So I’ve challenged myself to read as many books from the “disturbing books iceberg” as possible. Why? Because why not?
This is the next book I’ve been able to find. I hope this post is less of a debaucle than my first one.
Full disclosure, I’ve never watched the Dexter TV series. This was my first venture into the series/characters.
So what did I think of this book? I feel like more could have been done. They never really explained how the slasher’s victims were drained of blood, for instance. And the ending felt too abrupt for me.
Perhaps more gets elaborated upon in the sequel, which I honestly don’t have any intention of reading since I already have a long list to get through.
I thought Dexter was interesting as a character, though. I like his dry wit, though sometimes his lack of understanding of social cues was irritating. I get that’s the point, though. He’s a psychopath, he doesn’t think like the rest of us.
My favourite chapters were the ones where Dexter himself killed people. Those were a good reminder that Dexter isn’t just this quirky dude; he’s a monster.
It does seem a little too convenient that Dexter always manages to figure things out. I felt there was too much intuition going on, like when he manages to find the bodies of the headless murder victims, of when he decides to go for a drive at EXACTLY the right time to run into the slasher.
What were your thoughts on this book? Did you find it disturbing?
I found it disturbing that this book ever got popular enough to make a TV show. The author sounds very proud of himself like he’s the first person to think of an antihero. It’s written in the first person and Dexter is always the smartest one in the room. I think those two things are related.
Just some more info, the TV show’s first season follows the book pretty closely. The one change I noticed, switching which of two characters dies something, actually makes more sense in the TV show.
However, the book series goes off in a weird direction while the show does its own thing from season 2 on. I gave up on book two halfway through, but loved the tv series until it jumped the shark. BTW the show shows exactly how the bodies are drained of blood.
The dexter series is darkly humorous while the TV series was deadly serious. The books were fun, at least the first few I read. The concept of an ethical serial killer who only kills guilty people is ridiculous. Lindsay knows it and had fun with it. You won’t get emotionally attached to the characters in the books.
I agree. The books were lighter and funny. I think I read 4 or so? It was a while back, probably a decade ago. I don’t remember much of them as I also watched the show and probably remember more from that… but I do know I enjoyed the few I did read.
I recently delved into “Darkly Dreaming Dexter” as part of my disturbing books challenge. I, too, found Dexter’s character intriguing, appreciating his dry wit even if his social cues eluded him. The lack of detail on the slasher’s methods left me wanting more, and the abrupt ending was a letdown. Like you, I questioned the convenience of Dexter’s intuition. Overall, an interesting read, but I share your hesitation about delving into the sequel. What’s your take on Dexter’s character depth?
Did you forget to do the assignment?
I watched the TV series first, really enjoyed it - especially season 4. Refuse to watch the last season though, WTF. I then read the book, hated it. I don’t know why there was so much talk of magic and shamans and weird shit, but maybe I just had too much of the TV series in my head first.