Legion

a worthy sequel to the classic the exorcist

Having read Blatty's other major works, I was nervous about this book because of the negative reviews. Reviews would lead readers to believe this work of fiction is a failure. However, it tends to be difficult to follow up a blockbuster book and movie. While the plot seemed to get lost in philosophy at times, the story moves at good pace. It compares favorably with Blatty's other works. Legion is not a pure sequel to The Exorcist. Many publications have stated that the killer is loosely based on the Zodiac killer. The only real similarity is the affinity for zodiac symbols. I went into this book expecting a serial killer only to find a previous villan to appear in a very unexpected form. Medical science seems to exploited at the expense of our villan with the practicianers as the puppets in this lethal war. The twists in this book are difficult to anticipate at times, and they do not feel like they are written into the story for the sake of having a plot twist. Blatty is successful in making the reader feel uneasy in this well thought out thriller. I only wish Blatty had more works in mass publication because he is such a gifted storyteller.

Not sure how i found my way here to an out of print book but here i am. I read this book years ago after finding it in a used book sale. I was quite young, hadn't seen or read The Exorcist but liked the cover of the eyes and candle and the blurb "call me legion for we are many." Well i read it, didn't really understand what was going on and forgot about it. I came back to it years later after reading the first book and this time it just blew me away. It has something special in a horror novel in that it is actually very thought provoking. Kinderman's conversations are wonderful. But there is also a real scary atmosphere to this book. I defy anyone to read the section on the tape recording of coma patients and not feel a chill when voices can be heard in empty rooms. This book is a classic and doesn't deserve to be out of print. Maybe when Exorcist 4 comes out it will get a new lease of life.The film based on this book "Exorcist 3" doesn't have the depth of the book and misses out entirely the tape recordings and the life story of James Vennamun but is quite a good film. It includes that famous one view corridor scene that builds and builds into one of the great horror moments ever.

I read this novel when I picked it up at a bookstore in Hagerstown. I loved the novel, mainly because they talked about how Damien Karras was kinda-sorta still alive, only possessed with the spirit of the Gemini Killer, a.k.a. James Vennamun. I thought the movie made for a great interpretation of the novel, which of course I saw after I read the novel. I mainly wanted to see the movie because I heard that Father Karras somehow survived his fall down the infamous steps in Georgetown, I thought it was cool to see his character again. Overall, I thought the book and the movie deserve more credit than I've seen some people give it. 5 stars all the way.

Mr. Blatty, please don't let the previous reviews bother you. Some of us understand what you were getting at. No great(ie.intellectually satisfying)horror novel or movie should ever show us the face of horror directly. Madness yes, horror no. In Legion Mr. Blatty continues and deepens the mystery of the Exorcist by indirectly hinting at what makes the "demons" of Legion/The Exorcist tick. And it is this legion of evil spirits that we are really interested in when we read these books. Thankfully you will not find much in the way of demonologic details about them, but would we find the eerie mystery of The Exorcist/Legion as mesmerizing if for instance we were told the true meaning behind: "I am no one"/Exorcist; "I am someone"/Legion; "Feel the blood, how it sings!"/Exorcist; "Let us warm in the body"/Exorcist; "They will punish me for this"/Legion ? Would we be as terrified if we were told exactly why a monstrous serial killer would exhibit abject terror at the mere thought of his benefactors (the demons from the Exorcist)? NO! In Legion Mr, Blatty continues with his attempt to explain and explore not only the concept of evil, but the cosmology of physical/ spiritual good and evil as well. And all of this is entwined in a taut medical murder mystery full of lilting resonances that hint at the awesome and mysterious forces encountered in The Exorcist. Remember folks, The Exorcist and Legion are not in the same vein as "Kolchak the Night Stalker". If you need things sewn up neatly in the end then read some Stephen King. But if your musings of the spirit world go beyond "Poltergeist" or the "Psychic Friends Network", then you will love Legion and you will spend many a night rereading it and the Exorcist in an attempt to better understand..."the Other Side". EXORCIST 5/5 stars LEGION 7/5 stars . By the way, Legion the movie sucked. Sorry Mr. Blatty, but I am sure the Studio Bosses forced you to "Dumb Up" your book to ensure greater movie appeal for the "Bonehead" masses.