Sunday, August 16, 2009

Are blockbuster book franchises dead?

I went to the local bookstore to do some unscientific research and discovered something. In the Science Fiction section, the number of Star Trek novels had diminished. There were about half a dozen Star Trek books on the shelves, compared to the dozens of books I normally saw a year or so ago. I must admit, it has been a while since I searched the Star Trek area for books, so this phenomenon may have happen over a period of time. I thought with the advent of the new Star Trek movie the franchise would have been re-energized and new books with the improved characters would be out on the shelves. But there was only one book…one book…about the movie. So, I guess it is true, the franchise is dying. Additionally, I noticed the number of Star Wars books declining as well. On a side note, even as these franchise blockbusters are taking a hit, the Science Fiction and Fantasy genres are growing. More and more books are populating the area, with more and more authors. The genres are growing with new and fresh ideas every day. So the question I have for the reader is what writer, series or franchise do you see replacing the dying Star Trek / Star Wars blockbusters on the bookstore shelves? Or do you see the days of blockbuster franchises as dead, to never return again…at least in Science Fiction?

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