Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of their human hosts while leaving their bodies intact, and most of humanity has succumbed. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, knew about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the too vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind. Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts with visions of the man Melanie loves -- Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer yearns for a man she's never met. As outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off to search for the man they both love. Featuring what may be the first love triangle involving only two bodies, The Host is a riveting and unforgettable novel that will bring a vast new readership to one of the most compelling writers of our time. "Meyer has, like one of her vampires, turned into something rare and more than merely human: a literary phenomenon....The way she manages the reader's curiosity, maintaining tension and controlling the flow of information, is simply virtuosic....People do not want to just read Meyer's books; they want to climb inside them and live there."― Lev Grossman , Time "An epic story of love, family, and loyalty. . . . The Host is The X-Files meets Days of Our Lives. "― Carol Memmott , USA Today "Meyer is more interested in relationships than in flashy genre conventions. . . . Her affirmative life lesson is disarming."― Jeff Giles , Entertainment Weekly " The Host lives up to the hype, blending science fiction and romance in a way that has never worked so well."― Jane Jorgenson , Library Journal "Stephenie Meyer is an amazing phenomenon--out of the brightness of her mind and spirit comes the illuminated darkness of her stories. For no matter how much pain her characters suffer, Meyer infuses the tales with light and hope."― Orson Scott Card "A fantastic, inventive, thoughtful, and powerful novel. The Host should come with a warning label: it will grab you and keep you reading well into the wee hours of night, and keep you thinking, deeply, hauntingly, well after the final word. Stephenie Meyer captures characters and handles story line like a master--a hybrid combination of Stephen King and Isaac Asimov." ― Ridley Pearson "A brilliant and fascinating premise.... Its mix of adventure and new love on a new Earth is just right to get lost in this summer."― Sherri Hallgren , Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Stephenie Meyer is the author of the  The Chemist , the #1 bestselling Twilight Saga and  The Host . She graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in English literature, and she lives with her husband and three young sons in Arizona. The Host A Novel By Meyer, Stephenie Back Bay Books Copyright © 2010 Meyer, Stephenie All right reserved. ISBN: 9780316068055 PROLOGUE Inserted The Healer’s name was Fords Deep Waters. Because he was a soul, by nature he was all things good: compassionate, patient, honest, virtuous, and full of love. Anxiety was an unusual emotion for Fords Deep Waters. Irritation was even rarer. However, because Fords Deep Waters lived inside a human body, irritation was sometimes inescapable. As the whispers of the Healing students buzzed in the far corner of the operating room, his lips pressed together into a tight line. The expression felt out of place on a mouth more often given to smiling. Darren, his regular assistant, saw the grimace and patted his shoulder. “They’re just curious, Fords,” he said quietly. “An insertion is hardly an interesting or challenging procedure. Any soul on the street could perform it in an emergency. There’s nothing for them to learn by observing today.” Fords was surprised to hear the sharp edge marring his normally soothing voice. “They’ve never seen a grown human before,” Darren said. Fords raised one eyebrow. “Are they blind to each other’s faces? Do they not have mirrors?” “You know what I mean—a wild human. Still soulless. One of the insurgents.” Fords looked at the girl’s unconscious body, laid out facedown on the operating table. Pity swelled in his heart as he remembered the condition her poor, broken body had been in when the Seekers had brought her to the Healing facility. Such pain she’d endured…. Of course she was perfect now—completely healed. Fords had seen to that. “She looks the same as any of us,” Fords murmured to Darren. “We all have human faces. And when she wakes up, she will be one of us, too.” “It’s just exciting for them, that’s all.” “The soul we implant today deserves more respect than to have her host body gawked at this way. She’ll already have far too much to deal with as she acclimates. It’s not fair to put her through this.” By this, he did not mean the gawking. Fords hear