Dexter in the Dark
 Original US 2007 Cover | |
| Author | Jeff Lindsay |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Crime novel |
Publication date | 2007 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Preceded by | Dearly Devoted Dexter |
| Followed by | Dexter by Design |
Dexter in the Dark is a 2007 novel written by Jeff Lindsay. This is the third book in the Dexter series, preceded by the 2004 novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter—which formed the basis of the Showtime television series Dexter—and Dearly Devoted Dexter, its 2005 sequel.
Dexter in the Dark was released September 18, 2007, in the United States (ISBN 0-38-551833-1) and October 3, 2007, in the United Kingdom (ISBN 0-75-288509-X). The book was originally scheduled to be released earlier in the year.[citation needed]
The Season 1 DVD of the television series allows access to the first two chapters of Dexter in the Dark when viewed on a computer.
Plot
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The novel concludes as the Cult of Moloch kidnaps Astor and Cody, thereby forcing Dexter to engage them head-on. However, the cult soon captures Dexter through a supernatural captivation of music. Though confined in a small concrete storage closet, Dexter escapes and encounters an old man who is the current avatar of Moloch. Though Dexter is instantly humbled and frightened of Moloch, he continuously mocks the malignant spirit, which in turn entrances him and the children to be sacrificed in a flaming pit. Dexter remains in a trance until his pant leg catches on fire; the pain of the burns snaps him out of his reverie, and he opens fire among the Cult of Moloch. A final showdown brings an armed Dexter against Moloch, who is clutching Astor and threatening to kill her. In a stalemate, Dexter is hesitant to act until Moloch reaches for his ceremonial knife only to find it missing — and then shudders to a halt and falls over with his knife lodged squarely in his back. Cody stands behind him holding Moloch's knife, saying, "I told you I was ready." Dexter laments that having killed at such an early age, Cody's journey will now be more difficult. Weeks pass by and Dexter is left alone to accept his life without his Dark Passenger. At his wedding, Dexter falls into a fit of despair as he thinks about how painful his life is going to be in all its banality. Just then, his Dark Passenger comes back to him, brought on by Dexter's immense suffering, and he is made whole in the final paragraphs of the novel.
The novel is also the first of Jeff Lindsay's "Dexter" series not narrated exclusively in the first-person point of view. Along with Dexter's first-person narration, the novel also includes third person narrations from two other points of view. One is a person called the Watcher, a member of the cult that follows and observes Dexter. The other is a mythical, godlike entity called "IT" (revealed to be Moloch) which existed since the beginning of time and has several similarities to the Dark Passenger. IT takes great pleasure in entering creatures as a "passenger" and making them kill other creatures. IT works to create other murderous entities similar to itself but soon turns against many of them, causing them to flee. IT and its offspring go to war, with IT being victorious. Some of IT's remaining children stay in hiding, fearing IT's power.
