Review - Dexter in the Dark
Dexter in the Dark
by Jeff Lindsay
It’s sad to see such a good series descend to this level. This book was a real disappointment. It’s hard to know where to start but the overall premise of the book, that Dexter’s “Dark Passenger” is actually a supernatural possession by some kind of child of Moloch an eternal something-or-other, lacks so much believability that it ruins the entire series. What made the first two books so good was that Dexter was the sociopath trying to live in the real world. His “Dark Passenger” was simply a different part of Dexter’s personality. The success of the books was that we rooted for Dexter and his “Dark Passenger” in spite of him being a sociopath. But how can we root for some horrible monster that possesses Dexter and forces him to kill?
But Lindsay goes too far even with his idea of how someone becomes a sociopath. Every child, at least according to Lindsay, who is abused as a child, grows up to be a serial killer. Rita’s two kids both become sociopaths because they were abused by their father. But that isn’t how it happens in the real world. Not all serial killers were abused and not everyone who is abused becomes a serial killer. We can root for Dexter when he is unique and only killing other serial killers, but how can we root for him to create more serial killers? Dexter should be sending the children for intense psychotherapy, not lessons in how to kill.
And worst of all, the book is simply boring. Nothing much happens. There are murders but it is impossible to keep straight who is killing who and the murders (and murderers) are almost irrelevant. We hear more about donuts and wedding caterers than we do about anything else. And there really is no mystery in the story. We find out in the first pages of the book who did it although I kept hoping that the book wasn’t really going to be this stupid and that Lindsay would give us some other surprise solution. I am fairly confident that this is the last Dexter book I will be reading.
Tags: books, review, Dexter in the Dark
The Vincent Black Shadow (VBS) is an alternative rock band from Vancouver, Canada. The group is made up of Cassandra Ford on vocals, Rob Kirkham on guitar, Anthony Kirkham on drums, Chris Kirkham on bass, and Mary Ancheta on keyboards. The group is named after the famed motorcycle that was featured in the Hunter S. Thompson novel, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. The group has done extensive touring including playing in the Warped Tour but have had little commercial success.
I am sure you are wondering what I have been doing with all my spare time when I’m not blogging. Well, believe it or not, I actually work for a living! And what I do is software development for a company that makes really cool products for mass transit systems. And here is the result of my work: 
I watched Friday night’s episode of Monk last night (I had TiVo-ed it). It was a salute to Stanley Kamel, who played Mr. Monk’s psychiatrist since the show began in 2002. Kamel had died in April and this was the first episode since Kamel’s death. Stanley Kamel had a long and very successful career which started with an uncredited role in 1969 on the old TV show, Mission: Impossible. The list of TV shows that he guest starred in for the last 40 years seems endless. McMillan & Wife, Days of Our Lives, Kojak, Charlie’s Angels, Mork & Mindy, Quincy M.E., Three’s Company, Hill Street Blues, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Columbo, Murder She Wrote. He also had one of the first rolls in a TV show as a person with AIDS on the show L.A. Law.
Taking Back Sunday is an alternative rock band from Amityville, right here on Long Island. The current members are vocalist Adam Lazzara, guitarist and back-up vocalist Matthew Fazzi, guitarist Eddie Reyes, drummer Mark O’Connell, and bassist Matt Rubano. The group has released three studio albums. Their most recent, Louder Now was released in 2006 by Warner Bros. Records. and reached #2 on Billboard’s Top 200. Beth saw the group at last summer’s Projekt Revolution at Jones’ Beach (picture - upper right) and thought they were fantastic.
I love EZ-Pass. We don’t travel that much where we need one but I got one anyway just to have it for when we do travel. That means that I have up to $25 sittting in my EZ-Pass not collecting interest but that is the only downside of having one. In virtually every case, having the EZ-Pass means never having more than one or two cars in front of you at toll booths. Just look at the picture… guess which lanes are EZ-Pass lanes.
