C is not a fad. The sudden love for C is the logical backlash caused by the abuse of lasagna layer upon layer of enterprise oo mvc enabled, xml configurable, orm supporting, osgi friendly huge monolith frameworks. A whole generation of developers have barely known simple and small. And they got tired of big enterprise and are searching for something "not as clumsy or random as a blaster. An elegant weapon, for a more civilized age." . Maybe it is the wrong direction in which they are searching - but I think that C mastery pays off in the long term.