Darkly Dreaming Dexter: A Novel

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It's a hit!

From my blog, http://tutorgirlx3.blogspot.com: Wow. Wowowowowowowowowwwwww.

I can't remember being this freaking blown away or surprised by a bo... (show more)

From my blog, http://tutorgirlx3.blogspot.com: Wow. Wowowowowowowowowwwwww.

I can't remember being this freaking blown away or surprised by a book in such a long time. I'm not a mystery kind of girl-- I don't know why, I just never really got into them. I do enjoy Kay Hooper's Bishop/SCU series, and I've been meaning to read more Sherlock Holmes, but dear God did this book grab me by the hair and refuse to let me go.

Since the show's been around since 2006 and the books since 2004, you probably know some semblance of the plot, but let me 'splain, as Inigo Montoya would say. At the age of three, Dexter was taken in by Harry Morgan, a cop on the Miami police force, after a traumatic event Dexter cannot remember. When Dexter begins to show signs of sociopathy in his early teens, Harry teaches him to control his urges, driven by Dexter's mental "Dark Passenger," and channel them constructively: by killing those who deserve it, usually other serial killers, and especially the ones who kill children.

The book would start questionably for some: Dexter hides in the back of a priest's car, half-strangles him with piano wire, and forces him to drive to an abandoned house. You'd think a priest would be an unlikely serial killer, until we see he's killed seven children. Dexter gives him his just desserts, takes a drop of his blood to put on a microscope slide, and then goes on his merry way once he disposes of the body and the car.

Things get complicated when Dexter, a blood-spatter analyst for the Miami PD with a foster sister who's working Vice but wants desperately to get into Homicide, learns that another serial killer is terrorizing the area. A serial killer who does not share his moral code-- but does share Dexter's unique style, which he actually does better than Dexter himself. Dexter is torn between his desire to 'play' the killer's twisted game and his "loyalty" to his foster sister in her efforts to stop the killer and get her transfer to Homicide.

I won't say anything more, but I can't say enough about how much I loved this book. I'm actually a bit disturbed by enjoying a book about and narrated by a sociopath, but at least I don't feel guilty after seeing how many others have before me. I definitely have to tip my hat to Jeff Lindsay, who must've done a hell of a writing job in order to get us to like a serial killer. (Although I think I'm a pushover; I felt for Eric Stoltz during the Grey's Anatomy serial killer arc, and I think my mom started to question my sanity.)

The book was surprisingly original-- a really interesting take on the Rear Window/Disturbia-esque device of the serial-killer-next-door, except here we're supposed to be rooting for the serial killer. It's hard not to. Dexter is witty, does a pretty passable job at imitating human emotions, and kills the people we want to see die.

The one thing I could have done without, though I know it's necessary, was the constant motif of "politics" in the police force-- the proper things to do and not do, as Dexter constantly reminds his sister, Deborah. It got a little tiring after a while, I will admit, and it was a little strange that Dexter was always, always smarter than everyone else. The device of LaGuerta being a completely and utterly incompetent cop was stretched just a little bit too far in the end.

However, those small quibbles don't take away from one of the most original books I've read in recent years. I ran out and got Dearly Devoted Dexter before I even finished, because I knew I wouldn't regret it.

Darkly Dreaming Dexter is very, very, very highly recommended to anyone who's tired of cookie-cutter plots and characters, and anyone who enjoys dark comedy. (show less)

 

 

by Tracy Tanoff

No, it's a flop!

What a load of crap. I think the person from the Daily Mirror who reviewed this novel claiming it was 'stylish, and polished' has either, A. never ... (show more)

What a load of crap. I think the person from the Daily Mirror who reviewed this novel claiming it was 'stylish, and polished' has either, A. never read anything decent in their life or, B. was high on crack at the time they wrote the review. How in the hell is this series so popular? I love the TV show and thought I'd give the book a crack, assuming it would be so much better. But alas, it is so badly written, sloppy and as unpolished as a turd. The plot, which could have saved the book's weak style, doesn't even make up for it. The ending is ridiculous, the characters are more like caricatures, and Dexter's sarcastic ramblings are just annoying. In sum, the TV series shits all over the novel. You could say I didn't like it. I don't recommend this at all. The only thing I give Lindsay credit for is a somewhat interesting idea (a serial killing, blood-splatter analyst) -- but which never eventuates to anything. Bypass the book and just watch the series. (show less)

