I felt the storyline was interesting and exciting, but that some things just weren't explained enough for my satisfaction and sometimes the POV shifts were a little disconcerting. Overall, a great book but not quite as good as 'The Passage' I think. Bring on Book 3!