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The Case Against Satan (Penguin Classics) Paperback – October 13, 2015

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Ray Russell (Author)
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Ray Russell (Author), Laird Barron (Foreword)
4.3 out of 5 stars 11 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Series: Penguin Classics
  • Paperback: 160 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin Classics; Reprint edition (October 13, 2015)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0143107275
  • ISBN-13: 978-0143107279
  • Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.4 x 7.7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #340,345 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Top Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsOverlooked gem
By Paula Clifford on January 1, 2007
Format: Hardcover
THE CASE AGAINST SATAN is about a priest and his bishop fighting to save a young girl possessed by the devil, complicated by the priest's doubting the devil really exists. The book is unfairly forgotten due to the fact the basic plot was used a decade later in THE EXORCIST. Russell's book is the better of the two, he did it first and without the excessive vulgarity of the later novel. The only weak point was the girl's Catholic bashing father and his overdramatic fate, but that doesn't detract much from the overall excellence of the book. It's too bad Russell spent more time editing than writing, for his short stories are also quite good, but hard to find.
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4.0 out of 5 starsAn Infernally Fine Piece Of Work
By s.ferber on November 30, 2015
Format: Paperback
Up until a few years ago, the name "Ray Russell" was only familiar to me by dint of his work as a screenwriter on such marvelous horror/sci-fi films as "Mr. Sardonicus" (1961), "The Premature Burial" (1962), "Zotz!" (also from 1962) and "X: The Man With the X-Ray Eyes" (1963). It wasn't until I noticed a highly complimentary review of his 1962 novel "The Case Against Satan," in Jones & Newman's excellent overview volume "Horror: Another 100 Best Books," that I even knew he was an author at all, but I've since run across a quote from a guy named Stephen King, calling Russell's original novella "Sardonicus" "perhaps the finest example of the modern gothic ever written"! I'd been thus trying to lay my hands on a copy of "The Case Against Satan" for some time, but to no avail. The book has been out of print for decades, and copies on eBay and Amazon either look very beat up or are prohibitively expensive. Fortunately, for all lovers of vintage horror, Penguin has come to the rescue with a brand-new edition of the Russell book. Dealing as it does with a case of satanic possession and the resultant exorcism, the story line here may seem a tad overfamiliar to audiences who, ever since the phenomenal worldwide success of William Peter Blatty's "The Exorcist," have been subjected to any number of such goings-on in both book and on film. But Russell has the honor of having gotten there first; his novel beat Blatty's to the devilish punch by a good nine years.

Admittedly, there are many similarities between the two books. In Russell's, a borderline alcoholic priest, Father Gregory Sargent, moves to his new parish in _____ (the small town is never named; call it Anywhere, U.S.A.).Read more ›
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4.0 out of 5 starsThe Case Against Satan (Penguin Classics) ...
By Cphe on December 18, 2015
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
It was the arresting cover that initially caught my eye and then the intriguing title. A shorter length novel of two priests who battle for the soul of a young girl.

I would not quite class it as predominantly a horror novel, it didn't to my mind have that impact or atmosphere, perhaps due to the shorter length. There were parts that I felt could have been expanded upon and there were several questions that I didn't feel were answered adequately for my piece of mind. Still an interesting read that kept me entertained.
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5.0 out of 5 starsBefore the Exorcist there was The Case Against Satan
By StarSearcher on February 3, 2016
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
This is a nice story that chugs along quite nicely. It was very well done, and I thought a nice inspiration for the movies that followed. It is very short though, but overall well done I thought. I recommend this for fans of the Exorcist and Rosemary's Baby, or even Stephen King's scarier books. If you like this, check out some Shirley Jackson, Richard Matheson, Ray Bradbury or others if you haven't already.
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5.0 out of 5 starsDon't Miss It!
By Greeneyes on November 3, 2015
Format: Paperback
Here is a welcome new edition of Ray Russell's first novel, originally published in 1962. It is undoubtedly an important forerunner of such later novels as Rosemary's Baby and The Exorcist. Although apparently a story of demonic possession, there is some ambiguity in the payoff. Was the girl truly possessed by the Devil, or was her terrifying behavior the result of suppressed trauma? Who can say? The prose is lean and always compelling. Anyone who enjoys paranormal fiction will enjoy this book. Don't miss it!
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3.0 out of 5 starsAn earlier, less shocking Exorcist
By Sam Quixote TOP 1000 REVIEWER on January 3, 2016
Format: Paperback
A young girl is possessed by the devil - a Catholic priest and bishop must perform an exorcism to save her!

Ray Russell’s The Case Against Satan was published in 1962, 9 years before William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist but it’s less well-known probably because of the enormous popularity of the 1973 movie adaptation of Blatty’s book. I’m sure for audiences in 1962 this was fresh and exciting as well as influential (I wonder if Blatty and Stephen King read Russell’s novel?) but half a century later...

If you’re a horror fan and have seen many of the exorcism movies that’ve come out in the last 20 years, and of course seen The Exorcist, Russell’s novel doesn’t really offer anything new. The storyline of a possessed girl and a priest having to exorcise her at this point in time is so well-worn it’s almost a cliché!

The doubting priest, the troubled girl, the questions over whether she’s faking it or is really possessed - I know this wasn’t well-known material back then but it is today and that made it quite a predictable and unexciting read for me. I wasn’t that interested in seeing if Father Sargent’s faith would return (hence “the case against Satan”) or whether evil would be punished - I knew, like most readers of this book, they both would.

The demon possession scenes are almost cute for how tame they are. The worst Susan says is “You’re a son of a bitch, dad!” - quite different from saying “Your mother sucks cocks in hell!” while stuffing a crucifix up your vag and spewing pea soup in The Exorcist! Russell even writes a near-apologetic afterword, justifying the themes of incest and drunk priests by saying they’ve all happened in real life. Can you imagine any writer today doing anything like that? 1962 sure was a different world.Read more ›
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