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Hostess
"Hostess" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the May 1951 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction and reprinted in the 1969 collection Nightfall and Other Stories.
Humanity has spread out into the galaxy and made contact with four other intelligent non-human races. Harg Tholan, a medical doctor and researcher from the planet known as Hawkin's Planet arrives on Earth and visits Rose Smollett, a research biologist, and her husband Drake, ostensibly a police officer but in fact an agent of a secret government organization.
Humanity has spread out into the galaxy and made contact with four other intelligent non-human races. Harg Tholan, a medical doctor and researcher from the planet known as Hawkin's Planet arrives on Earth and visits Rose Smollett, a research biologist, and her husband Drake, ostensibly a police officer but in fact an agent of a secret government organization.
32 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 1951
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73 people want to read
About the author
Isaac Asimov
4,339 books27.9k followersWorks of prolific Russian-American writer Isaac Asimov include popular explanations of scientific principles,
The Foundation Trilogy
(1951-1953), and other volumes of fiction.
Isaac Asimov, a professor of biochemistry, wrote as a highly successful author, best known for his books.
Asimov, professor, generally considered of all time, edited more than five hundred books and ninety thousand letters and postcards. He published in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey decimal classification but lacked only an entry in the category of philosophy (100).
People widely considered Asimov, a master of the genre alongside Robert Anson Heinlein and Arthur Charles Clarke as the "big three" during his lifetime. He later tied Galactic Empire and the Robot into the same universe as his most famous series to create a unified "future history" for his stories much like those that Heinlein pioneered and Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson previously produced. He penned "Nightfall," voted in 1964 as the best short story of all time; many persons still honor this title. He also produced well mysteries, fantasy, and a great quantity of nonfiction. Asimov used Paul French, the pen name, for the Lucky Starr, series of juvenile novels.
Most books of Asimov in a historical way go as far back to a time with possible question or concept at its simplest stage. He often provides and mentions well nationalities, birth, and death dates for persons and etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms. Guide to Science, the tripartite set Understanding Physics, and Chronology of Science and Discovery exemplify these books.
Asimov, a long-time member, reluctantly served as vice president of Mensa international and described some members of that organization as "brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs." He took more pleasure as president of the humanist association. The asteroid 5020 Asimov, the magazine Asimov's Science Fiction, an elementary school in Brooklyn in New York, and two different awards honor his name.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_As...
Isaac Asimov, a professor of biochemistry, wrote as a highly successful author, best known for his books.
Asimov, professor, generally considered of all time, edited more than five hundred books and ninety thousand letters and postcards. He published in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey decimal classification but lacked only an entry in the category of philosophy (100).
People widely considered Asimov, a master of the genre alongside Robert Anson Heinlein and Arthur Charles Clarke as the "big three" during his lifetime. He later tied Galactic Empire and the Robot into the same universe as his most famous series to create a unified "future history" for his stories much like those that Heinlein pioneered and Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson previously produced. He penned "Nightfall," voted in 1964 as the best short story of all time; many persons still honor this title. He also produced well mysteries, fantasy, and a great quantity of nonfiction. Asimov used Paul French, the pen name, for the Lucky Starr, series of juvenile novels.
Most books of Asimov in a historical way go as far back to a time with possible question or concept at its simplest stage. He often provides and mentions well nationalities, birth, and death dates for persons and etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms. Guide to Science, the tripartite set Understanding Physics, and Chronology of Science and Discovery exemplify these books.
Asimov, a long-time member, reluctantly served as vice president of Mensa international and described some members of that organization as "brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs." He took more pleasure as president of the humanist association. The asteroid 5020 Asimov, the magazine Asimov's Science Fiction, an elementary school in Brooklyn in New York, and two different awards honor his name.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_As...
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
June 28, 2018
I don't know if i can write anything about this story, there are so many layers and so much depth to it that I would either spoil it or make it no justice by trying to bring to the light some of its intriguing features.
So I won't, because I can't express in cohesive terms how marvelous this story is. Asimov created a whole explanation for life, disease and biology as we know it, with no loopholes or false steps, even linking into to a biblical metaphor. He weaves the threads of the story so tightly I am in awe of his genius in coming up with this idea. Wonderful.
So I won't, because I can't express in cohesive terms how marvelous this story is. Asimov created a whole explanation for life, disease and biology as we know it, with no loopholes or false steps, even linking into to a biblical metaphor. He weaves the threads of the story so tightly I am in awe of his genius in coming up with this idea. Wonderful.
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July 27, 2018One of the best, most layered, and thought-provoking short stories I've ever read. The last few lines sent my mind tumbling all the way back through the story to solidify a whole that's surprisingly better than the sum of its already impressive parts.
December 9, 2019
Oh MY god, that was insane! That's a good classic sci if I've ever read one!
May 15, 2021
Arguably one of the best short stories I’ve ever read!
January 5, 2026
Quite an interesting tale about humans, evolution and aliens...
January 29, 2018
Pretty insightful and thought-provoking for such a short tale. Cool and smart dialogue, interchanging some interesting and original (I suppose even more for the time it was published in) ideas. Not great on the husband-wife relationship or the treatment of women, but a nice little study on what it means (and also what probably shouldn't mean) to be a human.
July 15, 2023
Hostess Twinkies become sentient and terrorize the galaxy.
