Legion

Legion by William Peter Blatty, 269 pages

Legion is Blatty's sequel to his best-known work, The Exorcist (Legion was eventually adapted into The Exorcist III, which Blatty directed himself, although the studio insisted on adding elements to justify the Exorcist title).  Detective Kinderman returns, investigating a series of murders that seem to be the work of a serial killer known to have been killed decades ago.  Father Dyer, Father Damien's best friend and fellow Jesuit, also returns, having forged a bond with the surly detective in the years since Damien's death.

Where The Exorcist held out the hope that the existence of supernatural evil implies the existence of supernatural good, Legion asks why natural evil seems to pervade the human world and whether there is any hope against it.

Unfortunately, the novel's problems run deep.  Kinderman, while initially charming in his endless, garrulous, rambling monologues, eventually becomes tiresome.  The Gemini killer is a silly Hollywood caricature of a serial killer.  The ending is absurdly anti-climactic, although it is thematically appropriate.  This is one of those instances where, against stereotypes, the movie is better than the book.