Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview
  • Host

  • By: Peter James
  • Narrated by: Matt Reeves
  • Length: 20 hrs and 40 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (250 ratings)

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Host

By: Peter James
Narrated by: Matt Reeves
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £16.99

Buy Now for £16.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

How far would you go to live forever?

Brilliant scientist Joe Messenger believes that people can be made to live forever. Knowing the human body can be frozen indefinitely, Joe devises a way of downloading the human brain into a supercomputer called ARCHIVE.

But Joe's wife, Karen, is worried by his preoccupation with ARCHIVE, which seems to be developing signs of a distinct and sinister personality of its own.

Then, just as Joe is on the brink of a scientific breakthrough, a series of macabre accidents befall him and his family - and Joe finds himself facing the terrifying consequences of his own obsessions.

Also from multimillion-copy best-selling author of the Roy Grace novels:

  • Possession
  • Dreamer
  • Sweet Heart
  • Twilight
  • Prophecy
  • Host
  • Alchemist
  • Denial
  • The Truth
  • Faith
©2018 Peter James (P)2018 Orion Publishing Group
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Last Dance cover art
The Truth cover art
Faith cover art
Possession cover art
The Passenger cover art
Twilight cover art
Absolute Proof cover art
A Twist of the Knife cover art
Denial cover art
The Viaduct Killings cover art
Alchemist cover art
Prophecy cover art
Sweet Heart cover art
Perfect People cover art
I Follow You cover art
The House on Cold Hill cover art

Critic reviews

"Easily James's best book to date; a thought-provoking menacer that's completely technological and genuinely frightening about the power of future communications." (Time Out)
"Compulsive...I cannot remember when I last read a novel I enjoyed so much." (Sunday Telegraph)

What listeners say about Host

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    152
  • 4 Stars
    58
  • 3 Stars
    25
  • 2 Stars
    8
  • 1 Stars
    7
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    158
  • 4 Stars
    55
  • 3 Stars
    11
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    3
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    137
  • 4 Stars
    53
  • 3 Stars
    27
  • 2 Stars
    6
  • 1 Stars
    8

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Clever plot

Clever plot but I expected a slightly tidier ending. Eg I thought an eternity stuck in a virtual world with JS.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

The stupidest scientist in literature?

The idea behind the book is basically a hot item, the threat of AI, but there are so many other threads overlapping.
Within the first 2 chapters it was pretty clear which way the story was going to go and it was unbearable how stupid and naive the main character was. And him a super scientist.
The language was another sore spot. It reminded me of the passages we used in English learning text books in the 60’s. simplified, graphic and irrelevant. ‘ John sees a tall man. He is wearing a funny hat’ kind of thing.
The bad guys are really bad and the good guys are really dumb....

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

detailed thriller,but not up to James's standard

detailed thriller,but not up to James's normal standard. this is not a Roy grace. hard work

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Struggled a bit. Shad to fast forward towards the end to see it through

I like books to be like a steady ride to a final climax. This ride was a rocket that took off well and then nearly stalled and crashed and I pretty much ejected from the plane two thirds of the way through for fear of falling asleep at the wheel. I had to skip to the end just to kick the flaccid plot forward a bit. Too long winded and most of all out of date and implausible 80s would be futuristic technical jargon. That’s how I know this must have been written in the 80s. I can tell it must have been one of Peter James earlier books as he has since perfected his pace more too. Great plot ideas and still a good read but I feel before releasing it he should have altered basic things to bring it up to date technology wise and tightened up the pace of the plot cutting a couple of hours of waffle out. It needs editing. Releasing it as was was an afterthought and editing is needed. Things like downloading someone’s brain onto a cassette tape or one terrabyte being enough storage for a brain...I felt the 80s bad hair and the tin foil covered fake futuristic pictures that it’s associated with and it kind of also messed up what was was a potentially great plot. It’s harder to get into such an unrealistic plot I. This time. Even I could have modernised the plot myself to make it better and Improved if have updated and condensed the whole thing given a week or so. So why he didn’t get someone to do that before releasing it i don’t know. If he did then they need sacking. Give me the job instead lol I’ll do it for 1000 quid. It really needs it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

wow

Great book . Binge play it to keep up. Amazing to think this could really happen one day

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

great

a little slow in the beginning but great once In the story. Very good twist

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Just Unbelievable

The longer this went on, the more stupid the story was - I did not enjoy this book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not aged well…

I really love Peter James’ books and never been disappointed with one before. It’s not aged well, but from a societal perspective rather than a technological one. It’s quite misogynistic and there is some lazy, unoriginal writing of female characters. That said, the performance was very good, an easy listen. It also raised some very interesting themes that certainly got me thinking.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Stick with it

A little slow and with jargon overload to start with but worth sticking with it to the end

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Host

Brilliant book,great story. Peter James has excelled with this book. Can’t wait for next one

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!