YVO’S SHORTIES #240 – The Stand & Broken Homes #20booksofsummer21

Time for another round of Yvo’s Shorties! This time around a dystopian book giant and an urban fantasy sequel that both turned out to be winners for me.

Title: The Stand
Author: Stephen King
Genre: Dystopia, Horrror
First published: October 4rd 1978
Publisher: Hodder
Finished reading: June 21st 2021
Pages: 1327

“No one can tell what goes on in between the person you were and the person you become. No one can chart that blue and lonely section of hell. There are no maps of the change. You just come out the other side.

Or you don’t.”

Oh yes, I’ve finally beaten this book giant! I’ve been meaning to read The Stand for years now, but somehow never actually did so as its whopping 1327 pages (extended version) were simply too intimidating. But 2021 turned out to be the year I finally picked it up, and I ended up having a great time reading this story. The current COVID situation definitely gave the story an even bigger impact! Sure, I do think The Stand is quite overlong and some parts dragged a little, but as a whole it was an excellent reading experience and it was surprisingly easy to read for such a large tome once I got to know the huge cast of characters. There are a lot of different POVs and characters to keep apart at first, but there is just something about the whole situation that draws you in right away and I had no issues turning those pages as I was curious to find out how things would escalate and end. The Stand is a mix of a survival story, dystopia and horror with a supernatural twist; dark, twisted, highly disturbing and graphic in points, but it also delivers moments of hope and even humor. This is without doubt one of the better Stephen King books I’ve read to this date and I understand why so many people call it one of their favorites.

Title: Broken Homes
(Rivers Of London #4)
Author: Ben Aaronovitch
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Mystery
First published: February 4th 2013
Publisher: Gollancz
Finished reading: June 23rd 2021
Pages: 357

“It’s a police mantra that all members of the public are guilty of something, but some members of the public are more guilty than others.”

One of my goals this year is to try and catch up with the Rivers Of London series, and Broken Homes is already book number four. I’m really enjoying this urban fantasy series that mixes magic and the supernatural with a typical detective thriller, and this fourth book is no exception. While urban fantasy is not my typical genre, there is just something about these books that draws me right in, and I always end up having a great time reading them. The London setting, the development and descriptions of the fantasy/supernatural elements, the banter, the sarcastic humor, the good old policing mixed in with the fantasy… It somehow just works together and Broken Homes definitely delivered once again. Just so you know: definitely read these in order as you won’t understand the developments and relationship between different characters otherwise! Characters from the previous books pop up again and developments in the previous books play a key role in the plot of this book; you’ve been warned. It was interesting to see how things continued after the previous book and the new investigation was without doubt entertaining to read about too. And after that explosive ending, I definitely can’t wait to get to the next book now!