Forty years ago THE EXORCIST enraged and grossed out Americans with its profanity, Christian sacrilege, and vile excretions. The novel, now familiar to millions, is still an engaging horror story still shocking in its explicit descriptions. In reading his own work, Blatty has an intimate understanding of how it should sound, and his delivery feels natural to the overall tone of the book. When he bellows the demon voices from the possessed child, Regan, his enthusiasm for the role is fully engaged. But overall, he lacks a dramatic spark, and the story frequently drags. Eliana Shaskan is credited as a narrator, but her voice is only used briefly, as an audio effect. F.T. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine

"A horror story for all midnights." — The Boston Globe

"There are not many readers who will be unmoved. Written in a literate style, The Exorcist is to most other novels of its kind as an Einstein equation is to an accountant's column of figures." — New York Times Book Review

"Immensely satisfying, it hold its readers in a vise-like grip worthy of Poe." — Los Angeles Times

"Wonderfully exciting." — Newsweek

"Absolutely superb. Blatty makes you think this scary tale really might have happened." — Cleveland Plain Dealer

"Up till dawn, I was, with The Exorcist. A shocker . . . driving to a violent conclusion." — Cosmopolitan

"A page-turner par excellence. Poe and Mary Shelley would recognize [Blatty] as working in their ambiguous limbo between the natural and the supernatural . . . hair-rising." — Life

"A tremendous novel . . . fast, powerful, and completely gripping, a hypnotic combination of morality tale and supernatural detective story. A parable for our times, a stunning achievement." — London Sunday Express

"The Exorcist should be read twice; the first time for the passion and horrifying intensity of the story, with a second reading to savor the subtleties of language and phrasing. . . . It's an experience you will never forget." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"Suspense that never lets up!" — Publishers Weekly

"A fantastic and deeply religious novel that will touch the reader to his very soul as it touches on things in this world that cannot be explained away rationally." — Texas Abilene Reporter-News

"The Exorcist should be read twice; the first time for the passion and horrifying intensity of the story, with a second reading to savor the subtleties of language and phrasing. . . . It's an experience you will never forget."

"Wonderfully exciting."

"There are not many readers who will be unmoved. Written in a literate style, The Exorcist is to most other novels of its kind as an Einstein equation is to an accountant's column of figures."

"A page-turner par excellence. Poe and Mary Shelley would recognize [Blatty] as working in their ambiguous limbo between the natural and the supernatural . . . hair-rising."

"A horror story for all midnights."

"A tremendous novel . . . fast, powerful, and completely gripping, a hypnotic combination of morality tale and supernatural detective story. A parable for our times, a stunning achievement."

"Immensely satisfying, it hold its readers in a vise-like grip worthy of Poe."

"Up till dawn, I was, with The Exorcist. A shocker . . . driving to a violent conclusion."

"Absolutely superb. Blatty makes you think this scary tale really might have happened."

"A fantastic and deeply religious novel that will touch the reader to his very soul as it touches on things in this world that cannot be explained away rationally."

Wonderfully exciting.

Forty years ago THE EXORCIST enraged and grossed out Americans with its profanity, Christian sacrilege, and vile excretions. The novel, now familiar to millions, is still an engaging horror story still shocking in its explicit descriptions. In reading his own work, Blatty has an intimate understanding of how it should sound, and his delivery feels natural to the overall tone of the book. When he bellows the demon voices from the possessed child, Regan, his enthusiasm for the role is fully engaged. But overall, he lacks a dramatic spark, and the story frequently drags. Eliana Shaskan is credited as a narrator, but her voice is only used briefly, as an audio effect. F.T. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine