Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

It begins with the cover, the perfect red apple — forbidden fruit! — offered to the reader by perfect, pale hands. (Note the epigraph from Genesis: "But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it... ") It continues, and continues, with the blossoming relationship between the narrator, Bella Swan, and the physically perfect and mysterious Edward Cullen — who, as the back cover states, is a vampire.

The popularity of this book, and the upcoming movie release, have probably broadcast the basic plot: Bella, about sixteen, decides to relocate from her mom's home in scorching Phoenix to her dad's home in overcast Forks, Washington, where the aforementioned Edward and his equally beautiful and mysterious "siblings" are (rather poorly) attempting to pass as high school students. (The author wisely or foolishly stays away from close scrutiny of the practicality of this. How do deca... Read More

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

I found Stephenie Meyer’s first novel Twilight in the bargain bin of my university bookstore, and the title rang a bell. Wasn’t this the book that everyone was talking about? It wasn’t badly priced, so I took it home with me, deciding that it was time to add my two cents to the discussion. When I finished a few days later, I knew I’d enjoyed reading it, though truthfully I also felt a little under-whelmed (no doubt due to all the hype).

Bella Swan is relocating from Phoenix to the perpetually overcast town of Forks to live with her father, and isn’t looking forward to it. However, her attitude changes once she sees, and then meets, Edward Cullen, a very handsome (and that’s putting it mildly) young classmate whose reaction to her is baffling. At first he seems to be struck with an instant dislike of her, but soon becomes friendly and att... Read More

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

Considering how popular Stephenie Meyer has become, it’s hard to imagine that her debut novel was only just released in 2005, because it seems like I’ve been hearing about the author for decades. The Host — Ms. Meyer’s first novel for adults — marks my introduction to the author’s charms and I can now see firsthand why Ms. Meyer is so popular.

Let's start with the setup. While reminiscent of the Body Snatchers films/book and The Puppet Masters, there are some key differences in The Host. One, in this story Earth has already been conquered, and has been for several years now. Also, Earth is only one of dozens of planets that have been similarly subjugated. Two, the ‘souls’ are a benign alien species and in their mind they believe they’ve done humanity a fav... Read More