Rating: 
Summary: Tedium, it hurts because I really wanted to believe this...
Review: I got this book because I wanted to know what the protocol was for taking out a demon - just incase I move into some old house where I find a strange man with deep eyes wandering in the basement. You wont find anything really useful here, this book is pure tedium! I never thought that Malachi would twist and lie to such a degree; I never realized how warped he was. I did dig into this book with some enthusiasm, but Martin squashed that by writing that the enneagram is the biggest threat to lead to a possession (the enneagram which was made by the jesuits!). Malcachi was certainly bitter about anything new happening to his religion, such things happen in seniority. I now know that he was just an old man who didn't like this new fangled modern psychology. Like lots of the other reviews, I must emphasize that this book is way too wordy, and could be 1000% percent smaller with the same amount of disinformation. The only idea that this book opened up to me was that I should do a little investigation of the interpretation of these exorcisms in other theologies (taoism, judaism, buddhism,etc.). Just so you know, the first girl is possessed for something that seems like simple meditation, and the second dude gets full of the devil by believing in evolution. The first and longest part of an exorcism is trying to get the devil to show itself by berating this "seemingly normal person" until the breakthrough occurs - this processive attack usually takes days, and may take weeks! (Uhh... I wonder what's going on here... satan always shows his face after 5 days of food and sleep deprivation... such a trickster...) Try this book if you really want to feel sorry for those little fundamentalist types (the same ones that think that mother Theresa was evil for allowing other religions to be respected).
Rating: 
Summary: Not really scary
Review: I am not even finished with this book. There are 5 cases and I am on the 3rd one. I am halfway through it and haven't come across anything remotely frightening. I have to read this book for school and there was a lot of hype surrounding it from my professor, and from the other reviews on this site, but I have to say I am very disappointed and not impressed at all. The author tells a little bit about the actual exorcism, which is halfway scary, but spends so much time giving background information on the exorcist and the possessed that it gets boring. There are so many needless details. I still have a shred of hope that I will be wrong and the book will start to get good. If that happens, it is sad that there is a lot of reading to be done just to get to a good scary part. A thought that runs through my head as I read this is "get to the point already." This book is 450+ pages. The preface and the introductory material were scarier than the actual cases. I have not had trouble sleeping with the lights off. If you don't have to read this book for school, don't bother. I am sure there are better books about demon possession out there. Get something by Stephen King or John Saul if you are looking to be terrified. Even books targeted toward teens, like those written by Christopher Pike and RL Stine have frightened me and those were works of fiction, vs. this book supposedly based on actual facts.
Rating: 
Summary: one mistake in summerbeard's review
Review: One can only be freed from the devil through the acceptance of Jesus Christ as your savior. Not to discredit those who fight evil on a daily basis, but ALL believers in Christ can cast out demons through the authority vested in them through the Holy Spirit. You don't need a priest, all you need is Faith in Jesus!
Rating: 
Summary: Challanging and Compelling
Review: The belief system that this book is based upon would ordinarily cause me to dismiss it if it were not for the excellent quality of the writing and intelligence with which the subject is discussed. The whole problem of evil is examined while many things I am sympathetic about (transcending duality-Marianne, revearing nature-Father Yves, androgeny-Richard/Rita, and psychic abilities-Carl) are said to subtly lead to traps set by evil spirits. One would logically be drawn to Christianity as an answer if the conclusions drawn from this book are accepted as stated. So the overwhelming question is: How true are these stories. Can anyone verify them? This I would like to know. Whether one accepts the book as true or not, it is a great read and an intellectual challenge.
Rating: 
Summary: My father was totally possessed
Review: There seem to be only a few good books on this subject : Amorth's books, M Scott Peck's book, and this one. As my life sadly has been the subject of diabolical influences I have read them all, with care. My late father surrendered his soul to an evil spirit while quite young. He became one of the totally possessed. Under his pressure I succumbed to a degree of possession at the age of about 8. I did not know I was possessed but felt something was wrong. At about the age of 19 I decided I was going to find out what was wrong whatever the cost. My father sensed this and cursed me. I had a terrible life. But eventually I came across Amorth's books and at the age of 51 received the Rite of Exorcism of the Catholic Church. One quite simple exorcism freed me. It lasted less than an hour and was quite unlike the exorcisms in this book. I do not know whether the cases in Martin's book are true. But I know from experience that possession may happen and that exorcism does work. All above is true.
Rating:
Summary: Harrowing but faith-inspiring
Review: Someone, maybe C.S. Lewis, said that Satan operates the best when people don't believe he exists. This harrowing book makes it quite clear that evil exists indeed. Malachi Martin chronicles how one comes to be "possessed" and how the exorcism process works. He also identifies which types of human behavior and practices make one especially susceptible to possession. Notably, however, Martin explains that it is the individual's free will which must ultimately consent to possessio--and cooperate with the exorcist for the exorcism to be successful. What impressed me most was the bravery of the priests who willingly become "hostage to the devil" during an exorcism. The possessing spirits place incredible pressure on the priests, who must place their trust entirely in Christ (and never in their own abilities) to see the exorcism to completion. I highly recommend this book which sheds light on an uncomfortable but important subject.
Rating:
Summary: A serious and sobering look at a sensationalized subject.
Review: I first came across Malachi Martin's "Hostage to the Devil" at the annual book sale at Milton H. Latter Memorial Library on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans, Louisiana. I am a Catholic from birth and I have always taken a deep interest in my faith, even in those areas that are considered "old fashioned" or no longer believable. But after reading Martin's book I started saying my prayers much more fervently because he presents the presence of evil as an everyday occurrence in our world. I grew up with the idea that diabolic posession was as shown in the movie "The Exorcist" - namely that the possessed sprout boils on their faces and their heads turn 360 degrees while they fly through the air and spit green pea soup. But through Martin's research I learned that, although unusual effects and occurrences are possible, many cases of partial or complete posession manifest themselves more through the appearance of spiritual confusion, malice, and outright evil deeds. The signs of possession are more in the spirit than in the flesh.
The book is a sober and thought provoking. He avoids sensationalism even when describing events which would seem strange and unusual. But most importantly, Martin gives us clear evidence that evil is not gone, that Satan is not dead- but that he lives now, calling himself, as described by the possessed, the Claimant, the Leader, the Daring One, the Prince, and the Angel of Light. And that he hunts human spirits weak in faith to bind them to his will, and that such a person can be freed only by a great effort of skilled prayer and understanding by a qualified priest of the Catholic Church who retain the powers given to the Apostles to cast out evil spirits in the Holy Name of Jesus the Christ. In each case described in the book, the demons yield, though after a battle, to the power of the Holy Name which they can rarely say, more often calling Him- That Person.
The mechanism and evidence of posession are laid out clearly. "Hostage to the Devil" is necessary reading for all who understand that evil lives in the world and must be fought by faith and goodness.
Rating:
Summary: Makes you question everything.
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
Malachi has a wonderful and suspenseful writing style that keeps you hooked the whole way through. You have to keep an open mind to read this book or you will walk away thinking it is either all real or all propaganda. Some cases seem to be almost painfully obvious forms of psychological hysteria or dementia and Malachi almost hints, in my opinion, at this in his descriptions of the possessed. Others however, truly make you question your faith and wonder what kind of evil is lurking out there. "Hostage to the Devil" is a very disturbing account of the interactions between Exorcists, the possessed and the people around them. I highly recommend reading it alone in a dimly lit room; it will creep you out.
Rating:
Summary: A superb work by one we will all miss
Review: The best and most inspiring so far in a journey that is far from over. Always will I hold to your advice and hope.
Rating:
Summary: This book is not for everyone!
Review: This book is extraordinary in its content. But it is not reading for the unprepared, if not the uninitiated. Not looking at it from the academic angle, like most reviewers, but from a spiritual perspective, this book needs to be read very slowly and with pauses in between cases. I do not recommend to scan-read it or to run through it in one sitting (so to speak). I strongly recommend you read the preface first followed by appendix one, The Roman Ritual of Exorcism, before getting into the book's main content. But once again, unless you are a scholar or someboy looking to widen your faith by reading something that will enhance the way you look at religiosity and your role in the Church as a lay person, don't pick this one up. I guarantee it, you will put it down fast.
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