The Host (aka Stephenie Meyer Has Issues)

The Host by Stephenie Meyer is just the type of body-snatching, brink of the extinction of humankind type of science fiction tale I’ve always loved.  The premise isn’t entirely original:  worm-like parasites attach themselves to the central nervous systems of human hosts making  them nothing more than puppets.  They have the misguided belief that humanity is wasted on humans and that they can do a better job of running Earth than we ever did. 

They never counted on Melanie Stryder though, a human host who refuses to give in.

The book is full of the wonder of humanity, the thrill of our senses and the blessings of the human experience.  That sounds pretty cheesy (and it is), so moving along swiftly…

The Host is more than just a typical body-snatching action horror story though.  Stephenie Meyer has created a wonderfully inventive and imaginative backdrop of life on other planets with senses, experiences and colours beyond our wildest imagination.  Earth is not the first planet the parasites have colonised and colonisation has never posed a problem before!

Then there is the human factor.  I’ve not actually read a book about body-snatchers before but I’ve seen plenty of films and they are usually all action and suspense with completely wooden and flat characters.  The Host is different though and I enjoyed the character development and the relationships that formed between the characters.  You really get drawn into the inner world of Wanderer (the parasite) and Melanie (the host) and her interactions with the other humans in the story.  Jared, Ian, Jeb, Doc and Jamie were quite well developed.

For a story that primarily takes place in a dark labyrinth of underground caves, this is a surprisingly entertaining and engaging book and keeps you turning the pages until the the very end.

So why had I already decided to give it 3.5 stars when I was only half way through the book?

[Insert massive sigh here]

That would be down to the classic Stephenie Meyer afflictions of a Mary Sue protagonist and what I have coined “The Sally Field Complex”.

Both Wanderer and Melanie are too perfect for words.  They are both strong, principled and absolutely pure of heart.  You can’t help but hero-worship them in their wondrous glory for how admirable and self-sacrificing they are in their concern and love for the men in their life (singular, they are one body).  They are absolute martyrs and men, it is okay to beat, humiliate, deprive and attempt to murder Wa-lanie because she hates herself and will forgive you and love you even more for it.

[That noise you are hearing is the sound of me gagging]

And who can forget the famous Sally Field Oscar acceptance speech of 1985? Why yes, you’d have to hit Wa-lanie over the head with that Oscar statuette (oh please, can I?) before the simpering idiot realises that “you like me, you really like me”.  It is like Bella Swan at the end of New Moon all over again.  (Okay, so maybe I’m misquoting Sally Field but I stand by my coined phrase). 

Stephenie Meyer obviously has serious issues relating to insecurity, codependency and sexuality and that almost tanks what could have been a magnificent book.  She lets her issues get the better of her and her books have set the cause of strong, independent and powerful women back by years.  Do you think I’m exaggerating?  Well, I’m obviously not the only one who thinks so: Twilight’s Bella Swan is a Feminist’s Nightmare.

Give me the magical matriarchy of the House of Night series or the essential and strong women of the Harry Potter series any day.  (We all know that Hermione, Ginny and Mrs Weasley won that war).

Maybe I’m a bit too much like a reformed smoker (not that I’ve ever been a smoker) but I wasted so much of my life not believing in myself and thinking I was a hero for forgiving men that abused me.  It takes a lot to overcome that lack of self-belief and self-esteem and as a strong, independent, vivacious and intelligent woman, I just don’t appreciate Stephenie Meyer’s message.  So yes, the book gets 3.5 stars because I did enjoy it in the end but like with her other books, I’m left wondering why I bothered.

Oh, and in answer to your next question, of course I’ll be going to see New Moon this weekend.  What would I have to complain about next week otherwise?

