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The Franchise
Not yet published
Expected 12 May 26
The Truman Show
meets
Game of Thrones
in this epic tale of a studio-owned Fantasy world.
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 epic 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 the world of The Malicarn has an almost unstoppable momentum, and bringing freedom to a population who already believe themselves to be free won’t be as easy as he thinks.
All the world’s a stage.
Meet the players.
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 epic 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 the world of The Malicarn has an almost unstoppable momentum, and bringing freedom to a population who already believe themselves to be free won’t be as easy as he thinks.
All the world’s a stage.
Meet the players.
368 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication May 12, 2026
5 people are currently reading
459 people want to read
About the author
Thomas Elrod
1 book3 followersThomas Elrod lives in Pennsylvania with his wife and daughter. His writing has appeared in the LA Review of Books, Independent Weekly, and elsewhere. The Franchise is his first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 11, 2026
The franchise
One thing you need to know about me is if something sounds like Westworld, I will definitely request the book. This one sounded a lot like it would be Westworld meets Truman show. It was so much deeper than that though. For 325 pages, we see politics, multiple time periods, a fictional book within a book, and a satirical Hollywood system with capitalistic values and a lot of interesting character development.
I went into this expecting more Westworld and much like the synopsis, it was more akin to Game of Thrones in the fantasy chapters. Alternatively we got a future look into the capitalism outside the fictional world. These chapters are what I enjoyed the best. I loved how Hollywood these parts seemed and how much care was given to both elements. The author gave us a very detailed look at both story elements and I loved it for that. As it turned out, this was not my normal read and it was not what I expected, but in true Tor Pub fashion, it was something absolutely different. I wish the Malicarn series was real dang it but I do love the world created here.
Thank you to Tor for my review copy:)
One thing you need to know about me is if something sounds like Westworld, I will definitely request the book. This one sounded a lot like it would be Westworld meets Truman show. It was so much deeper than that though. For 325 pages, we see politics, multiple time periods, a fictional book within a book, and a satirical Hollywood system with capitalistic values and a lot of interesting character development.
I went into this expecting more Westworld and much like the synopsis, it was more akin to Game of Thrones in the fantasy chapters. Alternatively we got a future look into the capitalism outside the fictional world. These chapters are what I enjoyed the best. I loved how Hollywood these parts seemed and how much care was given to both elements. The author gave us a very detailed look at both story elements and I loved it for that. As it turned out, this was not my normal read and it was not what I expected, but in true Tor Pub fashion, it was something absolutely different. I wish the Malicarn series was real dang it but I do love the world created here.
Thank you to Tor for my review copy:)
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Rating 4.5
The Franchise is definitely a concept-first readers dream. It has big ideas, structural cleverness, and a “what if” premises that drive everything. The core concept is strong no doubt, its compelling and has a little bit of everything from fantasy and science fiction to Hollywood satire and current societal commentary. That makes for a whole lot going on in a book at one time which can be a double edged sword at times. What I mean by that is there are times when the concepts takes away from the emotional depth at times. Feeling heavy and overpowering the character development so I did struggle to connect.
Social commentary and satire are powerful forms of expression and Elrod does it very well. The satire is executed well and does not become tiresome or tedious. I think Elrod does a great job balancing the satire with the seriousness needed to provide the intended impact of the social commentary. Lets be honest, Elrod ’s social commentary is extremely relevant. The idea of a world existing and endlessly extended solely because it’s profitable is way more prevalent in todays reality then most would care to admit. So believability is not an issue because you can totally see this happening.
The Franchise will definitely become a title that people either love or hate. Either they will feel it is too dense and emotionally shallow or they will see it the way I did. The familiar bones of epic fantasy through a modern lens, become completely immersed in the story. I myself truly enjoyed it! I loved the concept and what makes the book shine is how well it balances spectacle with insight. It will make you pensive.
Overall, The Franchise is truly ambiguous and idea driven debut. It’s thought provoking, intelligent, timely, and quietly unsettling at times but I had a blast.
The Franchise is definitely a concept-first readers dream. It has big ideas, structural cleverness, and a “what if” premises that drive everything. The core concept is strong no doubt, its compelling and has a little bit of everything from fantasy and science fiction to Hollywood satire and current societal commentary. That makes for a whole lot going on in a book at one time which can be a double edged sword at times. What I mean by that is there are times when the concepts takes away from the emotional depth at times. Feeling heavy and overpowering the character development so I did struggle to connect.
Social commentary and satire are powerful forms of expression and Elrod does it very well. The satire is executed well and does not become tiresome or tedious. I think Elrod does a great job balancing the satire with the seriousness needed to provide the intended impact of the social commentary. Lets be honest, Elrod ’s social commentary is extremely relevant. The idea of a world existing and endlessly extended solely because it’s profitable is way more prevalent in todays reality then most would care to admit. So believability is not an issue because you can totally see this happening.
The Franchise will definitely become a title that people either love or hate. Either they will feel it is too dense and emotionally shallow or they will see it the way I did. The familiar bones of epic fantasy through a modern lens, become completely immersed in the story. I myself truly enjoyed it! I loved the concept and what makes the book shine is how well it balances spectacle with insight. It will make you pensive.
Overall, The Franchise is truly ambiguous and idea driven debut. It’s thought provoking, intelligent, timely, and quietly unsettling at times but I had a blast.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
4 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for allowing me to read this e-arc prior to its official release.
Game of Thrones meets The Truman Show in THE FRANCHISE where the classic fantasy world of The Malicarn has been brought to life in a series of phenomenally successful blockbuster movies, almost entirely populated by characters in total belief that their sham fantasy lives are real.
