Deliciously dark diversion! ( )

Having read the first two books in the Dexter series, Darkly Dreaming Dexter and Dearly Devoted Dexter, it was only natural to read the third one. Since I really liked the first two, I was very anxious to start this one, but I was also skeptical because I have heard of many people that were disappointed by it. Even though others might not have liked it, I decided to keep an open mind about it and I am so glad I did!

For anyone that doesn't know yet, although I doubt anyone doesn't, Dexter is a serial killer with a difference. He is what you might consider a good serial killer because he only kills the bad guys. He claims that he doesn't have any feelings, but I like to believe otherwise, and his outlook on human beings is hilarious. This time around, Dexter is being plunged deep into the family life and soon he will be getting married to Rita. He is taking the role of a father to his fiancee's children, but as he discovered in the previous book Astor and Cody need a different kind of guidance and he is committed to being there for them. Amidst all this, Dexter is having a problem of his own, and this time the Dark Passenger is not helping him figuring things out.

I loved this book, and there are many reasons why. The fact that something mysterious is happening to Dexter was very suspenseful, it left me on the edge until the very end. While I was reading I had so many questions which I couldn't wait to find out the answer to. What is happening to Dexter? Why is he being followed? Will everything get back to normal? Since I read a few reviews of Dexter in the Dark, I was waiting for something different to happen but I never expected the ending. I can understand why some people might not like it, but I thought it was a good twist to add in Dexter's life. The prospect of Dexter getting married and becoming a family man was also interesting, how will he be able to manage his marriage and his hobby without raising any suspicions? As usual Dexter's comments on humans and how they deal with life are too funny, even though now he is starting to understand humans more as he goes through this ordeal. The only thing that bothered me about this book was the overuse of the word "sibilant", it seems that Jeff Lindsay likes this word so much he had to use it at least five times in one book. I'm not exactly sure why it bothered me so much, but for some reason it did, every time it came up I thought, "Sibilant, again."

I actually liked this book better than the second one, although it still doesn't beat the first one. I suspect that none of the next books will be better than the first one though, since it had that novelty aspect, something new and different. Now I can't wait to get my hands on the fourth book, I only read a couple of reviews on it but it sounds good. You can never get enough of Dexter!

Jeff Lindsay: Author in the dark OR How to make a silly fantasy from a great thriller and ruin our previous works.... ( )

I know I’m behind everyone else, but last night I finally finished "Dexter in the Dark," by Jeff Lindsay. I’m sure most of you have at least heard of this character, even if you haven’t seen the popular HBO program or read the books.

Dexter is the serial killer who only fulfills his inner urges by going after other serial killers who he knows for certain are guilty but who, for various reasons, can’t be caught by the police. He is, if you will, a nominally “good” serial killer. He comes complete with the childhood trauma that destroyed his capacity to feel like and relate to other human beings, but he had such excellent training growing up that he’s well able to “pass” as human himself. And he’s got a wicked (in all senses of the word) sense of humour.

So I was really looking forward to this third book.

But I couldn’t believe it when the direction of the plot became apparent. I kept thinking, “He’s trying to make this a supernatural thing rather than a psychological? WTF??” I kept hoping that by the end, there would be some explanation that demonstrated that all the seemingly supernatural trappings were fully accounted for in a psychological way. But nope.

The thing is not that I have any problem with supernatural-type plots. I do enjoy Kim Harrison’s Hollows novels, after all.

It’s just that the Dexter books, to this point, have not been that sort of book. As well as just being intriguing, they’ve been a great examination of the psyche of such a damaged person. It’s all been psychological until now, with all the implications and consequences that flow from that.

To make it suddenly into a supernatural thing now? Bad, bad, bad. At least in my opinion. It throws the whole psychological issue back into the Dark Ages: psychological scarring isn’t real scarring, it’s something like demon possession. Forget the psychiatrists — call in the exorcists! Which would have been fine in a series that had begun that way, but not introduced as a sudden change of direction like this.

So while I still like Dexter, and enjoyed seeing him again — I’m very disappointed in this book. As the saying goes these days, it really jumped the shark, as far as I’m concerned. And even though the signs indicate that there will be more books in the series, I have no idea where Lindsay can possibly (and plausibly) take Dexter from here. ( )

Another fine read. So far, book 2 is my favorite Dexter book. This one added some elements to Dexter's universe that I'm not thrilled with (but won't list as they are spoilery). Weird because they are generally my cuppa tea, but here I would rather they were absent. Still the writing remains top notch, the elements don't ruin things totally :-), and the book is a fun read. ( )