The Franchise, by Thomas Elrod, is a standalone book that pulls elements from fantasy, science fiction, and dystopian horror to create a strange amalgamation of a book with a lot to say. It is a philosophical story about breaching the line between fiction and reality, a commentary on our relation as audiences to the characters we enjoy, and the ever-increasing need of entertainment companies under capitalism to find new, horrible ways to commodify their audiences.
Back in the forties, an incredibly talented author created a series of genre-defining fantasy books called The Malicarn. He spent his life getting these books published and preserving their integrity and legacy until he died, and his son took over their stewardship. The son had a different agenda, having less attachment to the themes and elements of the story, and was more focused on its commercial potential. The son continued to expand on the series, adding dozens of new books, and he looked into new and innovative forms of bringing it to life. Now, in the near future, the classic fantasy world of The Malicarn has been brought to life on the big screen in a series of phenomenally successful blockbuster movies, almost entirely populated by characters in total belief that their sham fantasy lives are real. But there is a new project on the horizon that offers fans both total immersion and endless content to consume. The Malicarn has been brought fully to life with a built physical location and brainwashed actors and fans serving as the cast. Here, these participants will perform our new plotlines in perpetuity to sate the infinite hunger of The Malicarn’s ravenous fans. What could possibly go wrong?
The Franchise is a refreshing portal into the state of our current media landscape that levies interesting criticisms at the legacy of Lord of the Rings, a certain kind of problematic author, and new wave media behemoths like the MCU. It is a mysterious thriller that asks important questions about what “fans” get out of the things they worship, and whether or not the relationship is healthy for them. It explores the logical endpoints of continually increasing monetization of entertainment, to the point where people convincingly begin to pay to make the entertainment themselves. I loved the examination of what is lost as comfort and mindless consumption become the primary values of our pastimes, and the insidious and alluring nature of continuing to let the stories we engage with slide in that direction.
From a thematic and philosophical angle, The Franchise is a delight–packing multiple book clubs’ worth of discussion subjects into each chapter and having a lot of conversations that feel increasingly important in our evolving future. Where I think the book falls a little short is in having a substantive plot that facilitates this exploration in a natural and clever way. The book feels more like a clever thought experiment rubric than a fully developed story, as it follows an actor who retains his mind on the future set and has doubts, and a child who was born into a fake world similar to The Truman Show. I was much less interested in the characters and events of the story than in seeing just how far the production companies would go to always make the line of profits go up.
If you are looking for a very unique and refreshing read, The Franchise will check all of the boxes. It is a book that begs to be discussed, and the comparisons to the efforts of numerous real-world companies are both cutting and clever. I wish it had come together a little more as a story, but it is still a book that I would happily recommend to anyone looking to think about their relationship to the stories they enjoy.
Rating: The Franchise – 8.0/10
-Andrew
An ARC of this book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The thoughts on this book are my own.
