Rating: 
Summary: Simply Terrifying
Review: The Exorcist,a hypnotic fast pased thriller in which the reader is brought face too face with an old age definition of evil.Highly descripitive in his writing proces,William Peter Blatty brings the reader too a world where science,religion and legend all meet to rival the beliefs of that of the reader.Un perdictable,suspenseful and truley horrifying this book tells the story of a innocent little girl who falls victim to possesion of a ancient evil we call satan.A priest who is losing faith and a detective inspect the paranormal activity.A powerful and gripping ending,I highley recommend this book to any brave soul willing to read it.
Rating:
Summary: Much more than a mere horror novel or thriller.
Review: My review may be colored because I had seen the movie, which I thought excellent, several times before reading this. As good as the movie was, the book, as is usually the case, is much superior.
This book is no mere thriller, like a Stephen King book, good for a slight scare with no deeper meaning. This book is highly spiritual, almost as a Jesuit himself had written it.
It struck me that in the book, as in the movie, the actual exorcism does not take place until the very end, making it almost incidental to the story.
We meet Fr. Marin, "the exorcist," at the very beginning, but do not see him again until the very end. The real central character is Fr. Karras, the Jesuit priest who is struggling with his faith. The real central story, then, is how Karras deals with that. The troubled (possessed?) young Regan only provides a backdrop.
Karras, also a psychiatrist, does not believe Regan is possessed and has a rational, medical explanation for all her symptoms. He agrees to an "exorcism" in hopes that the sugggestive power of the ritual will drive the "demon" out of her. The actual exorcist, Merrin, however, has no doubts as to the authenticity of the possession.
Here is the Christian/Catholic/Jesuit struggle. The spiritual man has no problem believing that the Devil is at work here. The earthbound man searches for "rational," "scientific" answers. In the end, Karras finds his faith.
So, was Regan possessed? Who's to say?
Rating:
Summary: A Question of Faith
Review: A second reading of "The Exorcist" nearly 25 years after a first reading packs an even more gut-wrenching wallop! The sheer terror of supernatural evil glutches its victimized reader by the throat the first time around but rips him apart the second time around. Slightly beneath its surface of absolute horror, "The Exorcist" is a supernatural detective thriller. At its heart, though, it is really a challenge of faith that brings the question outside the realm of the supernatural and lays it on the doorstep of the conscience. There, on the threshhold of our own existence, we are commanded to validate our own divinity and measure its strength against the challenge of evil. Whether intentionally or not, Blatty challenges his reader to stand against more than terror: he challenges us to stand against our own demons.
Rating:
Summary: Frightening
Review: It still gives me nightmares. I can still hear the diabolical rantings of the possessed girl. Horror does not jump out and grab you. Rather, it builds up inside you leaving a feeling of dread and hopelessness. No question, this is the most frightening book ever written. The novel revolves around four intertwined stories. The first is about a Jesuit priest who is losing his faith because he has absorbed so many other people's problems into himself while working as a psychiatrist. Another is the mystery of who vandalized the church and who killed Burke Dennings (we know who). A third deals with the German housekeepers and their drug addicted daughter. This part was kept out of the movie and should have been kept out of the book as well. I don't feel it adds anything to the story. And finally the story of the possessed little girl herself. It is interesting to note that no one ascertains if she is actually possessed. Many of the "possession" symptoms she exhibits can be easily explained by psychiatry as the reader is taken through a quick history of events leading up to the exorcism, such as reading a book on witchcraft left by her mom's secretary or the absence of her father. All of this leads to a frightening climax as the same priest is called to investigate, first as a psychiatrist then as an assistant to the exorcist. Maybe this is the author's intent: to leave you wondering at the end of the book. To leave more questions than answers. This book will stay with you long after you have read it. I still think about it once in a while.
Rating:
Summary: Classic tale of psychological, spiritual horror
Review: Will make you wince!
Rating: 
Summary: Great Popular Horror/Detective/Psychological Thriller
Review: 1. Read it in one night, 2. Would have been 5 stars except writing sometimes cliche, dialogue sometimes unrealistic 3. Face it: movies and books can't be compared (apples and oranges), both will (or should) scare the crap out of you.
