Watching Shogun on Disney reminded me of James Clavell’s novel that I read back in the 80’s and the phenomenon of Blockbuster fiction that was so prevalent at the time. They weren’t high literature but they had gripping plots and impressive world building and they were a thumping good read. They were also massive beefy tomes. I think the authors must have been paid by weight.
Is there any equivalent any more? Does the era of the blockbuster novel no longer exist?
by Liambp
6 Comments
I honestly think that the era no longer exists because we are now in the age of the internet and fractured media. It used to be that everyone got their book recommendations from the NY Times and a handful of other reputable book reviews. Now people get their recommendations from message boards, social media, and algorithms, so it is very unlikely that everyone will be drawn to the same book at once.
Fifty Shades of Grey was the top selling fiction for the decade 2010-2019.
If NPR features a new novel, the hold times at the library become insane, but I think that’s about as close as it gets.
It’s much easier to publish a book these days, with self publishing being a hung. Consequently there are a lot more books out there in the first place. Then add in the way that the internet has given consumers access to information tailored to their specific interests, and a general decline in long form reading, and there are fewer books that rise to blockbuster status.
Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Twilight etc notwithstanding.
The last one I can really think of that had that effect was The Da Vinci Code.
Don’t know if it really counts as they’re ‘cosy murder’ but people have gone mad for Richard Osman books here since his first one came out. I had two customers just yesterday asking how long they’d have to wait for their hold on his newest book to come in and one lady had ordered it in October.
The biggest selling novels in the last ten years:
*Where the Crawdads Sing*, by Delia Owens, 18 million sold.
*All the Light We Cannot See*, by Anthony Doerr, 15.3 million sold.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_books