I enjoyed this book, but it pales in comparison to it’s predecessor, The Exorcist. That story had been a part of my life for decades, having loved (and loved being scared) by the classic movie since I was a kid. I finally read the original novel a few years ago and absolutely loved it too, so I had this on my list to read for a while and was happy to see it available on Kindle Unlimited.
Liked it, but didn’t love it. When it was just focused on the story, I enjoyed it more, but a lot of the time, we were in the mind of the main character – the police detective from the original Exorcist – and his meanderings on life and God and faith. I think a lot of that was probably a stand-in for Blatty’s views on these things.
I don’t remember all of that from the movie – yes this book became the basis for Exorcist III, which I saw in the theater as a kid. I do remember some of it, but not enough that the book was spoiled or even to know how different the movie and the book were – both written by Blatty.
I do know that George C. Scott took over the role of the police officer, Kinderman, but I still pictured Lee J. Cobb in my head (Cobb passed away in 1976).
There were moments where I was really into this book and moments where I found myself just wanting to get through certain chapters. After reading the original Exorcist, I was excited to read more Blatty, especially this. After reading this, my excitement level went down a bit. Might I read another Blatty in the future, maybe?
But then again, maybe not.