Reviews

Legion by William Peter Blatty

jackmacpw's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.5

readthesparrow's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

madmooney's review against another edition

4.0

"The creator made man to know right from wrong, to feel outrage at all that was monstrous and evil; yet the scheme of creation itself was outrageous, for the law of life was the law of feeding in a universe crammed from end to end with exploding stars and bloodied jaws"

(As a sequel to the Exorcist, this lands at a 2.5 or a 3, but as a standalone this would be a 4)

In my review of Blatty's [b:The Exorcist|179780|The Exorcist|William Peter Blatty|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1375168676l/179780._SY75_.jpg|1945267] (which was a swept-off-my-feet love affair, Vegas wedding, and honeymoon in Milan), I had noted that the character Kinderman was the only element that I did not 100% love. I saw his purpose in the book, but I found myself sighing when realizing I was in the middle of one of his chapters.

Seeing that Kinderman would be the protagonist in Legion did not scare me off, but getting a whole book of his unorthodox policing methods, collar-wringing sermonizing, and philosophical tangents made me hope that it would have a better fit in the sequel. Which I feel that it did, but Legion still stands in the long cast shadow of its predecessor.

In Legion, we discover that the friendship between Kinderman and Father Dyer has grown since their shared grief over the loss of Damien Karras 12 years prior. There are a series of gruesome murders happening in DC, all of which closely resemble the MO of the Gemini Killer (someone who was caught, convicted and executed over a decade ago in a different state altogether). Kinderman makes the connection between the two MOs, and the investigation of a possible copycat killer begins.

If the question in the Exorcist is about how is it possible that evil can corrupt innocence in a world that is supposed to be good, Legion quickens that line of questioning by asking if it is even possible for good to triumph.

‘Perhaps that one memory may keep us from evil and we will reflect and say: Yes, I was brave and good and honest then.’ Then Alyosha tells them something that is vitally important. ‘First, and above all, be kind,’ he says. And the boys—they all love him—they all shout, ‘Hurrah for Karamazov!’

daiareads's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

3.25

thiswayforhorrorrecs's review against another edition

This was boring and nothing like the Exorcist. 

allieskat17's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This was an okay read. Not as good as the first book. I often found myself drifting away but the reoccurring characters pulled me back in

ventellina's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

allysavr's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

billymac1962's review against another edition

3.0

I bought this a long time ago and had put off reading it after reading
too many lukewarm reviews.

The Exorcist was a pretty tough act to follow, but I liked Legion.

Legion focuses on Lieutenant Kinderman, from The Exorcist, as he investigates a series of gruesome murders that follow the same M.O. as the Gemini Killer, who had died 12 years previously.
Throughout the investigation, Kinderman ponders the ways of God, and the nature of evil and instinct. There are some reviewers who seemed to feel these musings held up the story. I liked them.

Sometimes, in the daily grind of things, you tend to forget about the things that would occupy your thoughts back when you had the free time to let your mind wander. Like, how the heck a bird with a brain the size of a lima bean knows how to construct a nest with moss, spiders' silk and twigs? I can configure Unix servers in my sleep, but there's a learning curve to that. The whole concept of instinct is nothing short of miraculous, in my opinion.

Anyways, this was a good story. Nice and short, and enough suspense to
satisfy the discerning serial-killer novel fan. And theological musings at no extra charge.

keither909's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0