Question about the books (contains spoilers for s 1 -4)

alcomoholic

hi i've the first four seasons of dexter watched and just wondering how closely the books and the series follow each other?

for example, in the books does rita die (at the hands of trinity) or was that something the producers on the show came up with themselves?

Stark

* spoilers for those who haven't read the books*

The first series is loosely based on the first book with some inspiration from the second book. The second series takes some inspiration from the second book (most notably the Lundy character) but doesn't actually follow the plot of the book. The plot is very thin in the first book, subplots like Rita's ex husband and the like were added in by the series creators. In the books, LaGuerta dies at the hands of Brian at the end and Deborah is conscious for the affair so she finds out Dexter's secret. Oh and Rita's kids have "dark passengers" in the books. I haven't read the 4th and 5th books but I'm fairly sure Rita is still alive in them. The Trinity killer doesn't feature in the books.

jor el

****** SPOILERS - BOOK STUFF FOLLOWS ******


The books are, for the most part, crap. The story line in the series separates at the end of the first one, which is good, though LaGuerta does get killed off, which would be better for the series.

The author can't write an ending though, it all builds up to disaster and doom, then in about 4 lines, it's all over and happy ending. That goes for all of them.

The characters are also really really annoying. Think of how annoying Rita is in the series, multiply that by about a million, and that's even Deborah. The dark passenger plays a much bigger role, and it's actually an entity in itself (think demon) that resides within Dexter, and other similar killers. Cody and Astor being possessed by their own passengers is stupid.

Dexter's brother, Brian, is left alive at the end of the first book, and makes a return in the latest one. It's all quite cliched and crappy too.

Doakes is in it, and is Dexter's nemesis. He gets a bit hacked up by a demented doctor (on which I think the character of the guy that skinned people was based), but is still hanging around. He also knows for a fact what Dexter is, that he is basically a killer, but has no proof.

I've read all the books, and they're actually quite irritating to read sometimes.

Johnmb

jor el wrote: »

****** SPOILERS - BOOK STUFF FOLLOWS ******


The books are, for the most part, crap. The story line in the series separates at the end of the first one, which is good, though LaGuerta does get killed off, which would be better for the series.

The author can't write an ending though, it all builds up to disaster and doom, then in about 4 lines, it's all over and happy ending. That goes for all of them.

The characters are also really really annoying. Think of how annoying Rita is in the series, multiply that by about a million, and that's even Deborah. The dark passenger plays a much bigger role, and it's actually an entity in itself (think demon) that resides within Dexter, and other similar killers. Cody and Astor being possessed by their own passengers is stupid.

Dexter's brother, Brian, is left alive at the end of the first book, and makes a return in the latest one. It's all quite cliched and crappy too.

Doakes is in it, and is Dexter's nemesis. He gets a bit hacked up by a demented doctor (on which I think the character of the guy that skinned people was based), but is still hanging around. He also knows for a fact what Dexter is, that he is basically a killer, but has no proof.

I've read all the books, and they're actually quite irritating to read sometimes.

Yeah, Dexter himself is a bit of a bumbling idiot in the books. Think of Dexter at his most incompetent in the series, and that is the standard character in the books. At one point, he is saved by Rita!

Stark

jor el wrote: »

The author can't write an ending though, it all builds up to disaster and doom, then in about 4 lines, it's all over and happy ending. That goes for all of them.

Not unlike Season 5 of the tv series in that respect.