| Title | : | Darkly Dreaming Dexter (Dexter, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 288 |
| Publication | : | First published May 5, 2004 |
| Awards | : | Barry Award Best Novel (2005), Macavity Award Best Mystery Novel (2005), Dilys Award (2005), Lincoln Award (2007) |
Darkly Dreaming Dexter (Dexter, #1) Reviews
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(A-) 82% | Very Good
Notes: An economical, almost skeleton series introduction: claustrophobic and bustling, it limits facts to plot and never lags. -
Darkly dreaming Dexter (Dexter, #1), c2004, Jeff Lindsay
Darkly Dreaming Dexter is a 2004 novel by Jeff Lindsay, the first in his series about serial killer Dexter Morgan. It formed the basis of the Showtime television series Dexter and won the 2005 Dilys Award and the 2007 Book to TV award.
The novel's protagonist, Dexter Morgan, works for the Miami-Dade Police Department as a forensic blood spatter analyst.
In his spare time, Dexter is a serial killer who kills murderers, rapists, child molesters and other undesirables that he believes the legal system has failed to stop.
Dexter's murders are directed by an inner voice that he refers to as "The Dark Passenger", which keeps prodding Dexter to satisfy his homicidal urges on a regular basis.
Once he has done so, the voice is placated for a while, but it always eventually comes back.
Flashbacks reveal that his foster father, an esteemed police detective named Harry Morgan, recognized early on that Dexter was a violent sociopath with an innate need to kill, and taught him how to kill people who had gotten away with horrific crimes as a way to channel his homicidal urges in a "positive" direction.
عنوانهای چاپ شده در ایران: «تاریک رویاهای دکستر»؛ «دکستر قاتل خوابگرد»؛ نویسنده: جف لیندزی (جفری پی. لینزی)؛ تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز دوم ماه اکتبر سال2016میلادی
عنوان: تاریک رویاهای دکستر جلد یک؛ نویسنده: جف لیندزی (جفری پی لینزی)؛ مترجم: رضا جهان آبادی؛ رضا محمدیان؛ مشخصات نشر تهران، منتشران اندیشه، سال1393، در285ص، فروست مجموعه رمان های دکستر، شابک9786009430697؛ موضوع: داستانهای نویسندگان ایاات متحده آمریکا - سده21م
عنوان: دکستر قاتل خوابگرد جلد یک؛ نویسنده: جف لیندسی (جفری پی لینزی)؛ مترجم: آراز بارسقیان؛ مشخصات نشر تهران، انتشارات میلکان، سال1393، در260ص، شابک9786007443392؛
روایتی است از زندگی «دکستر مورگان»، قاتلی زنجیره ای، که در دایره ی جنایی «گلیس میامی»، با عنوان «کارشناس تحلیل آثار خون»؛ کار می‌کند؛ «هری مورگان» پلیس پیشین دایره ی جنایی شهر «میامی»، و پدر خوانده ی وی، با شناختی که از دوران نوجوانی «دکستر» به دست می‌آورد، و فوران نیاز او به کشتن را، مهار ناشدنی می‌یابد؛ با آموزش به او، و جهت دادن به قتل‌های وی، سعی می‌کند «دکستر» را به قاتل قاتلان، و متجاوزان، بدل کند؛ «دکستر» نیز، که خود را «موجودی سرد و بی‌روح» می‌داند، می‌خواهد: «از دل هرج و مرج، نظم را بیرون کشد»؛ اما ماجرا هنگامی پیچیده می‌شوند، که پلیس «میامی»، در پی قاتل قتل‌های سریالی است؛ قتلهایی که شباهت‌های بسیاری به قتل‌های «دکستر» دارن�� و ...؛
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 19/11/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 01/09/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی -
Jarringly Jolly Jeff Lindsay has given his Rascally Rabid Readers a serial killer to cheer for.
Hellishly Haunted Harry knew early on that his young son had a personality disorder. e.g. sociopath/ psychopath/ up and coming serial killer.
With that in mind, Hollow Headed Harry figures if child rearing has given him a lemon.... make lemonade.
So Highly Helpful Harry steers his son on a course that he hopes will keep him from a lifetime of incarceration.
Fast forward to present day and Disturbingly Damaged Dexter has learned well. The legend is born.
page 14
Dexter narrates
"I felt a lot better. I always did, after. Killing makes me feel good.I enjoy my work; sorry if that bothers you. Oh, very sorry, really. But there it is. And it's not just any killing, of course. It has to be done the right way, at the right time, with the right partner - very complicated, but very necessary.
page 33
Sister Deb to Dexter/Dexter narrates
"'But you're starting to get a feel for this one," she said.
I had developed hunches before. I had a small reputation for it. My hunches were often quite good. And why shouldn't they be? I often know how the killers are thinking. I think the same way. It wouldn't look good if I was always right. And I didn't want the cops to catch every serial killer out there. Then what would I do for a hobby?"
page 43
Harry camping with 14 year old Dexter
"'You're different, Dexter,' he says.
"It's going to make you want to kill. And you can't help that."
"But you can channel it. Control it. Choose-" his words come so carefully now,
"-choose what... or who... you kill..."
"There are plenty of people who deserve it, Dex..."'
page 72
sister Deb to Dexter
She blushed."'I caught a couple of the uniforms snickering at me afterward. There's a joke going around, and I'm it."
"She bit her lip and looked away. "Einstein,' she said.
"'If my tits were brains, I'd be Einstein," she said bitterly."
"I cleared my throat instead of laughing."
page 82
Dexter narrates
"I woke up covered with sweat, and absolutely certain that another murder was about to happen. Somewhere not so far away he was searching for his next victim, sliding through the city like a shark around the reef. I could almost hear the duct tape. He was out there, feeding his Dark Passenger, and it was talking to mine. And in my sleep I had been riding with him, a phantom remora."
page 170
Dexter narrates
'While the coffee brewed, I checked for the newspaper, more out of hope than expectation. It was rare for the paper to arrive before six-thirty, and on Sundays it often came after eight. It was another clear example of the disintegration of society that had so worried Harry. Really, now: if you can't get me my newspaper on time, how can you expect me to refrain from killing people?
page 173
Dexter narrates
"Another beautiful Miami day. Mutilated corpses with a chance of afternoon showers. I got dressed and went to work." -
Ok, well. I'm coming at this from an entirely different angle than most of my friends because I've never seen the tv show (GASP!). So, I have nothing to compare the book to...other than the book.
BUT.
Having said that, I only read this because I'd heard about the show and how fabulous it supposedly was.
Also, one thing I should mention is that I rare to never read mystery/thrillers, so I don't know how this stacks up to the other popular stuff in this genre. Admittedly, I shy away from stuff with serial killers because I get very skeeved out when I read/watch something about torture killings in a real life setting. Now, if you put something like that in a fantasy/superhero/sci-fi sort of setting I can tolerate quite a bit more - although graphic descriptions of innocent people getting hurt are still reallllly hard for me.
Blessedly, despite the fact that the book centers around a serial killer killing people and trying to (maybe) catch another serial killer, there's not much in the way of torture. Or, at least...the people who don't deserve it are killed off-page. And it honestly doesn't bother me to see child rapists/murderers chopped up. So...
I'm not sure if fans of the show will like the book more, but I thought it was a pretty cool story. Dexter has an interesting voice, and I love the idea that even if you're that damaged and broken, you can still choose to be the best version of yourself. Throughout the entire book, Dexter talks about how he is missing that thing that allows the rest of us to feel emotions, but oddly enough, he bases most of his choices on what his (foster) father would have wanted him to do, because the thought of disappointing Harry is somehow upsetting to him. Hmmm.
Maybe he doesn't have the same sort of empathy that most people have, but his odd version of a moral code (and the reasons behind it) make me think he does have more of a capacity to feel than he believes.
I also liked the way his foster father saw him for what he was, and instead of giving up on him, saw the potential for him to carve out a gruesome niche for himself as a good(ish) guy.
Nature vs Nurture has always been an interesting debate but this story takes it to a whole 'nother level.
Ok, the fact that this was a pretty short book was a huge bonus for me. I'm not sure I would have liked riding along in Dex's head for another 300 pages. Because even if he was a pretty funny narrator? That Dark Passenger was a bit too much for me to take in large quantities.
In the end, I'd say this is a pretty good story, and it's told with such an interesting protagonist that I enjoyed myself quite a bit more than I would have if he'd just been your run of the mill regular character. But at the end of the day, this isn't my genre of choice so I don't know if I'll continue with the series. If I do, I'll probably have to take breaks and read several fluffy romance novels in between to clear my psyche of all the dead bodies... -
I have wanted to read this book FOREVER! And I'm so glad that I finally did. I first loved the TV show Dexter, so it was great to read what started it all. I have a high appreciation for both the book and the tv show. I can see why certain liberties were made with the tv show and how it worked with the story's overall feel!
Dexter is a serial killer who works for a police department as a blood splatter analyst; he also kills other serial killers that slip through the police department's fingers to appease his "dark passenger." He was so well written as a flawed vigilante doing justice while still breaking the law. The personalities were well described in the book, and the scenarios were vividly brought to life! I LOVED this. I can't wait to read more of the series!
5 stars all the way! Way to go, Jeff Lindsay!
Update: Dec 2020... Feeling like it's time for a re-read -
Find all of my reviews at:
http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/
I am now so far behind in reviewing that all of my read-but-not-yet-reviewed selections can't fit on my home page. Bonus this go 'round is somehow I didn’t even manage to mark this one down as something I was reading at all (#failure).
But wait, you ain’t seen NUTTIN’ yet. Not only have I never read Dexter, but I have never seen an episode of the highly acclaimed television series either . . . .
Yeah yeah yeah . . . .
Since I am so late to this party, this won’t be much of a review (so unusual for me, right?). Instead, it will probably read like a love letter to my Darling, Dreamy Dexter . . . .
Boy is THAT an understatement!!!
In case you too have recently emerged from cave dwelling and now mingle with the masses, the story here is of Dexter Morgan. His day job is in the forensics department with the Miami police force (specialty blood splatter - come to momma), but it’s what he does off the clock that makes things real interesting . . . .
“What are you?” Father Donovan whispered.
“The beginning,” I said. “And the end. Meet your Unmaker, Father.”
Some of you might be thinking “not a man of the cloth?!?!?!” To which I say OH YES A MAN OF THE CLOTH. See, this is one of those priests that you sometimes see on the nightly news who totally had it coming to him. Such is the case with all of Dexter’s victims. You see, a superbadawful happened to Dexter when he was a wee little boy. When the Morgan family took lil’ Dex in as a foster child, pops Harry realized pretty early on that there was something off about the boy . . . .
“I’ve been expecting this. What happened to you when you were a little kid has shaped you . . . But you can channel it. Control it. Choose – . . . choose what …. or who … you kill . . . There are plenty of people who deserve it, Dex.”
So that’s it. Dexter solves crimes by day and rids Florida of human waste by night. He’s my lobster because . . . . .
We’re in love and we’re going to get married. You’re all invited to the wedding. Hopefully there won’t be a hurricane in the middle of the ceremony . . . .
-
I'm a BIG fan of the Dexter TV show on Showtime. This led to me being a bit hesitant to read the novels because I was worried about a serious case of disappointment. Michael C. Hall's portrayal of the title character is such an integral part of my enjoyment of the series that approached this book with trepidation, worried I wouldn't relate* as well to the novel's main character.
* a dangerous thought, I know, given Dexter's proclivities.
Well, turns out that my fears were groundless. The characterization of Dexter was excellent and I found myself engaged by him from the outset. The novel tracks the first series of the show closely and in many way it was like re-watching the first season with some nice additional details added.
The plot is fast-paced and tightly focused and the characters are well-drawn. In sum, an excellent read.
3.5 stars. Recommended.
P.S. For audio listeners, the audio version of this was well done. The narrator, Nick Landrum, did a good job, most notably with Dexter, and enhanced the story experience. -
This review is brought to you by the letter D.
Dexter is a delightfully demented and dynamic dude...
Well now that is enough of that...
Dexter Morgan is a blood spatter pattern analyst for the Miami-Dade Police Department, but in his spare time he enjoys boating, eating donuts, spending time with his foster sister Deborah, playing with his girlfriend Rita's children...oh and killing people. Dexter lives by a code, "The Code of Harry". Before Harry Morgan -Dexter's foster father- died, he taught his son to only kill people who have gotten away with murder as a way to channel his homicidal urges.
Dexter manages his double life without incident until The "Tamiami Slasher" starts murdering prostitutes in the Miami area. He feels a connection to this killer, and this connection could be his undoing.
I read DARKLY DREAMING DEXTER before the TV series started, and thought it was quite a refreshing and new take on the whole serial killer theme based novel. I very rarely like books from the point of view of a serial killer but Dexter is quite different. I didn't mind being in his head one little bit. Once the TV series started I got so caught up in it, that I left behind the books and decided that one day when it was all done I would go back to them.
I am so glad I waited! It was even more entertaining the second time around. Kudos to the brilliant casting director of Showtime's Dexter for giving me outstanding faces to put to the characters- They were even better than my imagination could conjure up the first time around. -
In this case for me, the TV series was way better. I will refrain from reviewing as I feel my opinion would not be objective and fair to the book.
I will be continuing with the books in the hope that it gives me what I want 🙂 -
I read this series of books because I was so taken by the Showtime series. And you know what? I liked the TV show better! The books are good, and it's fun to get "inside the mind" of Dexter, but because the plot of the book follows pretty closely to the first season of the TV show, it was hard not to make comparisons.
Spoilers below, so don't continue reading if you don't want to know what happens!
A few things that I thought the TV show did a lot better was the whole "flirting with another killer" plotline. In the books as in the TV show, Dexter is absolutely enthralled by this other killer's method of draining the bodies of blood, and recognizes that the killer is communicating with him. However, in the books the killer goes largely absent from the plot, where in the TV show he shows up as Dexter's foster sister's boyfriend. Which is just marvelous - it reveals him to be just THAT much more creepy, that he can have that COMPLETE of a mask. And it makes so much more sense on the TV show that he's Dexter's brother. We're gifted with a lot more of Dexter's flashbacks and his aversion to blood than in the books, if you can believe that. In the book it feels like, "Oh hey, you're my brother? Neat." where in the TV show it's much more shocking, much more of a draw for Dexter to follow along in his brother's footsteps, and join him in killing indescriminantly. And, therefore, much more important for the character when in the TV show he kills his brother. In the book, he lets his brother go (presumably to show up again in some later installment). Also in the book, he almost kills is foster sister... so now, she KNOWS that he's a "monster". On the TV show, NO ONE knows. It makes him that much more of a lonely hero, of sorts. And I just find it incredibly unrealistic that a cop sister who finds out her brother is a murderer would just accept that fact and move on. -
Getting in mind of Dexter is never boring his insight is funny and his technique of killing is masterful.Dexter talks of his beginnings, of his first kill, the day his dark passenger became the rider. Recollections of the past with his father Harry and his deadly advice, its a good fast read in the rambling mind of a sociopath Dexter.
-
I'm a very neat monster.
I'm really ashamed to say that it took me two weeks to read this book. Two weeks for a 280 pages book! I mean, yeah, the university has been kicking my ass, but still, that is no excuse.
This book is about Dexter, our friendly neighbourhood serial killer. Since I've seen the TV series, I knew even before I started this book that I was going to like it. And I did. It didn't blow my mind or anything, but it was still a pretty great book. It started off great, middle did drag a bit, and then the ending was amazing. And it really made me want to re-watch Dexter the series, and I hope I'll have enough time to do that.
If you watched TV series but haven't yet picked up this book, give it a shoot. If you liked the show, you'll like this book too. -
Mysteries and Thrillers are often hit-or-miss for me. I have had the good fortune of being recommended a lot of writings from the creme de la creme of this genre by my father, so grew up ingesting PD James, John le Carre, and Dennis Lehane with the pulp sci-fi that was my fare of choice. I have also, at times, been forced to read a James Patterson or John Grisham for lack of any other reading materials. This has given me a broad exposure to what could arguably be called the most popular genre in the US.
So believe me when I say that I have never read a murder mystery of the caliber of "Darkly Dreaming Dexter". Dexter Morgan is a serial killer of a far different variety. After his foster father Harry realized the killer lurking within Dexter, he set out to use all of his years of experience as the top investigator in Miami Homicide to make Dexter the most cunning and wily serial killer possible before sending him after his victims- the criminals and killers who slip through the cracks of the self-same justice system that now employs Dexter as a blood spatter expert. So Dexter is a serial killer who hunts serial killers. Does this sound like an interesting premise yet?
Lindsay paces the story beautifully and keeps the reader as confused as Dexter is when bodies start appearing that seem as though they could have been done Dexter himself- if not for the fact that the bodies are of murdered prostitutes, innocents which are expressly against the Code of Harry. Is Dexter losing control of his inner beast? Or is there another killer out there with deeply personal knowledge of Dexter and his methods? After finishing this book I had to pop on-line right after to order the sequel. It's just that good. -
Dexter is a serial killer, a killer who just can't help himself. He doesn't even see himself as human. But he does have something of a conscience and lives by the Code of Harry, his cop foster father, who understood his nature and sought to help Dexter control it somewhat when he was a teenager. Now a blood spatter analyst for Miami police, he's brought in on gruesome murder cases and a new serial killer in the city has Dexter feeling inspired, flattered and awestruck - and frightened that it's really him, doing the killings in his sleep.
His sister Deborah is a cop trying to move her way up but reduced to posing as a hooker to catch curb crawlers, and what with Dexter's "hunches" about murderers, gets him to help her on the case. Yet he's ambivalent - he so admires this killer's work, does he really want to see it end? He'd rather play, and since the killer has been sending him messages through the way the dead bodies are displayed, he's drawn into a fascinating game with deadly consequences.
I have to say, Dexter is one of the most engaging and interesting - and understandable, perverse as it may be - anti-heroes I've ever read. He's not right in the head and he knows it, he spends a great deal of effort pretending to be human, and ordinary, yet because he only goes after sick bastards like child-molesting priests and the like, you can't help but appreciate his vigilante efforts - though what he does to his victims is far from a quick and easy death.
It's a combination of his macabre humour - this book is really quite funny - the characters and his observations of them, and his narrative voice: so effortless, so calm, seeing a perspective and an angle to people that non-sociopaths (is that the right word?) would not see so well. He thinks like a killer, yet still comes across as somewhat naive and innocent. He's not at all interested in sex or women, so his disguise as "boyfriend" shows this "innocence" well:
And if her uncertain, limping tone of voice, unlike any I had ever heard her use before, was a surprise, imagine how astonished I was by her costume. I believe the thing was called a peignoir; or possibly it was a negligee, since it certainly was negligible as far as the amount of fabric used in its construction was concerned. Whatever the correct name, she was certainly wearing it. And as bizarre as the idea was, I believe the costume was aimed at me. (p.154)
His childlike wonder and appreciation for the way the other killer is slicing up bodies and arranging them also gives him some kind of ... childlike quality. It's hard to find the right adjective for Dexter: he's a complicated character, because he's all grey, despite being very clearly a serial killer. There's no attempt to gloss over that, or excuse him. Yet was there ever a more fascinating and affable murderer? He's not even creepy - now that's an achievement! And because it's not in the least sexual, he's not creepy in that way either. On the contrary, even though you know he can't really function normally, you want him to be happy. He's a bit Batman-ish, in a nerdy way, the dark avenger or something silly like that. Regardless, he's likeable and even sympathetic; but more necessary to the reading experience: he's a wonderful narrator with a thing for alliteration - namely with the letter D; truly, he's very inventive.
I don't like mass market crime books, I loathe Patricia Cornwall, John Grisham is exceedingly dull, and I couldn't even finish P.D. James' The Lighthouse because I was so bored - the problem with your typical crime book is the lack of characterisation. There's plenty of that here, in fact, it's all about the characters. There's still plot, though, and a mystery, which you can figure out somewhat before Dexter does, but it all hinges on the characters. I thought the Epilogue was too rushed, and the relationship resolution between Dexter and Deborah too pat, but they're minor quibbles. I'm keen to read the next book, Dearly Devoted Dexter, and there's a third coming out in September. -
هناك حفيف صوت جاف خافت...بارد مُظلم يُملي على " دكستر " ما ينبغي عليه فعله...هو الحالم الغامض ولكن متى كان القاتل المتسلسل ليس كذلك ؟!...
لكن في حقيقة الأمر هو يقتل الأوغاد...بنصيحة والده الذي قد تبناه واستطاع أن يلمح النزعة الدموية لدى " دكستر " منذ الصغر...كان ذلك مُروعاً...
كان يعمل في المختبر الجنائي لدى شرطة ميامي وذلك أتاح له الفرصة بصورة رسمية أن يتواجد في مسارح جرائم قتل وحشية قد ارتكبت بلا دماء...يبدو أن هناك أحدهم يتفوق عليه في الإبداع...ألم أقل لكم بأن الأمر مُخيف ليس فى الجريمة حد ذاتها بقدر ما يثير بك شخص القاتل من مشاعر متضاربة...
ترسل أحلام "دكستر" رسائل سرية يبدو منها بأنه من ارتكب تلك الجرائم ، ولكن هل تسخر منه أم إنها تخبره بأنه هو الفاعل...
هنا يقع فريسة لمزيج غريب من الخوف..الإطراء...الضياع
سأدعك أنت تتعرف على الحقيقة ولكن دعني أخبرك بأنك ستلتقي بشخص فارغ من المشاعر ، زائف يصطنع كل شيء ليبدو طبيعياً ، عاجز عن الحب ...
" دكستر " كان قاتلاً ميتاً....
نقاط ضعف الرواية في شخصية أخته الشرطية التي تحاول ان تحقق مكاناً في فريق التحقيق ، تعتمد على ذكائه وحدسه ، وقد سئمت هى من نفسها كونها مخطئة على الدوام وأنا سئمت من كونها غبية ، لا أطيق من تُعطل عقلها وتنتظر تلقي المفاتيح من الآخرين
أين مفاتيحك الخاصة أيتها الفتاة ؟🤨
النهاية جاءت مُلغزة وتفتقد الكثير من التفاصيل ، كانت وثبة عالية بلا احترافية كافية...كما إن هناك تلميح بأن " دكستر " سيحصد حب القارىء بلا خجل لكن فى الحقيقة هذا لم يحدث بل كان الأمر أقرب للشفقة...
رواية لا تخطف الأنفاس ولكن الأذهان...
هناك الرقيب " دوكس " ينتظر سقوط " دكستر " في قبضته وهذا ما أنا بانتظاره... -
راستش با اینکه خیلی از سریال دکستر لذت برده بودم و تشنه ی خوندن این کتاب بودم که سریال براساسش نوشته شده اما لذت چندانی بهم نداد.
تقریبا چند تا از داستان های فرعی سریال از این کتاب برداشته شده و تم اصلیش فصل اول سریال هست.
و یه نکته ی عجیب اینکه دکستر توی کتاب به نظر شوخ تر بود و مسافر تاریکیش (اسمی که به وجه قاتل خودش داده) انگار یه موجودیت کاملا جدا از خودش بود که دکستر اسیر اونه بر خلاف سریال، که این اصلا جالب نبود برام.
در کل از خوندنش پشیمونم چون تا حدودی دیدم به دکستر دوست داشتنی سریال رو خراب کرد. اما اگرهم نمیخوندم تا ابد حسرتش همراهم میموند. -
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Recorded Books
Narrated by: Author Jeff Lindsay
Darkly Dreaming Dexter introduces Dexter Morgan serial killer of serial killers. To the outside world he is a charming, attractive normal guy with a respectable job with the forensic department. But Dexter (for anyone who hasn’t watched the tv show) is constantly battling his “dark passenger” who dreams of death and can only be assuaged by brutal murder and clinical dismemberment. He was adopted as a young boy by a policeman named Harry who saw Dexter’s darkness early on and was able to instill in him a strict code of rules to control his impulses and keep him safe. Now that Harry is dead, Dexter still hears Harry’s voice in his head and it almost always keeps him on track.
Without boring you with an overlong plot rehash I’ll keep it neat and tidy. There’s a serial killer on the loose who is chopping up women and leaving their bloodless body parts for Dexter and company to find. Dexter is intrigued by the killer’s mastery and finesse and makes it his business to track down the guy. But wait! This killer seems to know Dexter’s deepest, darkest secret and begins taunting him. The plot relies heavily on Dexter’s ability to sense the other killer and Dexter’s “dreams” of the murders. Whether you buy it or not will depend entirely on just how far you are willing to suspend your disbelief. I went with it. I’m easy sometimes and I really like Dexter.
I borrowed this audiobook from Overdrive and it was narrated by the author. While he does a decent job voicing Dexter’s calm, cool charm and wry sense of humor, he stumbles in a big way with Debra, Dexter’s put-upon stepsister who is desperately trying to get promoted and get off undercover “hooker duty” so she can do some actual police work. This Debra unpleasantly barks out every line with ear shattering impatience. As much as I enjoy her character because she is cranky and impatient, I cringed whenever she had something to say here. It wouldn’t have surprised me if she bit Dexter what with the way she was so overly snarly (she didn't). However, it’s not a guy reading a girl thing that I have a problem with here (for once) because Lindsay does LaGuerta’s voice in a smarmy, man-hungry and perfectly fitting way for the power hungry nitwit.
Though a story filled with murder and mayhem it surprisingly doesn't dwell on the gory details. Instead it gets into Dexter’s head, explaining how he feels when he gives in to his dark passenger (really freaking good). This is something the show is just unable to do and it helps one understand how his mind works. I enjoyed this story and this intimate look into Dexter’s head and will continue the series. My only nitpick was Dexter’s bad habit of repeating himself. Yeah, yeah so he’s unemotional, not human, follows a strict code and is always in control. I get it. I don’t need to be continually banged over the noggin with those facts. It got tiresome and I felt like the only one he was trying to convince was himself because he was so often NOT in control for most of this book. But other than that complaint, the characters are great and the story zips along at a pace that never loses or bores the crap out of me. -
Oh Moon, glorious Moon --- Why did'nt I pick this up when it was first released is beyond me!
I love Dexter and his Dark Passenger. His sarcastic wit, his lizard brain, his fake girlfriend and actual love of little kids. His hobby-related career as a blood-splatter analyst by day, and his moonlighting as a killer of killers by night.
Whats not to love?? If you havent read this book (series) yet, you dont know what your missing! I highly recommend this to everyone.
I am ranking this my #2 favorite series, coming in close to my #1 pick, The Odd Thomas Series by Dean Kootnz. Jeff Lindsay does an excellent job of taking this emotionless monster who we should despise and hate, and actually gets the reader to root for him, to take his side, and has us hoping he catches the bad guys before the police do...... -
I sill enjoyed reading Darkly Dreaming Dexter even though I knew what was gong to happen. Because I have watched most of the first season of Dexter on dvd. The good thing is I haven't watch any of the other seasons of Dexter on dvd. So the rest of the books in the series will be new to me. Will read one a month until I finish the series. Only seven more to go, looking forward to it. I gave Darkly Dreaming Dexter 4 stars.
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Покрай скорошното възраждане на сериала с „Dexter: New Blood“ (който до момента ми харесва значително), реших да прочета и първата книга от поредицата. Книгата не е лоша като цяло, с добре изграден сюжет е, има необходимото напрежение, отношенията на Декстър със сестра му винаги си ми били крайно интересни и забавни, и тук са си на онова ниво, познато ми от сериала. Но самият сериал е по-добре изграден и нещата в него са поднесени с една идея по-завладяващо, отколкото в книгата. Сериалът доста е надградил и дообогатил образите на Декстър и Деб.
Обаче и в книгата Декстър си е все така уникален и неповторим персонаж.
Цитати:
„Тя вдигна поглед и бавно плъзна очи по мен, а аз стоях и се чудех защо. Да не би да беше забравила как изглеждам? Тя обаче ме възнагради с широка усмивка. Тая идиотка наистина ме харесваше!“
„След толкова години на самодостатъчност изведнъж от всички посоки да ме подгонят прегладнели жени. Деб, Рита, Ла Гуерта — очевидно им беше невъзможно да съществуват без мен.“
😂😂😂
3.95 ⭐ -
Firstly I have never seen the show. Not once, not a single episode. Over the years I've been told to watch it countless times and then told I have to read the books. Well finally I decided to read one.
While it was a good story it always felt like something was missing. I prefer my crime books to have more truth about them. The whole plot point of the dreaming was honestly annoying. It felt like it was there just because the author couldn't think of a clever way of getting Dexter to the crime scenes, etc. And it gave away the killers identity far too easily.
It mentions how Dexter is supposedly brilliant but there was nothing in the book to substantiate that. He just kind of stumbled through it all. After everything I've been told it was a bit of a let down. I liked the angle and Dexter's story but I think it could have been told much better. I've heard the show is better but I'm not sure if I want to try it again.
Maybe one day -
Anyone who was a fan of the Dexter series, Bones, CSI or NCIS should pick up this novel!
Darkly Dreaming Dexter is a fun, sarcastic crime novel. Instead of following a detective, this novel follows a serial killer, who is trying to catch another serial killer!
I decided to read this book after I watched some of the Dexter television series. Anyone who has watched the series, should know the first book is the first season of the show. The two are almost identical, minus a few changes to make the television show more showbiz worthy.
Dexter Morgan is a serial killer who is out of touch with people. He is awkward, very smart and is a bit naive with women. He has killed over dozens of people, and somebody seems to know he was doing it. This person leaves clues for him all over the city in his deaths, that Dexter has to investigate since he works for the Miami Police as a forensic officer. Dexter has never been caught, yet he seems to be getting a bit sloppy once he knows somebody has their eyes on him...
Chaos ensues when Dexter's mysterious background is figured out. Dexter can barely remember his own pats, but when he finds out the result is shocking!
I loved this novel. The entire book is filled with alliterations and lots of sarcasm. On top of the typical murder story, seeing the book in the eyes of a serial killer gives it a bit of charm!
Five out of five stars! -
Anybody can be charming if they don't mind faking it, saying all the stupid, obvious, nauseating things that a conscience keeps most people from saying. Happily, I don't have a conscience. I say them.
And this is both charming and terrifying to read. Delightfully so. Just the right amount of shivers tingling up your spine. Mimicry is such a useful tool and Dexter is quite adept at it. Frankly, I find him refreshing and certainly less boring than most. The puzzles and tidiness, I do like them very much.
This was another fantastic GR feed find from my friend
PirateSteve. I don't watch TV often, so I haven't seen the show, though I've heard of it. Regardless, I can tell you that this series is on my list. If I don't finish it this year, then I expect to next.
There's really nothing scary about Dexter. I'd say I'd be friends with him, but he's incapable. So alas, the fishbowl observation will have to do.
No, I do my job to make order out of chaos.
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Dexter, book No. 1.: The first Dexter book, from which the TV series is based, features the 'Ice-Box Killer', and introduces Dexter Morgan the blood spatter criminologist and part-time serial killer with a heart; his sister Deborah Morgan, a beat cop aspiring to be a detective; and the eclectic cast of characters serving at Miami PD. A lot like the TV series in places but also markedly different at times, and overall quite readable. 6 out of 12
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Yeah, yeah, yeah...
so I picked this up because I saw the Showtime series. I admit, I have become a big fan of the show, which is pretty smart and complex, despite its kind of silly premise. AND it's gruesome, which is always good. The book, however, lacks the depth and character development of the show. I suppose that's one thing that television, as a medium, is actually really good at. The book feels a little flip, and a little silly, andeven though it's the first in a series, it doesn't feel like it's building towards anything, which is another thing that makes the teevee version so great. Also, when dealing with that "genius serial killer" cliche, one has to be really careful, since it is a cliche and all. Making reference to the fact that Dexter likes Phillip Glass? Probably not enough. -
Book with a whole new idea. I actually rooted for the not so bad guy!
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I honestly have no idea what this review is going to be. Objective? Probably fucking not. I'm a huge fangirl of the Showtime series and it's taken me basically a decade to get around to the source material, which honestly feels like a crime. Now that I have read it, I'm very confused about what I actually thought.
On one hand, the first season of the show followed this series-starting book very closely. I'm talking nearly word-for-word. The Barbie in the freezer, the nail-polish, the ice truck - it's all there, save for the fact that Deb was cast differently than she was written. And I didn't really like book-version Deb.
You would think that because I love the show and the book is so close to the show, I would be head over heels after reading this.
No.
I can't put my finger on why, but something about it was boring. GASP! I know. Boring is not something I ever would have imagined myself writing for this review. But there it is.
Maybe it's because there were just no surprises left in the plot. Is that the fault of the book? Obviously not, because it's the chicken.. or the egg... or whichever came first. Jeff Lindsay created Dexter and everything about Dexter that made me love the show so much. And yet, reading the book just didn't do it for me. Maybe if I'd read the book first? I can't say. What I can say is don't fucking listen to me. I'm all over the place in my feelings about this right now.
I'm going against the cardinal sin of book nerds - the book is always better.
But in this case, I like the TV show better.
Dexter is, without a doubt, the ultimate anti-hero. He's written in such a way that it plays with the principles you might hold dear. Murder is wrong. Murderers are bad. End of discussion.
But there is something about a vigilante that stirs up our baser instincts from a time when we were just crawling out of the muck to stand upright. Revenge is satisfying. Karma is earned. An eye for an eye is equalizing. So it's really no surprise that when a character like Dexter comes along that he strikes a chord. He reminds us that what we consider "wrong" can be subjective. Not everything is black and white. We exist in shades of grey (not the kinky kind. ...well, sometimes...)
Murder is wrong. But if you're murdering a murder? Or child predator?
Now you have to admit that perhaps your principles are not as hard-lined as you thought they were. I love the psychology of that.
I can't think of any other book, or character, that has so perfectly explored the idea of having no empathy, no ability to feel what other people feel while creating empathy within the reader for that character. Dexter, in both mediums, says again and again how he has never been able to access the emotions the rest of us can - the thing that makes us essentially human. What's interesting though is that he never wavers from Harry's Code. Not out of a sense of guilt or conscience, but out of loyalty.
Loyalty to Harry. And Deb. There's a part of him that doesn't want to disappoint his family. How that might actually exist in a psychopath clinically, I don't know, but it sure as hell makes for an interesting character arc.
