Whew. Now that I'm back from Cannes, it's time to dive back into checking out what's going on in the world outside the glamor and glitz of the world's sexiest film industry trade show. Of course, one of the first things I wanted to catch up on was what's been going on in the world of Twilight fandom. Before leaving for Cannes, I snagged a copy of Stephenie Meyer's' newest book, The Host, and I devoured it every night while on the trip.
Quick thoughts on The Host: Compelling and dramatic story, great characters, and it pretty much has "adapt me into a movie, please!" written all over it. For those not in the know, the book is a tale about an alien invasion by a race of intelligent parasitic beings who take over the body of a host and obliterate the "soul" of the person who previously resided there.
If you're a fan of Star Trek: The Next Generation (or sci-fi in general), this "we seek peaceful co-existence" line isn't a new concept, but the way in which Meyer handles it is great. In a nutshell, an alien named Wanderer takes over a host, Melanie, but finds that Melanie refuses to go away as her previous hosts did. Melanie floods Wanderer with memories and feelings about her younger brother, Jamie, and her love, Jared, and Wanderer finds herself feeling for them the way Melanie does.
Meyer uses this set-up to explore ideas around cultural understandings and misconceptions -- through Melanie, Wanderer comes to question the ethics of the way her species survives, and through Wanderer, Melanie comes to understand the alien invaders and see them in a different light. The story deals with issues of humanity, ethical behavior, culture and community, and the nature of love. It's a really great set-up for a film, and I won't be surprised if an adaptation deal is in the works (if there's already a deal I haven't heard of, please enlighten me, I've been a bit out of the loop). If you have thoughts already on who you'd love to see cast in a film version of The Host (oh, you know you do), weigh in with your suggestions.
While The Host has temporarily sated the thirst of Meyer fans eagerly waiting both the August release of the fourth book in the series, Breaking Dawn, and the December release of the first Twilight movie, I expect that most hardcore Twilighters are chomping at the bit. Over on Twilight Lexicon, they've been posting threads from the discussion forum on Breaking Dawn theories and speculation, and Holy Cullen, are those Twilight fans serious about this book.
They've been discussing everything from whether Charlie, Bella's father, will finally find out the truth about the vampires and werewolves in Forks, and his own daughter's plans to join her love, Edward, as a vampire; whether the ending of the third book foretells an ultimate showdown battle in Breaking Dawn between the vampires and werewolves, or between Jake and Edward, or both; whether the Volturi will show up in the fourth book to try to take down the Cullen clan; whether Bella's aversion to blood will make her transition into a vampire babe easier, or more difficult; and what, if any, "special power" Bella might have as a vampire.
If you're not a fan of the series, you may find it hard to believe that folks can discuss a coming book this endlessly (though, of course, Harry Potter fans did much the same in anticipating each book in that series), but boy, can they ever. So, all you Twilighters, Twilight Moms, and Twilight Teens -- dive right in and share and discuss your thoughts, both on Breaking Dawn, and the possibilities of The Host as a movie down the road. Oh, and that little Twilight movie, too ...
1. Thank you for the nod Kim. Its been fun counting down 'till the big release of the first chapter this Saturday. You should consider poping over and joining the theory break down. We wold love to hear your thoughts.
~Cocoa
www.twilightlexicon.com
Posted at 10:08PM on May 29th 2008 by Cocoa