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Exorcist: The Beginning
Haunted by his memories of World War II, Lankester Merrin takes a sabbatical from the priesthood to lead an archaeological excavation of a mysterious Byzantine church in a remote region of Kenya, unaware that an ancient crypt beneath the church contains an unspeakable evil that is about to be unleashed on the world. Original. (A Warner Bros. film, written by Caleb Carr & William Wisher, directed by Paul Schrader, releasing Winter 2003, starring Stellan Skarsgard & Gabriel Mann) (Horror)
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 1, 2003
18 people are currently reading
164 people want to read
About the author
Steven Piziks
19 books24 followersSteven Harper Piziks was born in Saginaw, Michigan, but he moved around a lot and has lived in Wisconsin, Germany, and (briefly) Ukraine. Currently he lives with his three sons in southeastern Michigan.
His novels include In the Company of Mind and Corporate Mentality, both science fiction published by Baen Books. Writing as Steven Harper for Roc Books, he has produced The Silent Empire series. He’s also written books based on Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, and The Ghost Whisperer, as well as the movie novelization Identity, which he managed under a deadline of only three weeks. His numerous short stories have appeared, among other places, in all but one of Esther Friesner’s Chicks in Chainmail anthologies and in all of her humorous suburban fantasy anthology. Currently he’s working on The Clockwork Empire steampunk trilogy for Ace Book.
His novels include In the Company of Mind and Corporate Mentality, both science fiction published by Baen Books. Writing as Steven Harper for Roc Books, he has produced The Silent Empire series. He’s also written books based on Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, and The Ghost Whisperer, as well as the movie novelization Identity, which he managed under a deadline of only three weeks. His numerous short stories have appeared, among other places, in all but one of Esther Friesner’s Chicks in Chainmail anthologies and in all of her humorous suburban fantasy anthology. Currently he’s working on The Clockwork Empire steampunk trilogy for Ace Book.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
September 12, 2020
This is just a big and loud MEH!
February 9, 2012
I just finished reading Exorcist: The Beginning (call it a pre-reading) last night. My daughter received it from Paperback Swap. Lancaster Merrin comes back from World War II physically and spiritually drained. He decides to take a sabbatical from the priesthood and goes far from his native Holland to Africa to excavate a Byzantine Church found buried in pristine condition on the day it was completed.
Directly beneath the Church, Merrin finds an ancient crypt and also finds himself face-to-face with Evil. As madness descends on the natives and a British contingent of soldiers sent to guard the excavation site, Merrin watches helplessly as atrocities of the war are repeated on another village - atrocities that he hoped to never see again. And the horror has only just begun. I give this novel an A+!
Directly beneath the Church, Merrin finds an ancient crypt and also finds himself face-to-face with Evil. As madness descends on the natives and a British contingent of soldiers sent to guard the excavation site, Merrin watches helplessly as atrocities of the war are repeated on another village - atrocities that he hoped to never see again. And the horror has only just begun. I give this novel an A+!
June 21, 2021
Lankester Merrin has walked away from his Catholic vocation and is living in Africa when he is called on to take over the supervision of an archaeological dig of a site that should not exist: a sixth century Byzantine church in the heart of Kenya. He is horrified to discover that the church is hiding a terrible secret which has the potential to strike at the heart of Christianity.
Piziks' novel is a fairly accurate novelisation of the film prequel to 'The Exorcist' and executes the horrifying aspects of the film quite well. It provides some backstory for Fr Merrin which is almost certainly unnecessary for an appreciation of his character in the later novel and film, but the book serves up exactly what it is supposed to do.
Piziks' novel is a fairly accurate novelisation of the film prequel to 'The Exorcist' and executes the horrifying aspects of the film quite well. It provides some backstory for Fr Merrin which is almost certainly unnecessary for an appreciation of his character in the later novel and film, but the book serves up exactly what it is supposed to do.
December 31, 2021
A complete and utter waste of time which overloads on profanity and disrespect for Christianity and any possible form of human decency. Mr. Piziks ought to be ashamed of himself for how many descriptions of male erections he described in this book. I am convinced he has no respect for Christianity because this book is overwrought is sexual overtones and disrespect. I quit before I was even finished, it is THAT demonic and perverse. Blatty's work was too but only to a purpose of horrifying, this is to a purpose of glorifying.
The film may have been awful, but it wasn't this level of complete trash.
The film may have been awful, but it wasn't this level of complete trash.
June 3, 2022
Film novelizations are complicated to begin with. Novelizing a movie that was an attempt to fix a previous rendition that served as a prequel to perhaps the greatest horror film (and novel) of all time is an even harder task.
The good news here is that this book is an improvement on the movie. The bad news is that it’s still not that good.
The good news here is that this book is an improvement on the movie. The bad news is that it’s still not that good.
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December 8, 2010ada bbrp hal yg gak enak baca buku ini:
pertama, susah juga nyari buku ini di search togle goodreads/amazon. ternyata judul buku aslinya dgn yg di indonesia beda (di sini "hell angel"). kenapa mst beda ya? emang kenapa kalo mencantumkan judul yang sama dgn aslinya. apa si penerjemah (Dina Mardiana) atau editor (Ali Yahya) nya keberatan dengan judul "exorcist"? terlalu vulgar? terlalu brutal? hmmmm..atau mungkin bahasa indonesianya utk "exorcist" terlalu aneh? (http://translate.google.com/#auto|id|... = pengusir setan)
yang ke-dua, nggak nyaman ceritanya. sepertinya penulis mau ini terasa mistis.tapi kok lebay. huhuuhuu..
yang ke-tiga, well..ini emang soal keimanan sih ya.sangat subjective (bagi non-muslim yang baca komenku yang ini jgn tersinggung yaa..)
gini, di buku ini ditulis kalo si malaikat kematian adalah "malaikat kesayangan" tuhan. heheh..there's no such "malaikat kesayangan" di ilmu agama kami, you know. lagipula, kalo dinamain "kesayangan", kok tingkahnya biadab?hayooo...hehehehe...
yah..masalah teknis pengusiran mah, ya sudahlah ya..terserah. cuma ya emang gak masuk akal :D
endingnya gak enak. yang muncul scr misterius di awal, kirain di akhir bakalan revealed. eh ternyata nggak juga. jadi alasan kenapa si merrin dipilih dia jg gak ketauan. ah..no wonderlah buku ini dijual ke toko buku bekas oleh pemilik awalnya (ketauan kan gw dapetin buku ini di mana.hihihih...)
pertama, susah juga nyari buku ini di search togle goodreads/amazon. ternyata judul buku aslinya dgn yg di indonesia beda (di sini "hell angel"). kenapa mst beda ya? emang kenapa kalo mencantumkan judul yang sama dgn aslinya. apa si penerjemah (Dina Mardiana) atau editor (Ali Yahya) nya keberatan dengan judul "exorcist"? terlalu vulgar? terlalu brutal? hmmmm..atau mungkin bahasa indonesianya utk "exorcist" terlalu aneh? (http://translate.google.com/#auto|id|... = pengusir setan)
yang ke-dua, nggak nyaman ceritanya. sepertinya penulis mau ini terasa mistis.tapi kok lebay. huhuuhuu..
yang ke-tiga, well..ini emang soal keimanan sih ya.sangat subjective (bagi non-muslim yang baca komenku yang ini jgn tersinggung yaa..)
gini, di buku ini ditulis kalo si malaikat kematian adalah "malaikat kesayangan" tuhan. heheh..there's no such "malaikat kesayangan" di ilmu agama kami, you know. lagipula, kalo dinamain "kesayangan", kok tingkahnya biadab?hayooo...hehehehe...
yah..masalah teknis pengusiran mah, ya sudahlah ya..terserah. cuma ya emang gak masuk akal :D
endingnya gak enak. yang muncul scr misterius di awal, kirain di akhir bakalan revealed. eh ternyata nggak juga. jadi alasan kenapa si merrin dipilih dia jg gak ketauan. ah..no wonderlah buku ini dijual ke toko buku bekas oleh pemilik awalnya (ketauan kan gw dapetin buku ini di mana.hihihih...)
March 12, 2025
Good but not great. I never saw the original Exorcist movie but I saw this one first and thought it was an excellent movie. Many people, on the other hand, did not think so. Fans of the original movie as well as fans of quality movies in general felt it was gratuitous in the gore and violence department and did not utilize enough horror. Eventually, I saw the alternate Director's Cut Dominion by Paul Schrader, and that one bored me. So I looked at the novelization of Exorcist the Beginning and was pleasantly amused.
