This is one of the most frightening books I've ever read. Dove into it long before the movie was made and was truly scared to read through the last chapters. Exceptionally well written. ( )

The movie should have really been made exactly like the book. I know defiling a child is too 'taboo' for American society but even if it just hinted at it. Even the language should have been done exactly like the book. I would have enjoyed the movie much more had it been. ( )

I thought this novel was just okay. There were a few scary bits but the most intriguing part (the actual exorcism) came very late in the novel and didn't last all that long. While I can see what Blatty was going for with the ending and it was somewhat clever, it also felt sort of tacked on. As though everything just needed to be tied together really quickly.

The movie version is incredibly accurate to the book. This is one of those few times where I'd recommend the film more heartily than the original source. ( )

It's a shame that the film version has in many ways overshadowed this excellent novel. That's not to say that he movie wasn't faithful, indeed the novel reads itself much like a screen play and many scenes are rendered still by still in accordance with the book, however I fear many will have passed this by having either seen the film or worse still only heard of the hype.

Not being a fan of the horror genre I would normally have steered clear myself, but happening to see an early edition in my favourite charity book store for the princely sum of 60p. From the first line I was hooked. I read the 300 odd pages in a couple of days, me being a slow reader with little time for the pursuit this is a mark of honour.

What I found was one the best explorations of faith in a popular novel I have read thus far. Themes of faith, guilt and death, which could so easily turned sour, think Dan Brown, are cleverly explored with a unique, if frequently repellent device. Much of this was in the film, but it is far more explicit here. Inevitably the medical science is a little dated but other than that it's remains an outstanding novel and well worth a try. ( )

http://spwebdesign.livejournal.com/63... ( )