Doctor Who: Waters of Mars

Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars
Written by Russell T. Davies And Phil Ford
Directed by Graeme Harper

It’s the beginning of the end for the Tenth Doctor as the last of the Time Lords finds himself at the Bowie Base One space station on Mars on 21 November 2059. The Doctor makes his entrance with the prescribed amount of silliness of course:

Captain Adelaide Brooke:  “State your name rank and intention”

The Doctor:  “The Doctor, Doctor, Fun”

The Bowie Base One is the first off-planet human settlement and once The Doctor establishes where and when he is, he realises that he needs to get off the planet immediately. This is the day that the Bowie Base One is destroyed and he can feel that something is definitely not right.

As the crew come to realise that something has gone wrong in the bio-dome, The Doctor is forced to accompany the Captain Adelaide Brooke and Dr Tarak Ital as they go to investigate the incident.  And so we are drawn into one of the most exciting and action-packed instalments of Doctor Who I have seen in years.

This is a colourful, inventive adventure and for once, I was not left feeling short changed by Russell T. Davies.  I loved how the episode was interspersed with “news footage” of the events of that day and together with The Doctor’s knowledge of what came afterwards, I felt it added depth and meaning to the whole story.

I don’t think it is too much to say that water plays an important part in this story but there I hope the possible spoilers will end.  Water is a fantastic element to use in a thriller and the whole episode keeps you on the edge of your seats with that claustrophobic sense of impending flood.

The Doctor:  “Water is patient, Adelaide. Water just waits. It wears down the cliff tops, the mountains, the whole of the world. Water always wins.”

Of course, more exciting than the action and adventure is the story of The Doctor himself.  A Time Lord can regenerate twelve times and The Doctor we see on our screens today is in fact the same Time Lord as the one we met back in 1963.  He is currently in his tenth incarnation and we already know that we will see the eleventh Doctor by the end of this year. 

The most amazing thing about the Tenth Doctor is that we have come to know that for all of his Universe saving and Earth protecting, he has a darkness and a fury that runs deep within him.  This was made perfectly clear in the “Fury of a Time Lord” speech at the end of (my favourite episode) The Family of Blood.  

And so the end draws near for the Tenth Doctor and we come to realise that what might destroy this Doctor is not a physical death but his anger, his fury and his arrogance. 

This was a fantastic episode and it might just be one of my favourites yet.  Nothing will ever top the Harry Lloyd episodes Human Nature and Family of Blood though.  (Happy birthday for yesterday Harry!)

All screencaps of the gorgeous and magnificent David Tennant are my own with full credit and copyright to the BBC. You can click on the images for their full sizes.  Feel free to use or alter the images but if you do use them, it would be super nice of you to credit Emm and link back to this blog or credit missus_emm at Livejournal.

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Doctor Who: a fangirl emerges

© BBC [Image Source]

I have a deeply emotional connection to Doctor Who and the related Whoverse. I can remember, clear as day, being terrified by the Daleks at the tender age of six or seven and once we left England and moved to South Africa, Doctor Who came to embody everything I missed about England and hated about South Africa. I am sure a deeper analysis would prove that Doctor Who is at the very root of everything I am today including my obsession with everything supernatural, space or sci-fi related; my fear of the dark (and of upside-down bucket things with funnels) and my love of the colour blue.

I guess it speaks to how underwhelmed I have been recently with what Doctor Who has to offer because there are just about no reviews on this blog. In fact, there are no Doctor Who reviews at all. I was certainly disappointed with the Easter special Planet of the Dead. Well, I intend to correct that now. Starting tomorrow, I’ll review the latest Doctor Who special, Waters of Mars and post some fantastic stills and screen caps.

I’m then going to be watching and reviewing the original series starting with the episodes first aired in November 1963.  I’ll try do that a couple of times a month but I don’t want it to get too boring.  Maybe I should try watching the Who episodes on my iPod on the train!  I might interlace this with some reviews of the latest incarnation of Doctor Who, starting with the Christopher Eccleston episodes back in 2005.

Visit Shownar for links to more Doctor Who blog posts or click on the links for the Doctor Who blogs in my side bar.