November 15, 2021
Collected in Nightfall and Other Stories. Rose Smollet offers to host Harg Tholan, a visiting researcher from Hawkin's Planet, not knowing her new husband Drake, member of the World Security Board, dislikes Tholan's presence. This doesn't prevent Drake from pretty much interrogating Tholan about his work, and we find out he is studying the Inhibition Death, a disease afflicting aliens that causes death, a phenomenon unknown to them before this. Tholan suspects humans are involved in some way, since humans are the only species to die of old age.
What follows is a taut cat and mouse scientific mystery, where the reader is kept guessing as to who has done what, why things happen and whether the root cause is biology, psychology or something else altogether. I kind of wish Rose were written a little smarter, as a researcher her ability to make conclusions should be much higher than what is exhibited in this story.
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What follows is a taut cat and mouse scientific mystery, where the reader is kept guessing as to who has done what, why things happen and whether the root cause is biology, psychology or something else altogether. I kind of wish Rose were written a little smarter, as a researcher her ability to make conclusions should be much higher than what is exhibited in this story.
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January 5, 2022
You'd think Asimov couldn't top "Nightfall" in his Nightfall and Other Stories collection, but he has.
This is a fascinating, compelling little story that is one part mystery, one part science-fiction, and one part mind-blowing concept. Rose married late in life to a police officer, something her friends and colleagues didn't understand. Rose is a biologist, but there's something about Drake that has forged a connection between the two.
Now, Rose has the honor of hosting an alien dignitary in their home Drake isn't overly thrilled, but Rose is delighted to learn more about the alien world and culture -- beyond what they allow the people of Earth to know.
I've just skimmed the surface of this story because it's one of those delights that it's best you don't know much if anything about it before embarking on it. As with "Nightfall," there are echoes of future, longer works by Asimov here -- the police officer who is skeptical of a new form of life and intelligence, the debate over hosting such a being in one's home, etc. But this one has a bit more sinister thread running through it than the Bailey novels.
If you haven't read this one, you should. If you've read it, it might be time to read it again. A marvel.
This is a fascinating, compelling little story that is one part mystery, one part science-fiction, and one part mind-blowing concept. Rose married late in life to a police officer, something her friends and colleagues didn't understand. Rose is a biologist, but there's something about Drake that has forged a connection between the two.
Now, Rose has the honor of hosting an alien dignitary in their home Drake isn't overly thrilled, but Rose is delighted to learn more about the alien world and culture -- beyond what they allow the people of Earth to know.
I've just skimmed the surface of this story because it's one of those delights that it's best you don't know much if anything about it before embarking on it. As with "Nightfall," there are echoes of future, longer works by Asimov here -- the police officer who is skeptical of a new form of life and intelligence, the debate over hosting such a being in one's home, etc. But this one has a bit more sinister thread running through it than the Bailey novels.
If you haven't read this one, you should. If you've read it, it might be time to read it again. A marvel.
October 2, 2023
A wonderful premise, detailed story, powerful ending and meticulously plotted story. I love when every line has a purpose and pays off. Asimov is one of the greatest sci fi writers, and this story beautifully demonstrates why. I'd love to read more of this world with 6 intelligent species and limited space travel, it's hard to expand without giving spoilers. The way it touches on biology, psychology, anthropology, espionage, and physics is masterful.
November 4, 2023
Narrated by George Guidell. This is one Hell of a story involving a visit from an alien who makes the unusual choice of staying with a biologist and her policeman husband. This great short story involves intergalactic intrigue with unfolding layers to the very end. The one slight drawback is the wife, who is an intelligent scientist but still has a 1950's housewife air about her.
June 25, 2019
A 40-page short story in the same vein as Heinlein's Puppet Masters. Parasitic worms controlling humans. Out of all 20 stories in Asimov's Nightfall collection, this one has the most potential for being turned into a TV show.
February 11, 2021
Hostess, by Isaac Asimov
The least impressive of the many short stories of his. A housewife discerns the belittling charm offensive of the couple’s alien guest who has come to study the parasitic brain that has evolved to share cranium space with each human’s brain. I give this a rare 1 star.
The least impressive of the many short stories of his. A housewife discerns the belittling charm offensive of the couple’s alien guest who has come to study the parasitic brain that has evolved to share cranium space with each human’s brain. I give this a rare 1 star.
January 15, 2022
A wonderfully conceived story. A very original sci-fi mystery. The slow building of unease is masterfully done. I could not guess where the story was headed. Published in 1951.
June 1, 2022
Very compelling story. I expected that the protagonist, being a biologist, at least tried to reach alone some scientific explanations of the phenomenon discussed.
December 13, 2024
This was maybe my favorite Asimov story ever!
May 28, 2025
This story was so very good! Dang the end blew my mind!
4/5
4/5
August 8, 2022
Me gustó mucho esta historia sobre el cáncer, que tenía q leerlo concentrada, como varios de los cuentos de asimov, continuaré con el siguiente.
March 5, 2017
took me back to watching the likes of Outer Limits in my youth
April 11, 2020
This is SO messed up and creepy and I love it so much as a tale of weird horror-sci-fi, but it has the same problems that I've found so often in the works of 'classic' sci-fi - many men authors of classic science fiction, who make a living imagining boundless possibilities for the future of humanity, CANNOT CONCEIVE OF NEW GENDER POLITICS. There was hardly any space for that to become apparent within the short story, but it did anyway - allegedly, in this future where human beings have traversed the stars, men are still the primary economic providers for their households, and women usually stay at home as homemakers and child-raisers. Argh.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews