Disappointingly Disastrous Dexter
Dec. 24th, 2007 12:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
small_henLately I’ve been absolutely tearing through Jeff Lindsay’s “Dexter” novels. His books are fresh, clever, and emotionally challenging. The dialogue is sometimes laugh-out-loud funny. Dexter himself is both charming and repellent at once, and the paradox makes for a psychologically fascinating read.
At least, the first two books were. “Dexter in the Dark”…well, that’s another story. In 300 pages, Jeff Lindsay completely destroys an amazing character in favor of an out of nowhere plot point which has to be one of the stupidest twists I have ever read.
SPOILERS FOR THE THIRD BOOK. NOT for the other books, nor the Showtime Series, which will not follow this storyline (Thank God)
According to “Dexter in the Dark”, Dexter needs to kill because he’s possessed by the imperfect spawn of a demonic god named Moloch. Seriously. In fact, that's where all serial killers come from - demon possession.
Moloch (who narrates at times, eliminating any hopeful doubt of his existence) is worshiped by a Biblical cult who sacrifice children to appease him…or something. Guess which two children get kidnapped? Go on, guess. The scene where Dexter watches as the cult almost sacrifices Astor, until Cody leaps to her rescue and kills the cult leader was almost too embarrassing to read.
Oh yeah, that’s another thing: Cody (and Astor too? The book’s not that clear) are psychopaths. You see, their father beat them once, and so they too disconnected from reality…er…were possessed by demons…um…look, I don’t even know. You hit a kid once, that doesn’t make them into a serial killer. I’m not sure if that’s insulting or just stupid.
Anyway, Dexter decides to take them under his wing and teach them “Harry’s Code”. This, IMO, pushes Dexter well past the line into unlikable. Maybe he could consider getting the kids some therapy before turning them into his little unholy army of the night? All of the “now don’t tell your mother I showed you this” scenes do much to destroy Dexter's character.
Throw in Rita’s screechy characterization (she starts making all kinds of over-the-top, stereotypical financial demands of Dexter) along with Deb’s transformation into something dumber than a sack of bricks and you have one of the only book where I was actually hoping the main character would wake up and say, “It was all a dream!”
The last thing this series needed was a body hopping demon. Let's hope Lindsay's next book doesn't involve Dexter fighting Bigfoot.
At least, the first two books were. “Dexter in the Dark”…well, that’s another story. In 300 pages, Jeff Lindsay completely destroys an amazing character in favor of an out of nowhere plot point which has to be one of the stupidest twists I have ever read.
SPOILERS FOR THE THIRD BOOK. NOT for the other books, nor the Showtime Series, which will not follow this storyline (Thank God)
According to “Dexter in the Dark”, Dexter needs to kill because he’s possessed by the imperfect spawn of a demonic god named Moloch. Seriously. In fact, that's where all serial killers come from - demon possession.
Moloch (who narrates at times, eliminating any hopeful doubt of his existence) is worshiped by a Biblical cult who sacrifice children to appease him…or something. Guess which two children get kidnapped? Go on, guess. The scene where Dexter watches as the cult almost sacrifices Astor, until Cody leaps to her rescue and kills the cult leader was almost too embarrassing to read.
Oh yeah, that’s another thing: Cody (and Astor too? The book’s not that clear) are psychopaths. You see, their father beat them once, and so they too disconnected from reality…er…were possessed by demons…um…look, I don’t even know. You hit a kid once, that doesn’t make them into a serial killer. I’m not sure if that’s insulting or just stupid.
Anyway, Dexter decides to take them under his wing and teach them “Harry’s Code”. This, IMO, pushes Dexter well past the line into unlikable. Maybe he could consider getting the kids some therapy before turning them into his little unholy army of the night? All of the “now don’t tell your mother I showed you this” scenes do much to destroy Dexter's character.
Throw in Rita’s screechy characterization (she starts making all kinds of over-the-top, stereotypical financial demands of Dexter) along with Deb’s transformation into something dumber than a sack of bricks and you have one of the only book where I was actually hoping the main character would wake up and say, “It was all a dream!”
The last thing this series needed was a body hopping demon. Let's hope Lindsay's next book doesn't involve Dexter fighting Bigfoot.