The story is plenty faithful to the screenplay of Exorcist the Beginning though I did find it neat that they developed more around what happened to Merrin in World War II if anything some of Schrader's original script seemed intact around these scenes. Yet I prefer Harlin's story better. This book is however gratuitous when they mention certain lewd moments, which took a little away from my enjoyment. But I enjoyed how this is set for Lancaster Merrin's fall and redemption while years away from his confrontation with the demon that possessed the young girl in the first Exorcist story.
The story is plenty faithful to the screenplay of Exorcist the Beginning though I did find it neat that they developed more around what happened to Merrin in World War II if anything some of Schrader's original script seemed intact around these scenes. Yet I prefer Harlin's story better. This book is however gratuitous when they mention certain lewd moments, which took a little away from my enjoyment. But I enjoyed how this is set for Lancaster Merrin's fall and redemption while years away from his confrontation with the demon that possessed the young girl in the first Exorcist story.
October 22, 2015
Ternyataaaa...buku ini adalah buku Exorcist the Beginning, namun terbit dengan judul berbeda (pantesan nyarinya susah). Baca ini tertarik sama blurbnya. Sekali lagi, gw kira bakalan nemu kisah yg menarik semacam the Historian (harusnya pas liat covernya gw tau kalo nggak bakalan dapet yg kayak gitu. Untuk kasus ini, gw kudu lebih menilai isi buku dari sampulnya *minta dikeplak*).
Gw semacam disuguhi kisah memedi yg diperanin alm. Suzanna vs Pak Haji dengan kemasan Hollywood. Apalagi kalo menilik endingnya. Lumayan menikmati adegan-adegan saat tanda-tanda keberadaan Iblis mulai tampak (digambarkan lumayan menjijikkan soalnya...yah, khas horor pop gitu). Berhubung gw dulu pernah nonton filmnya (meski sehabis nonton hingga sekarang gw nggak inget sama sekali plotnya), gw nggak kaget kalo Iblisnya ternyata merasuknya ke situ.
Salah satu buku yg memberikan gw pelajaran berharga, nilailah buku dari covernya, terutama buku horor terjemahan terbitan Dastan.
Gw semacam disuguhi kisah memedi yg diperanin alm. Suzanna vs Pak Haji dengan kemasan Hollywood. Apalagi kalo menilik endingnya. Lumayan menikmati adegan-adegan saat tanda-tanda keberadaan Iblis mulai tampak (digambarkan lumayan menjijikkan soalnya...yah, khas horor pop gitu). Berhubung gw dulu pernah nonton filmnya (meski sehabis nonton hingga sekarang gw nggak inget sama sekali plotnya), gw nggak kaget kalo Iblisnya ternyata merasuknya ke situ.
Salah satu buku yg memberikan gw pelajaran berharga, nilailah buku dari covernya, terutama buku horor terjemahan terbitan Dastan.
May 14, 2010
Bought this book on the recommendation of a customer at a book store who said it scared the crap out of her. Guess I'm not as easily frightened as some because I just didn't see what was so scary. Interesting story, I suppose, a little slow for me. I felt myself trying to rush through the story just to get it over with. Maybe my high expectations of being scared might have hindered the reading experience a little.
November 1, 2007
I've never seen the movie.At first i even don't know that the book i read was actually "exorcist the beginning" (in Indonesia they entitled it "Hell Angel").The middle part of this book has successfully scared me to death!I love on how Piziks choose his word to create an intense -hair-raising mood. Too bad (IMO) it has a poor climax & conclusion
January 22, 2014
WoW. This is not a very thick adventure book, but more than enough to give me insight about the history between God, Demon and Angel. The World War II has apparently inspired many adventure writers to create such books with religion-based touch, myths, and history. A very interesting way to present the perspective of Demon about the abandonement by God.
May 1, 2007
This is a prequel to The Exorcist, as a fan of the series I found myself really enjoying it and getting lost in the pages until I had finished it. If you are a fan of the movies or of the book The Exorcist, I think you would enjoy this.
June 29, 2007
An adaptation novel from the movie, The Exorcist: The Beginning. I haven't seen the movie, though, but I enjoyed reading the book.
April 23, 2010
legend about the beaten Satan,or Lucifer who fall from heaven after lose fight with Archangel Michael,caused disasters in Kenya
July 21, 2010
Terkadang, tempat terbaik untuk melihat Tuhan adalah neraka...
