Scan barcode
stephen_arvidson's review
4.0
“They say three species disappear from the planet every day…You have to wonder how many new ones are being created.” — Mulder (p.107)
Should it ever prove necessary to select my desert-island X-Files episodes, “The Host” would definitely be amongst my Top 5. It’s effectively creepy, a disgusting monster-of-the-week installment and highlight of the show’s sophomore season. The televised episode maintains classic status for its endearing and meticulous handling of the now-iconic Flukeman, a humanoid flatworm haunting the New Jersey sewers. Likened to Gill-man of Universal's Creature From The Black Lagoon, Flukey is exceedingly grotesque, but the real kicker is his modus operandi: injecting larvae into his human victims via an oversized scolex. Re-reading this novelization was a treat because the story demonstrates just how successful the series is when it pushes the boundaries of its medium.
There’s some high-level grossness encrusting the pages of this book, most notably involving a hapless sanitation worker vomiting up a long flatworm in the shower after being attacked by the sewer-dwelling behemoth, a hideous creature bent on reproducing itself by using humans as incubatory carriers a la Alien. FBI Agents Mulder and Scully, now separated after the X-Files division was shut down, reunite to track down the slippery beast and prevent it from impregnating any more human hosts. One of the reasons The Host is so successful is that it plumbs real-life horrors in order to enhance its fictitious scares, imbuing the story's nightmarish elements with a strong sense of believability. The implied connection to Chernobyl, that the creature originated in radioactive waste from the meltdown, accentuates the creep-factor with the stark realization that mankind inadvertently created this vile menace, that this monstrosity may not be the only thing spawned from humanity's hubristic mishaps and utter lack of environmental regulation.
There’s so much good stuff in this book for readers to digest—though they probably won’t want to eat so soon after reading it. Flukeman aside, there’s some interesting development between Mulder and his no-nonsense boss, A.D. Skinner, and it would seem that Mulder is incapable of navigating a healthy discourse with his superiors without Scully around to keep him grounded. And let's not forget the mysterious caller—whom fans know to be Mr. X—seemingly bent on seeing the X-Files reopened. Some terrific dialogue and witticisms abound, one of my favorites occurs when Mulder says to Scully, “It looks like I’m going to have to tell Assistant Director Skinner that his suspect is a blood-sucking worm after all.” Even the book’s cover art is both eerie and spellbinding.
The Host takes the prize for ickiest entry in X-Files canon; it's weird, funny, intelligent, and all-around entertaining.
Should it ever prove necessary to select my desert-island X-Files episodes, “The Host” would definitely be amongst my Top 5. It’s effectively creepy, a disgusting monster-of-the-week installment and highlight of the show’s sophomore season. The televised episode maintains classic status for its endearing and meticulous handling of the now-iconic Flukeman, a humanoid flatworm haunting the New Jersey sewers. Likened to Gill-man of Universal's Creature From The Black Lagoon, Flukey is exceedingly grotesque, but the real kicker is his modus operandi: injecting larvae into his human victims via an oversized scolex. Re-reading this novelization was a treat because the story demonstrates just how successful the series is when it pushes the boundaries of its medium.
There’s some high-level grossness encrusting the pages of this book, most notably involving a hapless sanitation worker vomiting up a long flatworm in the shower after being attacked by the sewer-dwelling behemoth, a hideous creature bent on reproducing itself by using humans as incubatory carriers a la Alien. FBI Agents Mulder and Scully, now separated after the X-Files division was shut down, reunite to track down the slippery beast and prevent it from impregnating any more human hosts. One of the reasons The Host is so successful is that it plumbs real-life horrors in order to enhance its fictitious scares, imbuing the story's nightmarish elements with a strong sense of believability. The implied connection to Chernobyl, that the creature originated in radioactive waste from the meltdown, accentuates the creep-factor with the stark realization that mankind inadvertently created this vile menace, that this monstrosity may not be the only thing spawned from humanity's hubristic mishaps and utter lack of environmental regulation.
There’s so much good stuff in this book for readers to digest—though they probably won’t want to eat so soon after reading it. Flukeman aside, there’s some interesting development between Mulder and his no-nonsense boss, A.D. Skinner, and it would seem that Mulder is incapable of navigating a healthy discourse with his superiors without Scully around to keep him grounded. And let's not forget the mysterious caller—whom fans know to be Mr. X—seemingly bent on seeing the X-Files reopened. Some terrific dialogue and witticisms abound, one of my favorites occurs when Mulder says to Scully, “It looks like I’m going to have to tell Assistant Director Skinner that his suspect is a blood-sucking worm after all.” Even the book’s cover art is both eerie and spellbinding.
The Host takes the prize for ickiest entry in X-Files canon; it's weird, funny, intelligent, and all-around entertaining.
More...