Helpful Score: 15
As a huge fan of the show, I did the unthinkable -- I actually went to Borders and bought this book brand new off the shelves! Since joining PaperbackSwap, I haven't needed to shell out actual money for a book I wanted to read. But hey, this time time it was oh so worth the expense. At first, it was a little hard to get into, and I started regretting my decision to buy this book rather than wait for my turn in the swap. But then, the story/author hit it's stride and it got so I couldn't put the book down. At first, the book and the series are identical, so maybe that's why I was a little put off. But then I really started to enjoy the little extras in Dexter's mind that you get from the book that the show is missing. I love the "humor" in this book, and I have to say some of my all-time favorite quotes are straight from Dexter's thoughts. Twice, I actually laughed out loud. It's a great story with quite a different ending than the show, so Dexter fans will still enjoy the read. If you're looking for crime science and procedure type books, Dexter won't be your cup of tea. I guess you could call this a more lighthearted murder book with tons of sarcastic wit.
Richard M. (algernon99) -
Helpful Score: 8
Oh my goodness! For the last few months, I have been just marginally aware of a phenomenon called "Dexter." It was just a whisper in the back of my consciousness, a hint of something that I ought to know but don't know. So, as I browsed through the daily digest of the wish list and kept seeing this Darkly Dreaming Dexter book listed as someone's fondest wish to read... Well, I put it on my wish list.
A month or three later, there it was, in my mailbox. Wow.
I read the covers and thought, "Why would I want to read something about a guy who enjoys carving up serial killers?" Why indeed.
So I picked it up and began to read, just to satisfy myself that I wasn't going to like this so I could put it down and move on to something more appropriate. Ah, the best-laid plans....
I found myself in the mind of a handsome young creature who looks like a man, but isn't quite as human as he ought to be. He's quite charming, for a police-employed serial killer. How could I be comfortable in such an enviroment? Well, I couldn't be comfortable, but I could be interested, even fascinated.
I won't describe the story, but I have to tell you that even with my naturally sharp dislike for that which is immoral, evil, ...whatever... I was quite taken with Dexter. He's compelling, interesting, disturbing, logical, funny, and, well, scary.
I decided today, after finishing the book, to check and see what the phenomenon is. I found that there's a Showtime TV series about Dark Dexter, and I watched a couple of brief clips online. It looks interesting, but as a poor underpaid school teacher, I can't afford cable TV, so I won't get to watch it. (I just learned about Monk this year--he's only on cable, too--and I have to watch him on full-season DVDs we buy.)
So, my advice to you is to either get this book and read it and be discomfitted in a fun way or run screaming away as fast as you can. Both are good plans.
A month or three later, there it was, in my mailbox. Wow.
I read the covers and thought, "Why would I want to read something about a guy who enjoys carving up serial killers?" Why indeed.
So I picked it up and began to read, just to satisfy myself that I wasn't going to like this so I could put it down and move on to something more appropriate. Ah, the best-laid plans....
I found myself in the mind of a handsome young creature who looks like a man, but isn't quite as human as he ought to be. He's quite charming, for a police-employed serial killer. How could I be comfortable in such an enviroment? Well, I couldn't be comfortable, but I could be interested, even fascinated.
I won't describe the story, but I have to tell you that even with my naturally sharp dislike for that which is immoral, evil, ...whatever... I was quite taken with Dexter. He's compelling, interesting, disturbing, logical, funny, and, well, scary.
I decided today, after finishing the book, to check and see what the phenomenon is. I found that there's a Showtime TV series about Dark Dexter, and I watched a couple of brief clips online. It looks interesting, but as a poor underpaid school teacher, I can't afford cable TV, so I won't get to watch it. (I just learned about Monk this year--he's only on cable, too--and I have to watch him on full-season DVDs we buy.)
So, my advice to you is to either get this book and read it and be discomfitted in a fun way or run screaming away as fast as you can. Both are good plans.
Helpful Score: 8
Without Dexter's narration, this would surely be categorized as a straight modern crime story, but Dexter brings such a dark sense of humor to the story that this is really a comedy/crime story. It's funny and not too gory, so perfect for most readers.
Helpful Score: 7
A fun, fast read. You feel like you shouldn't like Dexter (after all, he is a serial killer) but he has such a sense of cheeky fun and tries SO HARD to be good that you do end up liking and rooting for him. Credit to the author for making such a likable but horrible character! Definitely plan to read more Dexter books!
Helpful Score: 5
I had heard a lot of buzz about the Showtime series based on the books, so I wanted to check it out. I was greatly disappointed.
The writing seemed to be borderline amateur, at best. Here is a mix of CSI and Hannibal Lecter, but neither is well executed. The blood spatter specialist never got to show off his CSI-like skills, and that was dull. And the serial killer side of Dexter was equally a borefest. Not that I am looking for gory details of his eviscerations, but boy, the whole thing was one underwhelming book.
A quick read because I kept waiting for something INTERESTING to happen. But I can't say that anything ever did. The ending was very weak. I don't know much about this author, or whether this was his first published novel, but it sure seemed like it.
Very disappointing, all around.
The writing seemed to be borderline amateur, at best. Here is a mix of CSI and Hannibal Lecter, but neither is well executed. The blood spatter specialist never got to show off his CSI-like skills, and that was dull. And the serial killer side of Dexter was equally a borefest. Not that I am looking for gory details of his eviscerations, but boy, the whole thing was one underwhelming book.
A quick read because I kept waiting for something INTERESTING to happen. But I can't say that anything ever did. The ending was very weak. I don't know much about this author, or whether this was his first published novel, but it sure seemed like it.
Very disappointing, all around.