Rating:
Summary: VERY INTERESTING
Review: I am not even half way into this book but "the Exorcist" won't let me stop reading. I can't put it down. It is a long book but very interesting. Yes, the beginning about Iraq is very slow but when you get through it, the book is exciting and powerful as it tells the tale of a pre-teen girl who gets possessed by the devil. The book is most like the film called The Exorcist: The Version you've never seen (the uncut version) because the book was adapted into the original script before editing out scenes like the "spider-walk" down the stairs scene. If you liked the movie, you'll love the book. If you loved the movie, you'll worship the book. What I'm trying to say is Exorcist fans will enjoy this Masterpiece by William Peter Blatty (writer and producer of "The Exorcist" movie). This is based on a true story about a boy. That's what really makes the book scary.
Rating:
Summary: closest thing to HELL besides actually going
Review: i first saw the movie when i was 6 and it didnt even phase then when i turned 14 I saw it again and it scared the crap out of me well reading the credits i saw that it was a book well being the avid book reader i am i quickly ran to the bookstore and bought it. well at first i was a little reluctant, reason being that i thought it would be boring at first and note pick up until the middle. boy was i wrong that book flew at neck breaking pace. blatty descrpitive words are so beautiful i couldnt stop reading.
Rating:
Summary: The Devil, You Say!
Review: That this book is a clammy chiller is actually incidental to the fact that it is a superior novel exploring faith in crisis. In the course of the story, one girl's horrifying condition forces all who encounter her to confront their own beliefs, and re-examine whatever their faith may be. When adorable pre-adolescent Regan McNeill begins exhibiting multiple personalities and bizarre physical phenomena truly horrifying to behold, her progressively suffering famous actress mother Chris takes her to a succession of doctors who are unable even to diagnose Regan's condition, let alone treat it. In desperation, Chris turns to a Jesuit psychiatrist, Damien Karras, for an exorcism, but he and the Church have become too modernized to any longer believe in Evil. After Karras does an investigation and becomes convinced Regan's condition is in fact a case of diabolical possession, the Church reluctantly commissions the steadfast Father Merrin to perform the arcane rite, and the ancient conflict of good vs. evil becomes embodied between him and Regan - to the death. Blatty's brilliant book is essentially a Passion Play framed by a police procedural (there is a curious fatality connected to the ailing Regan), and performed as an existential drama. The suffering of Chris and Regan McNeill is palpable and gut-wrenching, and Father Karras' literal wrestling with his own faith is psychologically gripping. The finale is simply not to be forgotten. The whole is so intensely emotionally engaging as to raise The Exorcist to the level of classic literature, a novel far greater than the sum of its parts. This is easily one of the best books I've ever read, and unquestionably one of the most memorable. I couldn't recommend it more highly.
Rating:
Summary: Sympathy for the Devil
Review: Much has been said about The Exorcist. Published way back in 1971, Blatty's groundbreaking achievement has endured to this day as one of the scariest books ever written. It is also one of the very few horror books that demands to be read at night. Blatty's masterful depiction of a routine, mundane life being invaded by a supernatural evil is second to none. And what could be more disturbing than the complete corruption of an innocent little girl? Though the demonic possession aspect of the tale is well known, the soul of this book is the priest who is losing his faith. Even in the laughing, taunting face of a demon Father Damien Karras struggles to accept the supernatural. No, you do not have to be a Christian to appreciate what Blatty is trying to do. Indeed, I found the books most enjoyable element in its willingness to draw a line between good and evil. No moral subjectivism here, The Exorcist asks you to fear the darkness -- not embrace it. This highlights one of the big problems with much of todays politically corrected horror fiction: no one wants to define "evil" anymore. Too bad Blatty was never able to follow up The Exorcist with anything else worthy. He's a very good writer: his descriptions, phrasing, narrative structure are as effective as anything Stephen King has written. The Exorcist, simply put, is rewarding. The only challenge it offers is begging you not to think about the film.
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