So I’ve started reading the Dexter books (just started book 3 today) and I find them quite good, but honestly I think I like some things about the TV show better.
I liked that they had Deb get involved with the ice truck killer, for example.
I’m not sure what I think about Deb knowing that Dexter is a sociopath after the end of book 1… they don’t really address how she deals with this knowledge, even though it seems obvious that she would need to in some way at some point. Maybe it comes up later in the series.
Anyone else both a reader and a watcher? Comments on the differences? Comments on the similarities?
I have one question: in the books they say that Sgt. Angel Batista always introduced himself and then immediately said “no relation.” And most of the time, Dexter refers to him as “Angel No Relation”… No relation to who? Obviously there is some famous Batista out there but I don’t know who it is.
Oh, one more question. I’m listening to these as audiobooks so I don’t have a reference for how things are spelled. In the show, Vince’s name is spelled (at least according to the imdb) as Vince Masuka. In the audio books it’s pronounced “ma-su-oh-ka”… how is it spelled in the books?
Batista was the dictator of Cuba before the Communists overthrew him.
Book spoilers:
[spoiler]The books jump the shark when they start introducing these weird supernatural elements to explain shit.
Quoth Wikipedia:
In Dexter in the Dark, the third novel of the series, it is revealed through third person narrative of an entity referred to as “IT” that the Dark Passenger is an independent agent inhabiting Dexter, rather than a deviant psychological construction. Later, Dexter realizes the Dark Passenger is related to Moloch, a Middle Eastern deity worshiped in Biblical times. The Dark Passenger is one of Moloch’s many offspring; Moloch had many children (formed through human sacrifice), and learned to share its knowledge with them.
I read the first book but haven’t picked up the others.
I did not like how Dexter in the book went driving and came across the Ice Truck Killer. The show did it better.
The book to me overall felt rushed that needed to be ‘filled in’ and expanded upon. Overall, the book, though an excellent idea seemed slight and anemic. The TV show picked it up and far surpassed the book. I haven’t decided if I will read any other of the books, but seeing comments about the supernatural stuff, I’ll probably just skip them.
One obvious difference you’ve already read is what happened to Doakes. On the TV series, he was killed at the end of season 2. But in the books, he’s still alive, although massively disabled, having narrowly avoided being turned into a “yodeling potato” (sick term, but I love it).
One other big difference is Cody and Astor, who in the books are budding killers themselves. They know that Dexter is a killer and want to (and I believe they even do) accompany him on one of his kills.
As said earlier, the third book’s premise is so absurd you might want to throw the book across the room. I’ve read the fourth book, which was better, and all that lousy stuff from book 3 doesn’t even get mentioned again that I can recall. Overall, I like the show better than the books.
I agree with this. The fact that the first book fit into one audio book download (most books I listen to are long enough to need to be broken into two or more parts) made me question how fleshed out it would be. I think the TV show does a much better job fleshing out the characters and adding subplots.
The bit about Astor and Cody being budding psychopaths seems a little too made up for me, but I’m willing to ride with it to see where it goes.
They’re starting to get into that shit where I am in the book now. I’m a little over halfway through it (…I think. I’m a little ways into the second part of the 2-part audiobook, in any case.). I have to say I agree that this is not a good path to go down.
I’m finding that I am kind of bored by “empty Dexter” without his Dark Passenger. And the Moloch stuff seems like a lame way to explain what should just be explained as being a broken part of Dexter’s subconscious.
(The thread title warns of open spoilers so you don’t need to use spoiler tags here, btw, though thanks for thinking of it.)
I’ve only read the fourth one, and I think there were only a couple of sentences that referred to the Moloch business, so hopefully it’s gone and forgotten.
I’ve read only the first book so far. I won’t spoil it for anyone but the book has a very different ending from the show.
And for what it’s worth, right now it looks to me like the show is much better than the books. Whoever read that first book and saw a potential hit TV show in it must be some sort of visionary.
Ok I’m currrently about 60% through Dexter by Design (book 4). I have to say that book 3 was pretty bad with all the BS about Moloch and stuff. I can’t tell how good book 4 is yet. Deb just woke up in the hospital. I can’t tell where it’s going. I probably won’t have an opinion on it until the end.
What I’m confused by is that stupid Moloch crap from book 4. Is the implication that everyone who has a “dark passenger” or as the kids call it, a “shadow” harboring one of Moloch’s “children”? Or is there some other force at work in other serial killers? Dexter still says that he knows how they think because he is like them, and seems to get insight from his “dark passenger” about other killers, so it makes it sound like there is something in common… but that would mean that this “Moloch” god-thing had lots and lots of these children, and that they go into anyone who has a traumatic childhood event happen.
Does the author explain this any better later on? If not, in your opinion, is the author suggesting that all killers (serial killers) have a “Moloch” offspring in them? Do Cody and Astor have one? Cody claims to have a “shadow”…
I really wish the author hadn’t added the whole Moloch storyline. It takes away from the novels, rather than adding to them.
And am I right that there are only two more books after book 4?