[granville1]

Just a brief comment, chiefly directed to those who have read Legion – and, of course

 

**SPOILERS**

 

for those who haven't.

 

Don't mistake me – I love the novel, but it gives the impression of having been written in a hurry. It has jagged places, loose ends, and unnecessarily unanswered questions. For example:

1. Kinderman's seemingly endless speculations on the (supposed) high probability of Intelligent Design are never really answered or addressed. It is if Blatty wishes to convince the reader that some version of ID is a foregone conclusion, as worked out in the “steel trap” mind of the elderly Jewish detective. For me, it doesn't work, mainly because Blatty doesn't give Kinderman sufficient knowledge about what real science really says about natural selection and its relationship to evolution and “deep time”. That is, we only get Kinderman's naive, scientifically inadequate views, but never the other side. We watch Kinderman convincing himself of ID without having him invoke alternatives. This uncritical attitude is far from the Kinderman we met in The Exorcist.

2. Was the nasty Dr. Temple really having an affair with Dr. Amfortas' one true love? If so, this unpleasant little interlude has nothing whatsoever to do with the rest of the narrative; it doesn't advance the story; and it only leaves a baffling sense of distaste in the reader's mind. It doesn't clarify Temple's character, and only serves to torment Amfortas, who is already tormented beyond the capacity to endure.

3. What is the purpose, at the very end of the story, of having Kinderman indict Temple of feeding “Patient X”/”Tommy Sunshine” bits of historical data about the Gemini Killer? The entire point of the novel is that the Gemini Killer is indeed, is in fact, in possession of Damien Karras' resuscitated corpse.

However, if Temple was educating Patient X about the Genimi, this weakens the case that Patient X was really harboring the Gemin's tortured spirit – i.e., he could really have been an innocent with a blank mind which Temple filled with otherwise secret Gemini-data.

This, in turn, puts an entirely ill-conceived, unnecessary – and show-stopping – doubt into a narrative (and into the reader's mind) which otherwise points directly toward the Gemini Killer's reality. For the life of me, I simply cannot understand why Blatty threw in this red herring at all, much less threw it into the story's climax – which, without this element, would have been totally cohesive and coherent in invoking the real presence of the real Gemini as explanatory of the mystery at the narrative's heart.

4. What becomes of the question of justice – human and divine – when Blatty simply lets the Gemini off the moral hook? By this I mean:

At the end, the Gemini, reconciled to the spirit of his dead twin brother, and depotentiated by the death of his father against whom his crime spree was directed, simply dies passively and gently, implicitly taken to an apparently joyous afterlife … all without having to answer for the murders of Alex Kintry, two priests, nurses, hospital patients, etc.

In his historical life, the Gemini was clearly culpable for committing multiple murders. He “went to Hell” – but only to be “rescued” by the vengeful demon of The Exorcist – and then sent back, in Karras' body, to continue his life of crime. Thus, the Gemini got off “Scot-free” for his mortal crimes, and for posthumous crimes committed via his manipulation of Karras' body. It's as if, in some kind of rush not only to pull all the disparate elements together, and to provide a happy ending, Blatty completely overlooked the dark questions of basic morality as applied to the fate of an enthusiastic and unrepentant murderer.

These are some of the major flaws that I see in the Legion novel. I am hoping that anyone who has read it will do me the favor of discussing these points. I would appreciate any input 🙂

[barek13374]

Salut, je traversais une mauvaise passe au casino et je pensais arrêter pour un moment quand un ami m’a recommandé turbowinz, en disant que les joueurs de France y profitaient souvent de bons bonus. Après plusieurs essais ratés, j’ai pris une mise plus audacieuse et j’ai enfin remporté un joli jackpot. Depuis, j’y joue souvent pour l’adrénaline et je le recommande à ceux qui aiment le frisson.

[Author]

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