Parasite Eve

Two things from this story leave a strong impression: 1) the over-abundance of detailed explanation of mitochondria, and 2) the description of Eve's melty flesh form, which strongly reminded me of some stinky silly putty I had when I was a child. I couldn't help feel that the inclusion of spontaneous combustion (right down to the description of the aftermath - the classic tableau of a leftover...more

Two things from this story leave a strong impression: 1) the over-abundance of detailed explanation of mitochondria, and 2) the description of Eve's melty flesh form, which strongly reminded me of some stinky silly putty I had when I was a child. I couldn't help feel that the inclusion of spontaneous combustion (right down to the description of the aftermath - the classic tableau of a leftover foot) was just a tad cheesy, but it did rein my attention back in near the end of the novel. For a Japanese horror novel, this was quite a typical read. In other words, I didn't think it was a scary book, but I could see the potential for it to be a visual horror, what with the malleable flesh and all that. Perhaps I'll find me the Japanese movie (which came after the book but before the game) and see how that turned out.   hide

This book left me terrified for weeks. I couldn't even sleep comfortably without a fear that I wouldn't be myself when I next woke. This was the first and only book to be able to do that to me. I feared the text would be dulled seeing that it was a translation, but within the first few pages my insecurities melted away. Pure intensity.