The Exorcist: 40th Anniversary Edition

Overall, I thought this was a great download. I tried to read the original, and thought it was a little slow after seeing the movie and being terrified. This audio version solved that. William Peter Blatty does a fantastic job! I agree with the other reviewer that his voice is made for narration. I too am leery of any author who reads their own work, but I can't imagine a better narrator.

I was a little confused with the addition of the little girl voice three-quarters of the way through the book. It was disconcerting to hear after we have been hearing Blatty's voice for so long, but it really didn't make much sense to me since Blatty also does Regan's voice before the possession so suddenly hearing her as a little girl seemed unnecessary.

Overall, a creepy, great autumn listen!

This is a spell binding story that will have you from page one.
Still the scariest film ever made in my opinion.
What a great narration by William Peter Blatty, set the right tone for this book.
The book begins with a prologue which is set in modern day Iraq, at the site of the ancient city of Nineveh. A Jesuit at the excavation feels a premonition of horror and receives signs that there is about to be an otherworldly confrontation when he sees a figurine of the demon Pazuzu entwined with a medal of St. Joseph. The scene then shifts to Georgetown, where a young girl Reagan McNeil, daughter of a famous actress, falls mysteriously ill. Following an onset of very obviously paranormal disturbances which psychiatric treatment can little resolve, she turns to a Jesuit priest: Father Damien Karras. The narrative then follows Karras' attempts to diagnose the situation and at last he obtains approval from the church to assist in an exorcism to be conducted by Father Lankester Merrin, newly returned from Iraq. The two priests attempt to exorcise the girl evidently possessed by a demon. The book follows Karras's struggle with his own faith as well as his attempt to face the new dangers that the possession causes.

Sometimes its great to be old. It is great to remember sitting in a packed house watching, "The Exorcist," when it was first released, even if it meant I had to sit their with my mother. Odd that "The Exorcist," should form some sort of consistent source of entertainment or inspiration, throughout my life, having read it in print a couple of times, having watched the film, in one form or another, at least once a year, since owning a film became a doable thing, I have listened to the original book, also read by the author, three or four times, and now I have had the great pleasure of listening to that same author, reading an updated and expanded version.
Okay, so I have more than just a wee fascination with this story and this topic. I love Mia Farrow reading, "Rosemary's Baby," and I wish Audible offered Malachi Martin's, "Hostage to the Devil," and Thomas B. Allen's, "Possessed," a case study of an exorcism taken from a Jesuit's diary, and the case that "The Exorcist," is said to be based on.Well, they are not available, but what a treat it is, after all these years, to have a new version of "The Exorcist,", so easily available, and, best of all, read once again, by the author. I don't think there is a narrator out there who is any scarier sounding than William Peter Blatty. His voice has those dark, ominous tones, and the voice of the demon is, to my ears, anyway, always lurking. I guess that is why I did like having the young girl reading Regan's voice on the tape that her mom loans to Father Karras. I appreciate her pure, sweet voice, that contains nothing dark...not one shadow of Captain Howdy. It worked for me, as did the whole book.
I think there are around three more hours in this version than the original audio book, and that time is divided up in expanded conversations and entirely new conversations and scenes, as well as more psychiatric descriptions and indecision, and more descriptions of the particulars of possession. If you are interested in the topic, you will probably find it as fascinating as I did. Personally, I love being able to hear what has been percolating inside William Peter Blatty's mind, , all these years. I appreciate Audible and the author making it possible. Thumbs up!!

I listened to this book while my wife was out of town. Bad idea. I slept with the lights on the whole weekend. I'm 35.

The author does an unusually phenomenal job of narration, I wish he'd only been a more prolific writer I'd love to hear more of his work and his narration. The book took me to a darker place than I remember when i saw the movie for the first time 15 years ago.

I saw the movie on television as a kid in the 80's. They cut out a LOT of the story for TV evidently.

The book is vivid and fast paced. Fun and foreboding. One that you cannot put down. I was most struck by the genius character development of the few players involved in the story. I wanted to know what drove them, what would become of them, and how they all connected by the end. I was expecting pop-horror, and got a well written character driven tale of people in a horrible situation instead. What a wonderful surprise!

I was dubious of the narration at first. I found it a tad indulgent and overdone, but as the story progressed, it grew on me and by the end I appreciated what the author brought to the track. Listen and ENJOY!

Often I cringe at the idea of an author narrating his own work, but Mr. Blatty reads his book very well and he has a rich voice that seems to have been made for narration. I read the book when I was a kid and mostly remember the story from the film, so I cant speak to what was "revised and expanded" although I think I recall an interview with Blatty where he said that for the film he added a lot of the more shocking language at the request of the Director, so maybe thats it, as Regan is quite potty-mouthed here.

I have never read The Exorcists, nor have I ever seen the movie, so I had no idea what I was getting into. First, I should say this was not an easy story to listen to in that it was at times very disturbing. Mr. Blatty doesn't soften any blows, and since the subject in distress is a child, I found this story very difficult at times. Still, the story itself was so intense and unusual and disturbing I couldn't help but listen without pause. Even though the child was in such distress and her predicament was so disturbing at times. I felt Blatty wrote her and her situation in a way that conveyed great sympathy and empathy.

My favorite part of Blatty's writting was the dialogue. The dialogue is written extremely well. And read extremely well as well. I didn't realize until I got on here to review this audio book that Blatty also narrated it. He did an escellent job. Really well done. The dialogue, the voices, the tones of voices and nuances were perfect. Especially on the detective. The dialogue and narration perfectly conveyed the intriguing combination of shrewdness, cunning, self defacing manner and sympathy that made his such a facinating character and a smart, insightful detective.

The only complaint I have was with the ending. There was this imense build-up, the suspense was almost painful. Then, the exocrcist is brought in, and . . . he's involved for a very short time. And then the resolution somes very, very shortly afterwards, and its rather aburpt. I was left with this feeling like the author built up this crazy amount of suspense and wrote himself to this plot climax where he wasn't really sure how or when or where to resolve it, so he just, well, ended it. I don't think this was really the case as Blatty seems a much better writter than this, but that was the feeling I was left with, and it was a little bit of a let down. I had all this anticipation and adrenaline built up, and I was left thinking "uh, is that it?". Perhaps my expectations were just over blown. However, it was a small complaint. The overall story was so intense and well written, it more than made up for any let down I personally felt at the end.

I highly recommend this listen.

The atmosphere and eeriness of the movie is captured in the book.

The Shining by Stephen King. Both are about children in danger and needing rescuing. Both are very scary. Both are excellent!

I think when Karras sees Merrin on the floor and realizes that he will have to save Regan with all of his doubts. He is her only hope.

No, too long but it only took me a week. I picked Halloween week because it's a perfect listen for the holiday.

I usually don't like the author reading his own works. (Stephen King does not always read his books as well as professionals). Blatty however does such a great job of getting the demons and nuances of the work that I couldn't imagine any one else doing it. I also liked the tape of the innocent Regan talking to her mom. Helps to set the stage.
One more thing. This book is definately rated R. Not for the faint of heart or person who doesn't like profanity. This is one for the record books.

Usually an author does a terrible job of narrating but this author is an exception. He did an amazing job telling an amazing story. His accents were so good and his portrayal of the demon would send shivers down my spine.

Reading this was like watching the movie over again in the car LOL. Line after line was the same. I wonder why they can't follow the book in so many other movies. This was a great book so why change the movie version? In this case they didn't and it was great. I was also surprised W P Blatty was such an awesome narrator. As soon as the book started it felt like no other person would have made it justice. I loved it and was sad when it was over.