Bottom line: Dexter is a special fucking character. Jeff Lindsay is responsible for that.
But I still wasn't into the book.
Michael C. Hall brought Dexter to life in a way that was dynamic even though he was emotionally stunted, awkward and never really got the joke. Again, I don't know if it's because I watched the show first, but I found the written character to be mostly flat. It wasn't the Dexter who I know and love.
I was already super familiar with the plot, backward and forwards. Mix that with flat characters and this wasn't the experience I wanted it to be.
Kind of like that fucking series finale.
I digress...
It seems like the best reviews come from readers who have never watched an episode before.
But after you read the book, watch the show.
A blood analyst who helps solves crimes by day while committing his own crimes at night - it's fucking perfect.
I don't think I'll be finishing the book series though. There are just too many books piled on my TBR for me to be reading books I already know the plot of.
⭐⭐⭐½ | 3.5 stars rounded down -
Dude. Best serial killer book I've read in a while. Funny, creepy, yet not horrifying in the way that American Psycho is. What can I say - I'm much more engaged by a book that is a rollicking good mystery combined with a creepy-funny narrative voice versus a meditation on American society in the 80s combined with a creepy-funny-creepy narrative voice.
I'll admit I first picked up this book because I want to watch the Showtime series, and I'm a book-before-movie kinda gal. (Everyone at work is watching the show, and I want to be one of the Cool Kids.) Therefore, Michael C. Hall's face and voice were very much in my head the whole time.
Doesn't matter. Dexter is, well. Dexter. Deeply distinctive Dexter. Detached drama queen Dexter. Devilishly droll Dexter. One of the best first person narrations I've read in a long time, and I think the author does a v. good job of being internally consistent with Dexter.
In many ways, mysteries rely on deeply human motivations, passions, emotions, etc., which the author has deliberately removed from Dexter. What delights me about this book is how the author still manages to fit Dexter into that paradigm without giving Dexter a sudden fit of human compassion. The rules are the rules from the beginning to the end, and there's no wavering.
SPOILERS BELOW
Ultimately, you can't have Dexter kill Deborah and a) have most readers not throw the book across the room and 2) not kill all his funny with real, legitimate creepy. I quite like the perfect little deadly diorama (couldn't think of a third D word) at the end, with the dichotomy (ha!) between Dexter's siblings, between nature and nurture if you will, between Dexter's creepy and Dexter's funny. It's a very fine balance between the two, setting up Dexter's serial killeritude and keeping him relatable enough to a) be a sympathetic character and 2) fit within the shape of a mystery novel and not just have Dexter go, "Wheeee!" and kill everyone.
I do wish that there was a bit more plausibility to the idea that Dexter himself could be committing the murders, but I'm not sure how you do that and still tell the story. The whole following-the-van bit pretty much negated the possibility that Dexter was doing it for me, so that element of mystery felt a bit overplayed to me.
I like that Brian came out of nowhere, that it was not unsurprising that Dexter's Mysterious Past was involved in some way, but the way in which Dexter really was the focus of it all was unexpected. The gun was on the mantle, but it was only tangentially referenced, and you don't know it's a shotgun until you're staring down its barrels.
I'm not sure I buy the series' general premise, even fictionally - horrifying childhood trauma = soulsucking serial killeritude - but, again, I like that it's consistent. I like that the way Dexter expresses the closest thing he feels to affection is through rigid adherence to Harry's code, in its delicious logic to him.
Some of the narration is a little overblown - here, have another moon metaphor! and Dark Passenger - but it fits in a lot of ways. The root of pretentious is pretense, so it makes perfect sense that Dexter is a blooming little font of pretentiosity. His self-awareness of that is what takes him from irritating to backwardly charming.
Now I just need to fix my computer's sound card so I can watch season one on demand through netflix.... -
I simply love Showtime's Dexter. If Dexter the TV show were a book, I'd give it 5 stars. I've held off on reading the books that the show is based on for a while, because I didn't want anything to sully my Dexter-love. Was it possible they could favorably compare?
Luckily, Jeff Lindsay's first Dexter novel is pretty damn charming. Like The Princess Bride, the screen version by its very nature ends up missing a lot of the wonderfulness that's hidden in the narration. I loved the constant use of alliteration and the talky sort of stream of consciousness that book-Dexter has going on.
The first season of the show follows Darkly Dreaming Dexter very closely, with some exceptions. Most of the characters get fleshed out quite a bit, since the book's supporting characters are pretty 2D. I'm thrilled with how much they expended Batista's role on the show, because he's one of my favorite characters - it was quite a shock to see how little he was in the book.
The additions and changes the show makes to the plot are only positive. The book's reveal of the Ice Truck Killer and the use of Dexter's dark dreams to find him toe the believability line.
The epilogue of Darkly Dreaming Dexter is sufficiently different enough from the show that I'm pretty hyped up to find out where book 2 takes things. When my library reserve arrives, I think it will likely jump above all the other books in my currently-reading pile.