May 16, 2012
One of many mind chilling books that I enjoy reading from time to time. It's one of my favorites. It goes back to how this all started and happened to give you a better understanding.
August 10, 2013
scary!!!!
April 4, 2017
Lankester Merrin, seorang arkeolong sekaligus mantan pendeta. Ia kehilangan keyakinan pada Tuhan semenjak peristiwa beberapa tahun silam. Ia dibujuk oleh seorang laki-laki untuk mengawali sebuah situs penggalian gereja di Afrika Utara. Yang membuat Merrin tertarik adalah, keberadaan gereja tersebut yang diduga sudah ada pada abad ke-5. Padahal menurut catatan vatikan, agama kristen mulai masuk seribu tahun setelahnya. Belum lagi penemuan salib raksasa terbalik menjadi pertanda buruk bagi dirinya. Juga bagi semua orang.
Baca novel ini gabungan antara nonton film Constantine (yg main Keanu Reeves) dan film Dan Brown. Sejarah-sejarah terbentuknya gereja di Afrika utara menjadi hal paling menarik di dalam cerita ini. Disertai dengan misteri-misteri terkuburnya gereja tersebut seolah-olah menyembunyikan sesuatu.
Teror mulai terjadi. Horor dalam novel ini mencekam. Semuanya terjadi begitu buruk. Semua orang terkena imbas dari "sesuatu" yang jahat yang bangkit dari gereja tersebut. Dan Merrin, yang imannya telah luntur mencoba memahami semua ini dari sisi arkeolognya. Mencoba memperbaiki keadaan. Sampai akhirnya ia harus mengulang lagi tragedi keji yang menimpanya. Tragedi yang harus membuatnya menjauh dari Tuhannya.
Bagian terbaik dari novel ini adalah gabungan antara sejarah dan mistis yang mencekam dipadukan menjadi dua titik klimaks yang mencengangkan. Setelah cukup terkagum-kagum sama sejarah yang dipaparkan, kita dibawa untuk terhempas menyaksikan iblis yang meneror warga sekitar. Membunuh tanpa ampun menyebabkan lautan darah.
Dari Merrin aku belajar, manusia tidak akan bisa jauh dari Tuhannya. Apapun keyakinannya, kepercayaannya, Tuhan adalah satu-satunya yang dapat diandalkan ketika manusia jatuh terpuruk. Satu-satunya penopang dan satu-satunya yang berhak menentukan hidup dan mati seseorang. Apapun rencana-Nya itulah yang terbaik.
Cat: adegan berdarahnya bikin ngilu. Hati-hati ya hehe
Baca novel ini gabungan antara nonton film Constantine (yg main Keanu Reeves) dan film Dan Brown. Sejarah-sejarah terbentuknya gereja di Afrika utara menjadi hal paling menarik di dalam cerita ini. Disertai dengan misteri-misteri terkuburnya gereja tersebut seolah-olah menyembunyikan sesuatu.
Teror mulai terjadi. Horor dalam novel ini mencekam. Semuanya terjadi begitu buruk. Semua orang terkena imbas dari "sesuatu" yang jahat yang bangkit dari gereja tersebut. Dan Merrin, yang imannya telah luntur mencoba memahami semua ini dari sisi arkeolognya. Mencoba memperbaiki keadaan. Sampai akhirnya ia harus mengulang lagi tragedi keji yang menimpanya. Tragedi yang harus membuatnya menjauh dari Tuhannya.
Bagian terbaik dari novel ini adalah gabungan antara sejarah dan mistis yang mencekam dipadukan menjadi dua titik klimaks yang mencengangkan. Setelah cukup terkagum-kagum sama sejarah yang dipaparkan, kita dibawa untuk terhempas menyaksikan iblis yang meneror warga sekitar. Membunuh tanpa ampun menyebabkan lautan darah.
Dari Merrin aku belajar, manusia tidak akan bisa jauh dari Tuhannya. Apapun keyakinannya, kepercayaannya, Tuhan adalah satu-satunya yang dapat diandalkan ketika manusia jatuh terpuruk. Satu-satunya penopang dan satu-satunya yang berhak menentukan hidup dan mati seseorang. Apapun rencana-Nya itulah yang terbaik.
Cat: adegan berdarahnya bikin ngilu. Hati-hati ya hehe
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews