Destructoid Book Club - Parasite Eve & the Future of the Club

So this whole thing was kind of a trainwreck. I’m not entirely sure when the Book Club train derailed, but I am sure of one thing. It’s my fault. When I started this I did so on a whim. It sounded like a cool idea so I just did it, completely ignoring the fact that I hadn’t really figured everything out. I thought I could figure it out as we went along. However, that was a folly on my part. I should have definitely thought things out more. I should have planned ahead, sorted out the details, and even more ways of saying, “I should have been smarter about this.”

So here’s the thing. I got a small amount of “sign ups” and even fewer completed surveys. This is not the fault of any of you, it’s mine. I didn’t check my e-mails until it was deadline time. There were a few e-mails I should have answered way earlier. That’s on me. I also didn’t do nearly a good enough job reminding people of the deadline or reminding them to send in surveys. Again, on me. I had a minor breakdown about halfway through the month which caused a lot of issues on my end, and I imagine on some of yours. That’s on me too. Although I can’t control my depression I can identify when it has become a problem and when I need a break. Instead, I didn’t take a break until I’d already reached my breaking point. It was not a healthy choice. So yeah, it’s on me.

The idea for the Book Club was a fairly spontaneous one. I got caught up in the “hype” and started it without really taking all the responsibility seriously. And then I lost a lot of my drive to do it and that is ultimately what I believe destroyed this. Which is a shame since I do believe this is a good idea. But as it stands now, I am not fit to run this.

Which leads to this: What is the fate of the Book Club? The answer, regrettably, is that it’s dead. For now, at least. I’m not capable of running this kind of thing right now. Not at all. This is no fault of anyone but my own. I wasn’t organized, responsible, or motivated enough to make this work. And that’s my problem. And I’m sorry for that.

However, there is some hope here. I will never forget this attempt, and perhaps at some point in the future I may even try again. AFTER I get my shit together and work out as many details as humanly possible. But it is worth noting that I am not guaranteeing anything.

And so I must say this. If anyone else wants to take up this mantle at anytime, be my guest. You have my permission even though you don’t need it. I don’t own the concept of a Book Club. All I ask is that you don’t make the same mistakes I did. Really think about what you want to do with it and try to plan out as much as you can. And maybe get a rotation system going. 

I also want to note that ending the Club isn’t a snap decision. I’ve considered it for a while, which is the actual reason this blog is so late. I spent more time considering ending it than I did starting it. I just don’t believe that I can do this in my current state. I may be an adult, but I clearly have some maturing to do. In the end, I believe this is the best thing I can do at this juncture. 

Lastly before we get to the few surveys I did get (because I may have done a lot wrong with this, but I will finish what I’ve started), I have to apologize. To everyone who I let down, to everyone I didn’t keep in the loop, to everyone that paid money for a book (physical or digital) I am sorry. I failed in the responsibility I took upon myself. And that is not acceptable. 

Now let’s move on. I’ve only got three surveys total, so this will be brief. I want to thank LaTerry and ZombieGarou for their contribution and to all the others that signed up but for whatever reason did not send in their surveys. I’m sure they all had good reason (or it’s my fault). Digital seemed to be the way to go with Parasite Eve since physical copies are rare and no audio book exists (again, I’m sorry for not researching these things prior to adding Parasite Eve to the list of candidates).

Dephoenix

Rating: 7/10

Well written: Sort of. For a translation from Japanese, I feel like it could have been worse, but also could have been better. There were a few spelling errors, which is annoying.

Fave things: I liked that atmosphere in the book. It felt creepy pretty consistently. I also liked noticing small details that reminded me of the game. Like MINOR SPOILERS mentioning that Toshiaki enjoyed dinosaurs, museums, and going to the zoo as a child. And in the game you go to a zoo, a museum, and fight dinosaurs (in a museum).

Least Fave things: There were some spelling/grammar errors that made me have to re-read a couple sentences over and over. It was also a very dry read. Got sick of reading every scientific process. Actually skimmed through most of those toward the last half of the book.

Would I recommend: Only to fans of the game or people that can handle heavy scientific descriptions. Otherwise this book is probably too scientific detail heavy.

Other: Honestly about halfway through I lost a lot of my will to finish it. The horror parts were well done, but I got so sick of reading about the science-y parts. And I like science. But it’s written very dryly. I’m glad to have read it since I love the (first) game, but I’ll probably never read it again. Over all, it’s not a bad book, but it’s not great either.

Physical Copy.

LaTerry

Rating: 8/10

Was the book well written: I think it was. It had a really interesting and creepy premise and now I want to go play the Parasite Eve games somehow. I always wonder, when reading something translated like this, how much was changed in translation and if it affected the quality at all. It seems like the translation was well done here.

Favorite thing: I think the premise and how weird it got were really interesting and kept me coming back despite the...

Least favorite thing: ...highly detailed and graphic accounts of surgeries and bloody things like that. I'm really squeamish, it took me a while to finish the book because early on it kept talking in great detail about the kidney transplants and the liver harvest and those made me a bit sick to my stomach.

Recommend: Yeah, especially to people who've played Parasite Eve or people who can handle the bloody stuff. It was a very interesting book.

Used a digital version.

ZombieGarou

On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate this book? 7/10

Was this book well written to you? Yes it was good to read, conversations were easy to follow and the characters felt real.

What were your favorite things about this book? The different point of views of all important characters, especially from Eve 1. Everything was described really well, it was easy to imagine what was happening or what as an example, Eve 1, looked like especially during her transformation. It was very vividly described.

Least Favorite? It has a lot of passages with medical terms and descriptions about mitochondria which are not easy to understand without a bit of knowledge about it. 

Would you recommend this book? Only to people who are interested in the Parasite Eve Franchise or in mitochondria?

 digital version (it’s really hard to get a physical copy in Germany without paying a fortune...)

So that just about does it for the first (and perhaps last) Destructoid Book Club. I am truly sorry it went this way. I hope that those you read the book enjoyed it. And I hope I didn’t disappoint too many people. The Book Club was always an experiment, but it was an experiment that was doomed to failure. I didn’t take it seriously enough and so it failed. Again, sorry. This was not a proud experience for me but I will learn from it. And hopefully the next time I take on something like this, I won’t screw it all up. Thanks for the support, and for joining me in this experiment.

- Thank You For Reading, And Remember: Hot Dogs are Sandwiches. #TeamSandwich

LOOK WHO CAME:

dephoenix   

Wes Tacos   62

Chris Moyse   32

Boxman214   22

Vadicta   20

LaTerry   16

Angie22   15

Uber Mashu   8