Book Review: The Franchise

A land filled with magic and dragons and wizards and warriors. Thousands of people live and work within its borders, fearful of their enemies and loyal to their king.

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. A fan-favorite actor finds himself doubting the studio's work, but this franchise has an almost unstoppable momentum, and bringing freedom to a population that already believes itself to be free won’t be as easy as he thinks.

The Franchise, the debut novel from Thomas Elrod, will be published May 12, 2026. Tor Books provided an early galley for review.

This novel is definitely a bit different. The narrative is split between the real world (ours) and that of Malicarn (the fantasy concept). The chapters alternate between the two, with time moving forward for each return.

I found the real world story to be very engaging. I was excited to get back to it each time as there was a lot of intrigue and complications as the book series moved from publishing to licensing of the series to actual adaptation. The chapter about the San Diego Comic-Con brought back fond memories of my own times at that event.

The first shifts to Malicarn were a little confusing. It was not until much later that I realized they were actually jumps forward in time, teasers if you will for what was to come (albeit coming across as just pure fantasy narrative, and a bit jarring and incomplete).

Only when the two paths collide (at around the one-quarter mark) did I grasp where Elrod was going with the narrative. Once the effect and characters from the real world bled into the fantasy world, I began to enjoy the entire story. The author juggles a lot of balls at the same time.

Elrod definitely takes some swings with his first book. Even if they don't always connect, they have potential and give the reader some concepts to ponder. For me, I will definitely be interested to see what his next project entails.