Dexter by Design - Sept 8
 

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After the huge misfire of the last novel (Dexter In The Dark), I am hoping that Lindsay is able to get back on track with this fourth Dexter novel. I am cautiously optimistic...

Re: Dexter by Design - Sept 8
 

I love the show.

Should really start reading the books :)

Re: Dexter by Design - Sept 8
 

Nevermind. Bought the first three books in the series today :)

Going to try and get them all read before this book comes out. Probably going to try and do what I did with Harry Potter last month and read the books non-stop.

Too excited

Re: Dexter by Design - Sept 8
 

I'd be interested to see what you think of the books. Most people will agree that the third book was very different than the first two, and far inferior. All of them are fairly short books so I don't think that it will take too long to read the whole series.

Re: Dexter by Design - Sept 8
 

I like the first two books. I like how the writing is simple and they aren't too long. The third book was meh so I will wait for the reviews before I pick this up.

Re: Dexter by Design - Sept 8
 

I'll probably post my thoughts on them as I finish.

Right now I am about 100 pages through Darkly Dreaming Dexter. Minus a couple of details, this book is pretty similar to the show. It's a whole lot of fun so far though. I actually like that it's written from Dexter's point of view and enjoy that we constantly go in and out of his ongoing thoughts.

Definitely like this series so far (though I'm early in) but I'm looking forward to the 2nd and 3rd books, mostly because I heard they follow a completely different plot/arc than the TV show.

Re: Dexter by Design - Sept 8
 

Yea, IIRC, the first book and season were very close, but the rest were totally different. The show surpasses the books, IMO.

Re: Dexter by Design - Sept 8
 

I just finished the first book. I really enjoyed the changes near the end of the book.

Is it me or is Deb even more of a spoiled brat in this first book compared to her TV counterpart :)

Re: Dexter by Design - Sept 8
 

:(

Re: Dexter by Design - Sept 8
 

Sorry :)

I'm about halfway through the second book and I love it.

Re: Dexter by Design - Sept 8
 

Finished the Dearly Devoted Dexter this morning. Fantastic read.

(Second Book)


Can't wait to dig into the third book, even with the bad reviews :). I'll probably get it done just in time to buy the new book. I'm a little surprised my workplace hasn't gotten in any Advance Readers for the new Dex book.

Re: Dexter by Design - Sept 8
 

I loved the first two but the third left such a sour taste in my mouth that the only way I might buy the 4th is if it is a reboot. Hell, I'll even take the "it was all a dream" explanation.

This is perhaps the only time where a TV show is better than the books it's based on.

Re: Dexter by Design - Sept 8
 

I loved the first two books as well. I read the Prologue for the third book and I was already questioning what Lindsay was doing. It just felt like rambling.

Decided to stop reading the series and start reading The Magicians (Lev Grossman). I'll probably finish up Dexter After Dark by the end of the month.

Re: Dexter by Design - Sept 8
 

I loved the first two also, gave up on the third. I really don't think I could force myself to finish the third. Depending on reviews I might just follow only the series from here on out because I agree that at this point, the tv show is way better than the book.

Re: Dexter by Design - Sept 8
 

Finished the new book, and it is lot better than the last book. I don't think that it is as good as the first two, but it is not far off. I'd put in as third best in the series, but light years ahead of the last one.

Re: Dexter by Design - Sept 8
 

I read the first two, can I skip the third and go straight to the fourth?

Re: Dexter by Design - Sept 8
 

I think that you can. You might miss some minor points, but nothing major, IIRC.

Re: Dexter by Design - Sept 8
 

Some minor spoilers I guess, but at least Lindsay admits he made a mistake with the third book and won't be going in that direction again.

From EW.com:

Dexter Morgan has come a long way since his debut in the 2004 novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay. The author, 57, chats about his new novel, Dexter by Design, and the Showtime series inspired by his serial killer with a conscience.

EW In your last book, Dexter in the Dark, you added multiple narrators and suggested that Dexter might in fact be demon-possessed...

Jeff Lindsay And a lot of people didn't like it. ''What the hell is wrong with Lindsay? What's he doing?'' Let's just say whatever it was, I won't be doing that again.

EW How did that reaction affect your new book?

Lindsay I had to rethink things. How much do I follow my instincts? What do I owe my readers? I made a deliberate choice to write something people would enjoy, not knock people out with ''Boy, he can really put a clause together!'' I'm not saying I could have been Hemingway. But I feel like I'm back in the groove.



EW When you write Dexter, do you now see [series star] Michael C. Hall in your head?

Lindsay Visually, I do see a little bit more Michael C. Hall. But the differences between the two characters are becoming more pronounced. My Dexter pretends to be nice. Their Dexter is trying to become nice.

Re: Dexter by Design - Sept 8
 

Hmmm .... just read the first two, and have the third one sitting here (and the new one on request at the library). I guess I'll read the third, knowing I can jump into the fourth fairly quickly.

Loved the first two, by the way.

Re: Dexter by Design - Sept 8
 

Didn't even realize that I was so disenchanted by the first 15 pages I read of Dexter After Dark, I didn't finish it until 4 months later :lol:

Finally pushed myself to finish the book over the last week. Mostly because I love the series (Book & TV) and I wanted to see what happens next (and obviously get the new book!)

Out of the first 3 books (as everyone has mentioned) it's easily the worst in the series. The entire book is uneven, with very small moments of brilliance. One of the things I noticed about the book is that it seems like it was written with no real direction in mind. Most of the narration by Dexter seems overly forced and comes off sounding like a 9th Grade English Paper written by a kid who thinks he's being deep and reflective.

Some good ideas, but overall not executed (at the very least) as a story.

Things I Liked:


Things I Didn't Like



Oh well, can't win them all. Now that the hard part is over, I can go ahead and buy/read Dexter By Design! :)

Re: Dexter by Design - Sept 8
 

Are all the dexter books worth reading? i just recently started getting into books the 25 years i have been living i have only read books when i had to (school assignments) the only books i ever read not school related were autobiographies/world war z and a few others like art of war but i absolutely love the show dexter and was wanting to get into the books (i know the books are different from the show in alot of ways) but were wondering if all were worth picking up or if i should skip some

Re: Dexter by Design - Sept 8
 

They are definitely worth reading. Like you I fell in love with the show and gained interest in the series.

The first book (Darkly Dreaming Dexter) has many similarities with Season 1 of the TV show safe for a handful of differences (and one BIG difference).

Book 2 (Dearly Devoted Dexter) is a completely new story and is easily my favorite in the book series. The villain is just too amazing.

Book 3 (as you can see above) I was pretty disappointed by. It's all over the place and not really enjoyable. Though if you want to keep up with some of the storylines, I'd read through that one as it goes pretty quick.

Have Book 4 sitting on my shelf right now, haven't had the time to jump into it yet.

Re: Dexter by Design - Sept 8
 

i heard that the new book has like supernatural elements in it.. is it true? if so i think i might just pick up all the books but that one

Re: Dexter by Design - Sept 8
 

I haven't read Book 4 yet (Dexter By Design) but for sure Book 3 (Dexter In The Dark) has those things you mentioned in it.