From what I understand (as a fellow fascinated layman) is that String Theory is still the dominant StandardModel++ theory in academia but there are a few who are being more vocal about its validity.
Peter Woit is a notable skeptic of the viability of String Theory and has a blog which contains links to a number of interesting physics blogs.
http://www.math.columbia.edu/~woit/wordpress/
The dominant StandardModel++ theory is the standard model + super symmetry. String Theory is still in its formative years and best described as a collection of ideas than as a proper theory.
Peter Woit is a notable skeptic of the viability of String Theory and has a blog which contains links to a number of interesting physics blogs. http://www.math.columbia.edu/~woit/wordpress/