The chapters are split between modern life at different periods of time, where the conception and development of the Malicarn franchise is explored, and chapters set in the Malicarn world, an island full of people who have no idea they’re being filmed. They don’t live happy fantasy lives. Most are farmers and impoverished, their lives manufactured. Without going into spoilers, some truly unethical methods are used to maintain this living movie. I found the ways these concerns are brushed aside in the interest of continuing the movie franchise to be dystopian but engrossingly plausible.
The writing was distant at times but witty. The beginning started slow, especially the chapters about Queen Hannah, which read as not particularly interesting European fantasy. But I bore through it and the pacing and intrigue exponentially picked up to the point where I was flying through the pages in the last 40 percent and couldn’t put the book down. If not for the slow start, I definitely would have rated this book 5 stars for how everything came together.
I love the entire concept of this story and all the details of how the Malicarn project affected so many vastly different people in so many ways. Full of thought provoking ideas. I would recommend this book to fans of both fantasy and dystopian elements.
Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for allowing me to read this e-arc prior to its official release.
Game of Thrones meets The Truman Show in THE FRANCHISE where the classic fantasy world of The Malicarn has been brought to life in a series of phenomenally successful blockbuster movies, almost entirely populated by characters in total belief that their sham fantasy lives are real.
The chapters are split between modern life at different periods of time, where the conception and development of the Malicarn franchise is explored, and chapters set in the Malicarn world, an island full of people who have no idea they’re being filmed. They don’t live happy fantasy lives. Most are farmers and impoverished, their lives manufactured. Without going into spoilers, some truly unethical methods are used to maintain this living movie. I found the ways these concerns are brushed aside in the interest of continuing the movie franchise to be dystopian but engrossingly plausible.
The writing was distant at times but witty. The beginning started slow, especially the chapters about Queen Hannah, which read as not particularly interesting European fantasy. But I bore through it and the pacing and intrigue exponentially picked up to the point where I was flying through the pages in the last 40 percent and couldn’t put the book down. If not for the slow start, I definitely would have rated this book 5 stars for how everything came together.
I love the entire concept of this story and all the details of how the Malicarn project affected so many vastly different people in so many ways. Full of thought provoking ideas. I would recommend this book to fans of both fantasy and dystopian elements.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
This is a review of an ARC from Edelweiss.
The Malicarn is a blockbuster movie series created from a beloved fantasy book series from the 1960s. Now its creators have come up with a way to make the stories even more realistic and gripping - embedding actors into a real-world recreation of the Malicarn, so deep that they don't even realize they're acting. What could possibly go wrong?
Ooh - I wanted to like this one so much! And it had me until about two-thirds of the way through, but Elrod takes what's a truly interesting plot premise and exciting story, and just starts getting too wrapped up in his own writing, sacrificing story for literary tricks. The story switches between the fantasy world of the Malicarn and the real world plot of the studio (though we quickly realize that the fantasy world *is* the real world, just not the world the characters think it is). There is a lot to say her about ethics, and story, and the craft of acting, but eventually it all overtakes the book. The last big action sequence is literally switching POV sentence by sentence, and while I get what he was trying to do with the interludes in second person POV, they didn't work for me.
The Malicarn is a blockbuster movie series created from a beloved fantasy book series from the 1960s. Now its creators have come up with a way to make the stories even more realistic and gripping - embedding actors into a real-world recreation of the Malicarn, so deep that they don't even realize they're acting. What could possibly go wrong?
Ooh - I wanted to like this one so much! And it had me until about two-thirds of the way through, but Elrod takes what's a truly interesting plot premise and exciting story, and just starts getting too wrapped up in his own writing, sacrificing story for literary tricks. The story switches between the fantasy world of the Malicarn and the real world plot of the studio (though we quickly realize that the fantasy world *is* the real world, just not the world the characters think it is). There is a lot to say her about ethics, and story, and the craft of acting, but eventually it all overtakes the book. The last big action sequence is literally switching POV sentence by sentence, and while I get what he was trying to do with the interludes in second person POV, they didn't work for me.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
super fun, Westworld but it's Lord of the Rings but it's real just kidding no for real though it is. LOTS of effective POV play, between characters, setting, time, reality; all perspectives get fucked around with, in clear + followable ways. Things unfold that connect to earlier things, lots of little "aha" fun moments. Ends with a propulsive climax ... usually endings suck for me, something I've come to accept (esp. with horror and other speculative fiction) but this one was fun, a total facemelt of everything that's been established across the entire novel.
characters were decent, but I DO read for concept over character arcs, so this delighted me more than it might for other kinds of readers
characters were decent, but I DO read for concept over character arcs, so this delighted me more than it might for other kinds of readers
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
The summary of this book was made for me - but somehow knowing what was happening while reading made it much less impactful.
I found the time jumps much more confusing than helpful and it was a book that took on too many concepts to do any one all that well.
Absolutely amazing and terrifying concept. Ironically, would likely make for an interesting tv show if the text could be edited down to be a bit more coherent.
I found the time jumps much more confusing than helpful and it was a book that took on too many concepts to do any one all that well.
Absolutely amazing and terrifying concept. Ironically, would likely make for an interesting tv show if the text could be edited down to be a bit more coherent.
dnf
January 5, 2026DNF @ 35% — I realized that the Truman Show premise just doesn’t hit as hard the second time around (for me) and couldn’t see myself caring about the characters/stakes enough to continue. Concept/plot readers will likely have a better time with this! Many thanks to NetGalley & the publisher for the ARC nonetheless 🏰
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Advance copy received from publisher for an honest review. Started off kinda slow and a touch confusing. But picked up and things made sense by nature of the story.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews