12/22/2025 Guest Review: LEGION by William Peter Blatty
- Candace Nola
- 21 hours ago
- 3 min read
Today, we have a guest review from author friend Sue Rovens! She sends us her thoughts LEGION by William Peter Blatty. Another favorite book of mine as well as author.
Thanks as always to Sue and be sure to read her bio at the bottom and considering checking out Sue's work as well!
LEGION
By William Peter Blatty
William Peter Blatty is best known for having written the book The Exorcist (1971), the screenplay for the film (The Exorcist - 1973), and other renditions of said work. He also penned the book Legion (1983), a follow-up to the Exorcist that features Lieutenant Kinderman, the main detective. In this tale, Kinderman takes on a new bizarre case, which involves what appears to be random yet brutal slayings of victims in and around Georgetown.
There are early moments filled with intense and vicious discoveries, such as a young boy killed in an obscure manner (one resembling a mock crucifixion). However, the more I read, I realized that the number of impactful scenes (such as the one described above) were few and far between. In fact, much of the story reads more like a police procedural mixed in with heavy doses of philosophical constructs.
While there is absolutely nothing wrong with crime dramas or philosophical theorizing, my initial expectations were far from met. I believed that Legion would be a continuation of the previous story (The Exorcist) or at least hold the same level of severity and power which made that first book/movie what it was. Unfortunately, I found some of it to be nothing more than rambling pretense, as if Mr. Blatty were ultimately writing from a philosopher’s point of view, trying to persuade the reader to ponder the loftier ideals of life, the world, good and evil, and people’s belief systems.
Again, there’s nothing wrong with reading a book that focuses on the meaning of life and pushes the reader to contemplate whether we live in good or evil times (and what that means in the larger scheme of things). However, Legion was marketed as a horror novel featuring demonic possession. While it’s true that there are brief scenarios relating to horror, I didn’t find them to be the driving force here. I simply wanted more from this book.
I did like this, but I had to adjust my expectations quite a bit as I made my way through the 270 pages. Overall, I’d recommend it, as it is quality writing, but both the plot and characters are somewhat convoluted. If you venture in, go forth with no expectations, lest you feel disappointed by the book’s end.
Recommended for those who enjoy police procedurals, crime, unknown killers, religious themes, and/or The Exorcist (book or movie version)
Order the book here:
Sue's Bio:
Sue Rovens is an indie suspense/horror author who lives in Normal, Illinois. She has written five novels and two books of short horror stories.
Track 9, her second novel, received a starred review in Publisher's Weekly (May 2018), her short story, “Coming Over”, from her book, In a Corner, Darkly (Volume 1) was turned into a screenplay and short student indie film by the theater department of Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, and another short story, “When the Earth Bled”, won 2nd place in the Support Indie Authors short story contest. Her three most recent books (Buried, Rage, and Sanctum) are under Plump Toad Press.
Sue owns a blog (suerovens.com) which includes interviews with authors, musicians, podcasters, and artists. She is also a current member of both the Chicago Writers Association and the Alliance for Independent Authors (ALLi).
PICK UP HER LATEST COLLECTION BELOW:
