Legion

By: William Peter Blatty

Narrated by: Joe Hempel

Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

A young boy is found horribly murdered in a mock crucifixion. Is the murderer the elderly woman who witnessed the crime? A neurologist who can no longer bear the pain life inflicts on its victims? A psychiatrist with a macabre sense of humor and a guilty secret? A mysterious mental patient, locked in silent isolation?

Lieutenant Kinderman follows a bewildering trail that links all these people, confronting a new enigma at every turn even as more murders surface. Why does each victim suffer the same dreadful mutilations? Why are two of the victims priests? Is there a connection between these crimes and another series of murders that took place 12 years ago - and supposedly ended with the death of the killer?

Legion is a novel of breathtaking energy and suspense. But more than this, it is an extraordinary journey into the uncharted depths of the human mind and the most agonizing questions of the human condition.

The answers are revealed in a climax so stunning that it could only have been written by the author of The Exorcist - William Peter Blatty.

©1983 William Peter Blatty (P)2020 Tantor

Great sequel to The Exorcist!

I read this book a while back before Kindle or Audible in fact it was out of print.
Even the library had difficulty tracking this book down. I'm glad it's now available once again for everyone to enjoy.

Religion and doubt

I love blatty don’t care, I wish he could have narrated this it would have been worlds better. I love the subjects expressed, and the prodding imagery. It is very different from the exorcist in every way respectively. Still brilliant writing.

Thrilling

A thrilling murder mystery, not to be missed. Blatty is an amazing writer, I always enjoy his stories!

Genious

An amaazing detective hau ted by the past and living his doubts in the present

Great Listen

I saw the movie before reading the novel. Both are great, but the book doesn't end so stupidly.

Stick with it

Much of the book seems like the irrelevant ramblings and musings of a very obnoxious man with only a few scenes of horror and/or mystery every now and again to keep things semi-interesting but the very last scene is enough to bring it all together rather nicely and delivers a beautiful and intriguing message. I would have given the story 5 stars if I hadn't been wishing for Kinderman to get to the point and shut up through most of it.

Book used as basis for Exorcist 3

The most interesting thing about this book was Kinderman's philosophy on life and of God.

More gravitas, please.

This is a truly fine novel which I've read so many times. It's certainly as good as The Exorcist, if not a wee bit better. (Same holds for the films, I and III. Best not to speak of II at all. Ugh.) But I really find the narrator entirely wrong for this. On his own, he's fine. Perfectly understandable, clear, only a few truly cringey mispronunciations, not much range of characters, alas. But objectively acceptable. The problem with him in the context of this particular book, though -- he's so awfully young. This is simply not a young man's story on any level. With the author having read the audiobook of The Exorcist, it feels especially jarring to go right to this. Obviously an author speaks the characters as they are truly intended, as he has created them. The overlapping characters between the books here are so let down by the affectless precision of this young man telling a story much more mature than he was at the reading. The weight and experience and shared trauma of the men in this book, their abiding friendship and distinct personalities, as well as the voice of the now-older storyteller, all that is lost in this narration. Technically, sure, he's fine. But this underrated novel deserves a maturity and lived experience that isn't in this guy's voice at all.

"Hurrah, for Karamazov!"

The film, The Exorcist III, is a great movie, with amazing performances by George C Scott and Brad Dourif. Thus, I wanted to read the book. This novel is intriguing and full of philosophical quotes, with some comedic lines. Also, the book goes more into detail, like books usually do, explaining a lot of what we do not understand in the movie. Love this book. Makes me want to watch the film again.

We are one

The story by Blatty is both chilling as well as very smart and entertaining. I have listened to it several times and I find a new detail with each listen.