Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Darkly Dreaming Dexter
Book Review: Enjoyable distraction.
Summary: 4 Stars
Easy, enjoyable read. Serial killer story with a twist. Not always believable but that didn't detract from the enjoyment. Details of how the characters talk and think very similar to the TV show but some characters play different roles in the show. A good book to read between heavier reading.
Book Review: Deadly Dexter
Summary: 5 Stars
Many people claim that when a movie or TV show is based on a book, the book is always better. However, in the case of Darkly Dreaming Dexter, I believe they are equals.
I was only recently introduced to the character, but I watched both seasons in about 2 weeks. I decided to pick up the books after that.
I don't want to give away too many details, but the show did differ from the book on several key points. I view this as a good thing because no matter which you encounter first, it keeps both experiences fresh.
If I had one complaint about the book, it'd be the length. It weighs in around 300 pages or so, but it could've hit 500 and still would have felt right. Thankfully, Jeff Lindsay wrote two other books to continue developing Devious Dexter's darkness.
Book Review: Good, but it has its weak points
Summary: 4 Stars
In Darkly Dreaming Dexter, we are introduced to Dexter Morgan, a Miami PD blood spatter specialist with a rather horrific hobby: he's a serial killer. As a child, he suffered some sort of unspecified trauma which left him without a conscience, without emotion, without any sort of inner soul. In fact, the only thing inside Dexter is his "Dark Passenger," a voice which compels him to kill. At a young age, his foster father realized Dexter's secret, and -- knowing he couldn't stop him from killing -- decided to try to guide him. Dexter, you see, is a serial killer who only kills bad people. He trails his victims, ensures himself of their guilt of their own bloody crimes, and takes a sort of macabre vengeance. But now a new killer is stalking Miami, someone whose methods are disturbingly similar to his own, and Dexter is caught between an admiration for this new fiend's work and a desire to trace him down.
Dexter is really a unique protagonist. As a first-person narrator he's somewhat unrelatable, constantly reminding us of his own darkness and inhumanity... yet somehow, he manages to charm us as well as he does the people around him, most of whom are utterly oblivious that there's something different about him. There's absolutely nothing heroic about him, either. Some may be tempted to compare him to other killers-of-killers like Marvel Comics' Punisher, but that isn't an apt comparison. The Punisher is driven by an unquenchable thirst for revenge, a desire to snuff out all evil in a vain attempt to redeem the death of his family. Dexter has no such deep motivation for targeting murderers. He simply needs to kill SOMEONE, and was convinced by his father that it would be wiser to hunt down the people who "deserve" it than innocent victims.
The other characters in the book aren't quite as interesting. There are three main women, all stereotypes: the political-minded, bumbling detective; Dexter's hard-nosed cop sister; and Dexter's traumatized, closeted "girlfriend" are all somewhat two-dimensional. The other men get even less "page time." Besides Dexter, in fact, the most developed character is the other killer, who we don't see until the climax of the book. The climax is a little weak too, a real deus ex machina. The killer hinges on something from the backstory that was never even really hinted at until that point, except for vague rumblings about some childhood trauma Dexter couldn't remember.
While there are some weaknesses, the main character is intriguing enough to make me want to read the rest of the series and recommend this volume. Not great, but good enough to keep me reading.
Book Review: Excellent book
Summary: 4 Stars
This is an excellent book, the plot flows smoothly, I would definitely recommend it to my friends. The only complaint I have is that the writing style is very informal, sophomorically written to the point that at times it can be difficult to follow.Book Review: Overrated
Summary: 3 Stars
The first half of this book was really good, but it was all downhill from there. It was as if the writer just kind of gave up on the second half, because all of the originality that the first half had was gone. Also, the ending was kinda predictable. I think the show handled the premise much better than this book did.