Many people have complained over the years to the fact that movies and games that are taken from books almost never turn out to be as good as the original source. Happily, there are some gems that are hidden in the crowd of mediocrity. Parasite Eve is an older Playstation game that was actually the sequel to a popular Japanese horror novel of the same title. The book and game are tied tightly together, and they demonstrate that one really can have an extremely well done game based from literature.

Parasite Eve, the novel, by Hideaki Sena is a Japanese horror novel with many science fiction elements. It was originally published in 1996, but people who couldn't read in Japanese had to wait to read it until 2005 when it was finally translated into English. The story is heavily based on science, including biology and genetics. The book is so technical that it is often confusing to follow, unless the reader has a thorough background in biology. That's what makes it such good science fiction, though. It takes real science and twists it a bit to make a fast-paced story.
The story follows Toshiaki Nagishima, a biology and pharmaceutical researcher. His wife, Kiyomi, has been declared brain dead after a horrible car accident. However, there is more going on than meets the eye. The novel presumes that the mitochondria in a human's cells have been evolving since the days of primordial sludge. The mitochondria have formed a new life form, called "Eve," which has now reached a peak in her evolutionary process. Kiyomi's body just happens to have the right conditions for Eve to begin to take control. In fact, Eve is the one responsible for Kiyomi's car accident in order to be transplanted into others. Throughout the novel, Eve manipulates the people around her on a cellular level. Her ultimate goal is to give birth to a child that will be able to chance its genetic code on a whim and there be the perfect life form that will replace humans as the dominate life on earth.

Though the novel sounds scientific and dry, it is actually first and foremost a horror story. The reader gets suspense, creepy, and downright scary all rolled into one novel. The science just adds to the realism of the novel. Since the novel is based in science, the reader gets to wonder: What if this really could happen? Don't we have mitochondria in all of our cells? What if someone's body was taken over at the cellular level? These questions and more make up some of the thematic elements of the story. It allows the reader to question whether we really know everything about the human body. Are we even in control of our bodies? It's a creepy thought and is one of many that this novel brings to the table.