The Dark Passenger

[ebonlock]

I liked it, indeed I liked it a lot. The Dex in the book is a bit edgier than the guy we see on tv, his wit just a little more dry and sardonic, and getting to spend the entire time in his head rather than just the occasional voiceover is really nice. And the author had me from the get-go, I believed in his Dexter and wanted to see where the character was going to take me.

That is, until we got to the end where it all went to hell. If I thought the end of season 2 was a bit of a cheat, it was nothing compared to the disappointment I felt in the novel. We get to the confrontation in the box car between Dex and his long lost brother and the intensity is building. Dex is unraveling in the face of his horrific past and Deb is awake and aware of it all, especially that Dexter really does want to kill her. And then there's LaGuerta stumbling in to confuse the issue even more and just when it all comes to a head...the chapter ends.

Suddenly we're at a funeral and the author teases the audience a bit trying to make you think it might be for Deb, but no, she's right there holding Dex's hand, apparently just fine and comfy with her serial killer brother. Brian's escaped to go slaughter women elsewhere, LaGuerta's dead and Doakes is suspicious as hell and not a single goddamn loose end is tied up. What about the video of Dexter's look-a-like brother dumping the bodies at the hockey rink? The fact that the boxcar would be traceable a) to the killer and b) to Dexter because that's where he was discovered so many years ago. How did Brian get away and Dexter free Deb? How was LaGuerta's body found?

I could go on, but you get the point. I don't often say this but the tv series handled the story way better than the novel did. Even the second series which was way more wobbly and contrived worked better than this. I'm annoyed, deeply annoyed and uncertain as to whether I want to read the second novel at this point. I've been told to avoid the third at all costs as it spins off into metaphysics and that's just not where I want this story to go at all.

Comments

[thunderemerald.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, I love how ambiguous the Harry relationship is -- and I really really hope they're not done exploring that. I know Dex says that he's done asking all the "Am I good or evil?" questions... but there are a LOT of ways that Harry can still be explored without rehashing that old ground.

Personally, I would love to read a speculative fanfic about what might have happened if Harry had taken a different path with Dex. What if he'd never told little Dex to lie to the therapist? What if he'd actually gotten help at a young age?

Or, perhaps more interesting... when Dex kills the pimp and Harry walks in on him, what if he doesn't commit suicide three days later? What if, instead, he actually takes responsibility for his role in Dexter's life, admits he was wrong all along (or wrong to allow Dexter to TORTURE his victims, at least), and tries to set him on a more virtuous path? Ohhh, the AU possibilities. :)