 

 

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  I'm a fan of the TV series and so when I started reading Darkly Dreaming Dexter it was nice to discover how faithful the TV show was to the original vision. From a first person perspective of serial killer with a conscience Dexter, we see his inner thoughts on the people around him, his compulsions and his own sanity, much like Michael C. Hall's voice over in the show. The characters within the police dept. that Dexter interacts with have vivid personalities and have their individual tics an... (show more)

  I'm a fan of the TV series and so when I started reading Darkly Dreaming Dexter it was nice to discover how faithful the TV show was to the original vision. From a first person perspective of serial killer with a conscience Dexter, we see his inner thoughts on the people around him, his compulsions and his own sanity, much like Michael C. Hall's voice over in the show. The characters within the police dept. that Dexter interacts with have vivid personalities and have their individual tics and senses of humour. The dialogue between them and Dexter is quirky and often charmingly funny.
  Jeff Lindsay as a writer is good at fleshing out characters with very little real development however this novel has so many big flaws. Firstly there are times when chapters seemed to drag on with Dexter's inner dialogue stretching too far with contrived humour and repetition.

  But the biggest problem is the ending. Starting with a nice slow build through the plot where Dexter's habits and polar life styles are revealed to the reader, we get a premature and haphazzard climax. Up to chapter 22 you become engrossed in the ice truck killer plot, till you realise there are only another 5 chapters left and (if you are familiar with the TV series) you'll begin to think how is the rest of the narrative is going to fit such slim pages from this point of the plot?

  This isn't the same as the TV series and has a very different ending. It's difficult to remove the bias of knowing the TV show's conclusion to appreciate the ending to the novel on its own merits but even if I was just reading this as if it was the only adaptation I would still think the ending was brief and too rushed. Plus the final few pages are way too corny despite Lindsay keeping you guessing on what really happening up to the last couple of chapters.

  Besides the huge flaws I enjoyed Darkly Dreaming Dexter; it's easy to read and has its fair share of laughs, shocks, twists and twisted ideas. The psychology behind Dexter is at times fantastically sketched and makes you wish that Lindsay had given us a chance to observe Dexter's idiosyncratic habits in more detail as the earlier part of the novel promised.

  Based on the first half it could have been so much better if it was more consistent and focused. It's rare that you can say that the screen adaptation is better than the source material, but the show did follow the first part of the book practically to the letter but then took the concept and narrative to much better places. (show less)

   

   

  by Remi Fox-Novák on May 22, 2009 at 11:55PM

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  This is the original Dexter story: it kicks off the lucrative series and is much better than the sequels. Jeff Lindsay has created an intriguing protaganist, but as Dexter is a psychopath, JL underwrites all the other characters, so that they reflect Dexter's lack of belief in their reality. However, Lindsay is not a good enough writer to substantiate this, and they all tend to play (more or less deliberately) walk on parts in the narrative.
  JL has been blessed with an interesting, extre... (show more)

  This is the original Dexter story: it kicks off the lucrative series and is much better than the sequels. Jeff Lindsay has created an intriguing protaganist, but as Dexter is a psychopath, JL underwrites all the other characters, so that they reflect Dexter's lack of belief in their reality. However, Lindsay is not a good enough writer to substantiate this, and they all tend to play (more or less deliberately) walk on parts in the narrative.
  JL has been blessed with an interesting, extremely marketable idea and enough humour to get us to empathize with Dexter; but he is unable to follow the logical conclusions of his own plotting. The ending seemed rushed, yet also flat, and fell into cliched tedium. This tone had been absent for the rest of the book and demonstrated JL's inexperience as a writer, I thought.
  Of course, the faultless, witty and sly tv series has run with the characters, creating a believeable location for the action, and fleshing out the one dimensional flimsiness. This book had all the building blocks for the series, but JL had only created a moderately interesting condo. The tv writers/directors/producers created an art deco Miami mansion from JL's material. (show less)

   

   

  by Jodie Crane on Apr 26, 2009 at 08:02AM

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