Ok first of all I have to confess that I haven't completely finished the book but I want to discuss Jeb. I know that he is Melanie's "Crazy Uncle" who believed in all those weird alien theories (which in his case, actually turned out to be true!) and so tried to prepare himself for what was coming. Here are some of my observations so far:

A) I think that he noticed something different about Wanderer/Melanie that night he found her in the desert. I know that I caught on to the fact that she spoke in the plural and I think that he caught that as well.

B) Wasn't it amazing how he discovered that cave hideout years before any of this invasion stuff happened? Almost like it was sign that something was coming. He invited all these humans into his hideout and there is enough room for all. Maybe he wasn't so crazy after all??

Anyone else have any thoughts they would like to share??

He is one of my favorite characters. I love how he is described as a bit crazy because only the crazy ones would still be alive. I think he is very wise and thoughtful and a truly gentle man even though he has had to live a very hard existence. He obviously is not afraid to kill in order to protect and to keep peace, and yet he is so willing to accept Melanie/Wanderer and not afraid to be seen with her and openly demand that the others not hurt her. I love how he knows that her sharing her stories will help the humans to be better people and to understand the greater picture of the universe.

I really liked Jeb too. I loved how he had faith in her from the beginning. I think that would be really hard to do. He had to have seen something in her eyes to make him think Melanie was still there somewhere. I mean this is the guy who was superstitious and crazy about the aliens for YEARS. It seems like he should have been "closed" and unable to see through her with all his pretenses. That is what I love, that he was exactly the opposite. He was accepting of her right away. I love Jeb!

I love Jeb! From beginning to end I was impressed with his grasp on what was really happening in "his house". Knowing how to deal with each person and situation. what is that quote about there beign a fine line between insanity and genius?

Totally! I love how he dealt with everything too. Firm Hand, Soft Heart!

That's it Exactly....you could feel that he only had everyone's best interest at heart...but he knew that sometimes you needed to be firm with them. Not unkind, but firm!

Jeb is amazing. I knew that I liked him right from the start, how gentle he was with her when they were walking through the desert, helping her. He definitely has a perceptive mind and an ability to read people.

i just loved jeb!! i loved it how when he melanie/wanderer. i love his insite and his humor about things.

i love how he always said my house my rules but in reality it was a democracy. he had a firm hand but love there too.

I liked that he gave Wanda the benefit of the doubt from the beginning. For all of you Lost fans out there, he totally reminded me of one of "the others" from Lost, the guy who sometimes has a beard, sometimes doesn't who kidnapped Walt on the boat. Maybe all those crazy, conspiracy theorists aren't so crazy afterall!! Should I start building a bunker in my backyard?

The thing I noticed was that Jeb was another "host"--not in the way Melanie was the "host" to Wanderer, but Jeb was the "host" to all who lived in the caves. He even says something to that effect at one point when he's talking about Wanda being a "guest" and everyone has to follow his rules. I loved Jeb from the beginning!

Also, I had the exact same picture of that guy from Lost in my head as I was reading! He just seems to fit!

that is a good take on jeb. i never thought of him that way.

Right now I absolutely love Jeb. He's my favorite character right now. He's funny, accepting, hard-working and is so amazing with how he has so much respect from the community they are in.

Everytime a description of the cave chores is going on, or just walking around looking at the cave, I just am in awe that Jeb had been able to discover the place and make it into a hideout. It was almost like he knew what it was going to be used for.

I so loved Jeb. I kept looking for signs that would make me finally say, "Oh yeah, he's as looney as they come", but that just never came. I think he was clever, wily, compassionate, fair, wise and was the perfect character to take on the responsibility of maintaining peace and order in the colony. I think it was obvious that everyone respected him and not just because he was the one carrying the gun.

I like how Jared says Jeb usually sees through deceptions. Jared thinks Wanderer has him fooled, but the truth is he was the first to see through the opposite deception. Wanderer was trying to hide the fact that Melanie was in there, but Jeb knew it from the beginning.

Good call. Jeb did seem to know what was going on from the beginning. I wouldn't have called him crazy at all. Or if I did I would call him crazy like a fox.

I loved Jeb and I loved how he eased Wanda into becoming part of the group.