Let me preface this with a Lol: I'm a person who likes to embody and express my emotions.
So I went into Chapters today after my move back to town and found Itoh's MGS4 novelization on the shelf, all alone. I read a few paragraphs (realizing it is a translation) and found myself liking the ad-lib knowledge-drops Itoh had added to the game's story (reflecting real-world history; one the first page he mentions that Hitler instituted the first nationwide tobacco ban in history - though he couldn't keep his soldiery from indulging). In the afterword by Hideo Kojima (the series creator), I learned that, apparently, Itoh and I have a common love for the MGS series: Itoh ran a fansite for MGS, wrote many poignant articles on the games, and, ultimately, met Kojima shortly before the release of MGS2. Kojima is a very private man concerning his fandom yet Itoh seemed to touch his heart and when Itoh was first diagnosed with cancer in 2001, Kojima who'd made a game of following Itoh's fansite to ensure he was satisfying his #1 fan, went to visit him in the hospital.
I won't relate the entire tale (of a few pages) - though it involves Itoh promising Kojima he wouldn't die until MGS2 was released - but as I sat there quietly crying in between the rows of books finishing Kojima's afterword, I realized I'd been introduced to an author, another soul, who will satisfy me in a very specific and personal fashion (Itoh's own afterword simply cemented that feeling).
Needless to say, I left with Itoh's MGS4 novelization and an order confirmation-slip for Harmony. No doubt I will be purchasing Genocidal Organ soon enough.
Thanks for your persistent insistence, james. Cheers.