History FollowTheLeader / Literature

* ''TheDaVinciCode'' remained on best-seller lists for an obscene number of months, resulting in many copycat quest novels.
* The incredible success of ''HarryPotter'' has led to a glut of children's fantasy and, while it isn't the first school for wizards, it is certainly the inspiration for many. ''HarryPotter's'' success also persuaded authors and publishers to write longer and more complex young-adult literature. This is a very good example that [[TropesAreNotBad this isn't actually a bad thing]] -- the success of ''HarryPotter'' told authors and publishers that yes, young-adult literature can be enjoyed by a PeripheryDemographic of adults, and that adolescents ''do'' have enough of an attention span to read a DoorStopper novel if it interests them enough.[[hottip:*: To put it in a bit of perspective, aside from a few examples like ''Literature/TheNeverendingStory'', young-adult novels were ''rarely'' above three hundred pages. Some publishers actually thought kids wouldn't have the attention span to read a book if it was over two hundred.]]
** And of course, there have been people claiming that ''Literature/HarryPotter'' itself ripped off something else, though what exactly it is varies between the detractor. They include: the infamous ''TheLegendOfRahAndTheMuggles'', ''[[Literature/EarthseaTrilogy A Wizard of Earthsea]]'', Jane Yolen's ''Wizard's Hall'', ''Tom Brown's School Days'', ''GrooshamGrange'' and even the SoBadItsGood movie ''{{Troll}}''. And loads more. The irony here is that JKRowling couldn't have ripped off all of them at once, and it often tends to imply that ''they'' were instead ripping off ''each other''. While a WizardingSchool was never a new trope, there's nothing older than ''Harry Potter'' to which it's ''exactly'' similar.
* The success of Creator/WilliamGibson [[GenreLaunch spawned the entire]] {{Cyberpunk}} genre, though credit to the first {{Cyberpunk}} work is generally given to Creator/JohnBrunner's ''Literature/TheShockwaveRider''. Cyberpunk knock-offs usually incorporate Gibson's use of cyberspace, cybernetics, and crime noir. Cyberpunk in turn splintered into PunkPunk.

* Thanks to AnneRice making [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampires]] fashionable and AnitaBlake making supernatural female detectives popular, there's recently been a massive glut of supernatural mysteries with [[VampireDetectiveSeries supernatural PI characters]], UrbanFantasy stories, and ParanormalRomance novels that shows no signs of stopping.

* Every HighFantasy setting (by this wiki's definition) has its roots in J.R.R. Tolkien's ''Literature/LordOfTheRings''. Sometimes they're knock-offs of works that are ''themselves'' knock-offs of ''Lord of the Rings''.

* Jasper Fforde pokes fun at this phenomenon in ''The Well of Lost Plots: A Literature/ThursdayNext Novel.'' While Thursday is exploring the Well of Lost Plots, where books and characters are created from scratch, a MrExposition explains to her that, when one character is written with a particularly forceful or distinctive personality, characters-to-be are affected by that and take on those traits. A side-effect of Daphne Du Maurier's ''Rebecca,'' for example, is that hundreds of impressionable characters imitated the creepy and possibly [[PsychoLesbian psychotic lesbian]] housekeeper of the story, which results in, for Jurisfiction, an army of Mrs. Danvers clones. At the end, he offers Thursday, "Can I interest you in a [[TheObiWan wise]] [[OldMaster old]] [[EccentricMentor mentor]] figure?"
* While TomClancy was not the first guy to do the techno-thriller, he spawned a lot of imitators.
* Somewhat to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's chagrin, ''SherlockHolmes'' arguably opened the floodgates for modern mystery and detective fiction, as detectives like Hercule Poirot, NeroWolfe, and Inspector Morse all followed in his footsteps in one way or another. Holmes even provided a key inspiration for {{Batman}}'s status as the {{DC Universe}}'s greatest detective.
* The ''Mageworlds'' series are sci-fi novels which feature [[TheForce a mystical power that binds everything in the universe]], and can give those who wield it telepathy, telekinesis, psychic predictions, etc. The power has good and evil users (Adepts and Mages, respectively) who [[ElegantWeaponForAMoreCivilizedAge use melee weapons in a galaxy full of blasters]]--and frequently, the [[GoodColorsEvilColors Adepts' energy manifests as blue or green, with the Mages' being red.]] The main characters include a [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething princess/queen]], a [[LovableRogue free-trader/smuggler/space pirate]], and [[TheObiWan a very old, very wise mentor who is also secretly a user of the mystical power]]. [[SarcasmMode It just might]] remind people of a very popular [[StarWars film series]]. It does manage to avoid sucking, though, and there are enough plot differences that it doesn't read like a SerialNumbersFiledOff kind of thing.

* PhilippaGregory's Tudor-era historical romance novels (starting with ''TheOtherBoleynGirl'') jumpstarted a new wave of imitators set in or around the reign of Henry VIII (a trend exacerbated by the TV series ''TheTudors'').
* ''The Zombie Survival Guide'' and its companion ''WorldWarZ'' have provided a lot of the momentum for the surge in zombie fiction. Works like ''Literature/PrideAndPrejudiceAndZombies'' have their origin in these.
* ''Literature/PrideAndPrejudiceAndZombies'' and ''Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter'' spawned a number of works mashing up public domain stories and characters with pulp conventions -- see LiteraryMashUps for a list. The knock-offs even spread to Brazil, with ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mem%C3%B3rias_P%C3%B3stumas_de_Br%C3%A1s_Cubas Undead Memories of Brás Cubas]]'', ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_alienista The Alienist]] Mutant Hunter'', ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dom_Casmurro Dom Casmurro]] and the Flying Saucers'', ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Escrava_Isaura_%28novel%29 Escrava Isaura]] and the Vampire'' and ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senhora_%28novel%29 Senhora]], The Witch''.
* After the success of ''GossipGirl'' and the subsequent TV series, many more novels about rich white teenage girls (with a TokenMinority or two) in private schools have been made. Some of the imitators include ''TheClique'', the ''Literature/{{Private}}'' series, and ''PrettyLittleLiars''.

* R.L. Stine's success with ''{{Goosebumps}}'' led to dozens of similarly named series being published including ''Bone Chillers'', ''Deadtime Stories'', ''Shivers'', ''Spinetinglers'', ''Spooksville'', and ''Strange Matter''.

* After the success of Don Pendleton's ''TheExecutioner'' books, a flood of copycat vigilante justice series jumped onto the bandwagon, with names like "The Destroyer" (which lasted the longest), "The Butcher", "The Penetrator", "The Liquidator", etc. Oh yeah, and a little comic book by Marvel called ''ThePunisher''.
* The success of ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' has created a market for many new YoungAdult {{Dystopia}} novels with female leads and an emphasis on romance. To name a few: ''Legend'' by Marie Lu, ''Shatter Me'' by Tahereh Mafi, ''{{Matched}}'' by Ally Condie, ''Wither'' by Lauren [=DeStefano=], ''Enclave'' by Ann Aguirre, ''Under the Never Sky'' by Veronica Rossi, and ''{{Divergent}}'' by Veronica Roth. Many of these also hold to ''Literature/TheHungerGames'''s structure: 16-year old ActionGirl protagonist, present-tense first-person narration, love interest (though a surprising lack of love triangles), and angst.

** The success of ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' has also benefited {{Dystopia}} YA books that were already written before/being written during ''Literature/TheHungerGames'', due to being republished in light of the genre's popularity. These include ''TheHouseOfTheScorpion'', the already-popular ''ChaosWalking'' and ''{{Unwind}}''.
** And then, of course, there's ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' itself, which a few bloggers have ripped on for being an apparent ''Literature/BattleRoyale'' ripoff. However, ''Battle Royale'' doesn't have [[LordOfTheFlies too]] [[Literature/TheRunningMan original]] [[TheLongWalk a premise]] either, and there are an equal amount of differences as there are similarities. Either way, the two series have got quite a FandomRivalry going on, with a quiet minority liking both. Oddly enough, the debate is almost never "which is better", but rather "is it a ripoff". ''Battle Royale'' fans tend to disrespect the series even more for having a love triangle and tend to regard ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' fans as being no different from the ''{{Twilight}}'' crowd.

* The success of ''Literature/BlackBeauty'' lead to the (also successful) novel ''Beautiful Joe'' in 1893 (the latter even references the former); both novels helped raise awareness of animal cruelty.
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* After the success of ''GossipGirl'' and the subsequent TV series, many more novels about rich white teenage girls (with a TokenMinority or two) in private schools have been made. Some of the imitators include ''TheClique'', the ''{{Private}}'' series, and ''PrettyLittleLiars''.

* The success of ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' has created a market for many new YoungAdult {{Dystopia}} novels with female leads and an emphasis on romance. To name a few: ''Legend'' by Marie Lu, ''Shatter Me'' by Tahereh Mafi, ''{{Matched}}'' by Ally Condie, ''Wither'' by Lauren [=DeStefano=], ''Enclave'' by Ann Aguirre, ''Under the Never Sky'' by Veronica Rossi, and ''{{Divergent}}'' by Veronica Roth. Many of these have covers featuring circular emblems reminiscent of the Mockingjay pin. While writers have no control over what the covers look like, these might be publishers' attempt to get the books popular so it still counts as this trope. Also, many of these ''do'' hold to ''Literature/TheHungerGames'''s structure: 16-year old ActionGirl protagonist, present-tense first-person narration, love interest (though a surprising lack of love triangles), and angst.

* The success of ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' has created a market for many new YoungAdult {{Dystopia}} novels with female leads and an emphasis on romance. To name a few: ''Legend'' by Marie Lu, ''Shatter Me'' by Tahereh Mafi, ''{{Matched}}'' by Ally Condie, ''Wither'' by Lauren [=DeStefano=], ''Enclave'' by Ann Aguirre, ''Under the Never Sky'' by Veronica Rossi, and ''{{Divergent}}'' by Veronica Roth, many of which have covers featuring circular emblems reminiscent of the Mockingjay pin. While writers have no control over what the covers look like, these might be publishers' attempt to get the books popular, so it still counts as this trope. Also, many of these ''do'' hold to ''Literature/TheHungerGames'''s structure: 16-year old ActionGirl protagonist, present-tense first-person narration, love interest (though a surprising lack of love triangles), and angst.

* The success of ''Literature/BlackBeauty'' lead to the (also successful) novel ''Beautiful Joe'' sixteen years later (the latter even references the former); both novels helped raise awareness of animal cruelty.

* The success of ''Literature/BlackBeauty'' lead to the (also successful) novel ''Beautiful Joe'' sixteen years later (the latter even references ''Literature/BlackBeauty''); both novels helped raise awareness of animal cruelty.

* The success of ''Literature/BlackBeauty'' lead to the (also successful) novel ''Beautiful Joe'' sixteen years later; both novels helped raise awareness of animal cruelty.

** And of course, there have been people claiming that ''Literature/HarryPotter'' itself ripped off something else, though what exactly it is varies between the detractor. They include: the infamous ''TheLegendOfRahAndTheMuggles'', ''[[Literature/EarthseaTrilogy A Wizard of Earthsea]]'', Jane Yolen's ''Wizard's Hall'', ''Tom Brown's School Days'' and even the SoBadItsGood movie ''{{Troll}}''. And loads more. The irony here is that JKRowling couldn't have ripped off all of them at once, and it often tends to imply that ''they'' were instead ripping off ''each other''. While a WizardingSchool was never a new trope, there's nothing older than ''Harry Potter'' to which it's ''exactly'' similar.

* The incredible success of ''HarryPotter'' has led to a glut of children's fantasy and, while it isn't the first school for wizards, it is certainly the inspiration for many. ''HarryPotter's'' success also persuaded authors and publishers to write longer and more complex young-adult literature. This is a very good example that [[TropesAreNotBad this isn't actually a bad thing]] -- The success of ''HarryPotter'' told authors and publishers that yes, young-adult literature can be enjoyed by a PeripheryDemographic of adults, and that adolescents ''do'' have enough of an attention span to read a DoorStopper novel if it interests them enough.[[hottip:*: To put it in a bit of perspective, aside from a few examples like ''Literature/TheNeverendingStory'', young-adult novels were ''rarely'' above three hundred pages. Some publishers actually thought kids wouldn't have the attention span to read a book if it was over two hundred.]]

* The incredible success of ''HarryPotter'' has led to a glut of children's fantasy and, while it isn't the first school for wizards, it is certainly the inspiration for many. ''HarryPotter's'' success also persuaded authors and publishers to write longer and more complex young-adult literature. This is a very good example that [[TropesAreNotBad this isn't actually a bad thing]] - The success of ''HarryPotter'' told authors and publishers that yes, young-adult literature can be enjoyed by a PeripheryDemographic of adults, and that adolescents ''do'' have enough of an attention span to read a DoorStopper novel if it interests them enough.[[hottip:*: To put it in a bit of perspective, aside from a few examples like ''Literature/TheNeverendingStory'', young-adult novels were ''rarely'' above three hundred pages. Some publishers actually thought kids wouldn't have the attention span to read a book if it was over two hundred.]]

* The UK and Ireland have recently seen a surge of popularity for "misery lit" books based on stories (some true, some not) of childhood abuse/ParentalAbandonment etc. They all look exactly the same- a mostly white cover with a photo of a big-eyed child and heartstring-tugging title in twirly, bright lettering- occupy entire shelves in shops and seem to be competing with each other to see which can be the most depressing. Possibly launched in America by ''A child called it'' by Dave Peltzer, which then brought the craze to Britain and Ireland when it was released there. Many bookshops now consider these a legitimate genre and have a section devoted to them, often called "Tragic Lives".

* ''Literature/TheNeverendingStory'' owes a good lot of the plotline from the Ibsen play ''Theatre/PeerGynt'', especially in the second part of the novel.

* Every HighFantasy setting has its roots in J.R.R. Tolkien's ''Literature/LordOfTheRings''. Sometimes they're knock-offs of works that are ''themselves'' knock-offs of ''Lord of the Rings''.

* The success of Creator/WilliamGibson [[GenreLaunch spawned the entire]] {{Cyberpunk}} genre, though credit to the first {{Cyberpunk}} work is generally given to Creator/JohnBrunner's ''TheShockwaveRider''. Cyberpunk knock-offs usually incorporate Gibson's use of cyberspace, cybernetics, and crime noir. Cyberpunk in turn splintered into PunkPunk.

** And of course, there have been people claiming that ''HarryPotter'' itself ripped off something else, though what exactly it is varies between the detractor. They include: the infamous ''TheLegendOfRahAndTheMuggles'', ''[[EarthseaTrilogy A Wizard of Earthsea]]'', Jane Yolen's ''Wizard's Hall'', ''Tom Brown's School Days'' and even the SoBadItsGood movie ''{{Troll}}''. And loads more. The irony here is that JKRowling couldn't have ripped off all of them at once, and it often tends to imply that ''they'' were instead ripping off ''each other''. While a WizardingSchool was never a new trope, there's nothing older than ''HarryPotter'' to which it's ''exactly'' similar.
* The success of William Gibson [[GenreLaunch spawned the entire]] CyberPunk genre, though credit to the first CyberPunk work is generally given to JohnBrunner's ''TheShockwaveRider''. CyberPunk knock-offs usually incorporate Gibson's use of cyberspace, cybernetics, and crime noir. CyberPunk in turn splintered into PunkPunk.

* ''The Zombie Survival Guide'' and its companion ''WorldWarZ'' have provided a lot of the momentum for the surge in zombie fiction. Works like ''PrideAndPrejudiceAndZombies'' have their origin in these.
* ''PrideAndPrejudiceAndZombies'' and ''Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter'' spawned a number of works mashing up public domain stories and characters with pulp conventions -- see LiteraryMashUps for a list. The knock-offs even spread to Brazil, with ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mem%C3%B3rias_P%C3%B3stumas_de_Br%C3%A1s_Cubas Undead Memories of Brás Cubas]]'', ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_alienista The Alienist]] Mutant Hunter'', ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dom_Casmurro Dom Casmurro]] and the Flying Saucers'', ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Escrava_Isaura_%28novel%29 Escrava Isaura]] and the Vampire'' and ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senhora_%28novel%29 Senhora]], The Witch''.

* Speaking of ''Fifty Shades of Grey'', it spawned the ''Eighty Days'' trilogy; another trilogy of BDSM romance books called ''Eighty Days Yellow'', ''Eighty Days Blue'' and ''Eighty Days Red.'' As you may have noticed, even the title is designed to sound a bit like "Fifty Shades." It's no coincidence that it's got a number in the beginning and is followed by a color.

* While the whole fictional-story-written-as-a-journal/diary is nothing new, Jeff Kinney's ''Literature/DiaryOfAWimpyKid'' series has at least two major imitator: Rachel Renee Russell's ''Literature/DorkDiaries'' and Lincoln Peirce's ''Big Nate.''

* The UK and Ireland have recently seen a surge of popularity for "misery lit" books based on stories (some true, some not) of childhood abuse/ParentalAbandonment etc. They all look exactly the same- a mostly white cover with a photo of a big-eyed child and heartstring-tugging title in twirly, bright lettering- occupy entire shelves in shops and seem to be competing with each other to see which can be the most depressing. Possibly launched in America by ''A child called it'' by Dave Peltzer, which then brought the craze to Britain and Ireland when it was released there.
** Many bookshops now consider these a legitimate genre and have a section devoted to them, often called "Tragic Lives".

* While the whole fictional-story-written-as-a-journal/diary is nothing new, Jeff Kinney's ''Literature/DiaryOfAWimpyKid'' series has at least one major imitator: Rachel Renee Russell's ''Literature/DorkDiaries''.

** Publisher's of books written ''before'' the ''Twilight'' series have attempted to make them ''look'' like spin-offs and tie-ins, including ''Literature/WutheringHeights'', ''PrideAndPrejudice'' and ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet''.

* {{The Neverending Story}} owes a good lot of the plotline from the Ibsen play {{Peer Gynt}}, especially in the second part of the novel.

* ''PrideAndPrejudiceAndZombies'' and ''Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter'' spawned a number of works mashing up public domain stories and characters with pulp conventions. Examples include ''SenseAndSensibilityAndSeaMonsters'', ''MansfieldPark and Mummies'', ''{{Emma}} and the Werewolves'', ''[[AnnaKarenina Android Karenina]]'', ''[[LittleWomen Little Vampire Women]]'', ''Queen Victoria: Demon Slayer'', ''Henry VIII: Wolfman'', ''[[Literature/JaneEyre Jane Slayre]],'' ''Romeo and Juliet and Vampires'' and ''Little Vampire Women''. The knock-offs spread to Brazil, with ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mem%C3%B3rias_P%C3%B3stumas_de_Br%C3%A1s_Cubas Undead Memories of Brás Cubas]]'', ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_alienista The Alienist]] Mutant Hunter'', ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dom_Casmurro Dom Casmurro]] and the Flying Saucers'', ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Escrava_Isaura_%28novel%29 Escrava Isaura]] and the Vampire'' and ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senhora_%28novel%29 Senhora]], The Witch''.

* The success of ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' has created a market for many new YoungAdult {{Dystopia}} novels with female leads. To name a few: ''Legend'' by Marie Lu, ''Shatter Me'' by Tahereh Mafi, ''{{Matched}}'' by Ally Condie, ''Wither'' by Lauren [=DeStefano=], ''Enclave'' by Ann Aguirre, ''Under the Never Sky'' by Veronica Rossi, and ''{{Divergent}}'' by Veronica Roth, many of which have covers featuring circular emblems reminiscent of the Mockingjay pin. While writers have no control over what the covers look like, these might be publishers' attempt to get the books popular, so it still counts as this trope. Also, many of these ''do'' hold to ''Literature/TheHungerGames'''s structure: 16-year old ActionGirl protagonist, present-tense first-person narration, love interest (though a surprising lack of love triangles), and angst.

* While the whole fictional-story-written-as-a-journal/diary is nothing new, Jeff Kinney's ''Literature/DiaryOfAWimpyKid'' series has at least one major imitator: Rachel Renee Russell's ''Literature/DorkDiaries''. There's even a do-it-yourself book included in the series.

** And then, of course, there's ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' itself, which a few bloggers have ripped on for being an apparent ''Literature/BattleRoyale'' ripoff. However, ''Battle Royale'' doesn't have [[LordOfTheFlies too]] [[TheRunningMan original]] [[TheLongWalk a premise]] either, and there are an equal amount of differences as there are similarities. Either way, the two series have got quite a FandomRivalry going on, with a quiet minority liking both. Oddly enough, the debate is almost never "which is better", but rather "is it a ripoff". ''Battle Royale'' fans tend to disrespect the series even more for having a love triangle and tend to regard ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' fans as being no different from the ''{{Twilight}}'' crowd.

* The success of ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' has created a market for many new YoungAdult {{Dystopia}} novels with female leads. To name a few: ''Legend'' by Marie Lu, ''Shatter Me'' by Tahereh Mafi, ''{{Matched}}'' by Ally Condie, ''Wither'' by Lauren [=DeStefano=], ''Enclave'' by Ann Aguirre, ''Under the Never Sky'' by Veronica Rossi, and ''{{Divergent}}'' by Veronica Roth, many of which have covers featuring circular emblems reminiscent of the Mockingjay pin. While writers have no control over what the covers look like, these might be publishers' attempt to get the books popular, so it still counts as this trope. Also, many of these ''do'' hold to ''TheHungerGames'''s structure: 16-year old ActionGirl protagonist, present-tense first-person narration, love interest (though a surprising lack of love triangles), and angst.
** The success of ''HungerGames'' has also benefited {{Dystopia}} YA books that were already written before/being written during ''TheHungerGames'', due to being republished in light of the genre's popularity. These include ''TheHouseOfTheScorpion'', the already-popular ''ChaosWalking'' and ''{{Unwind}}''.
** And then, of course, there's ''TheHungerGames'' itself, which a few bloggers have ripped on for being an apparent ''Literature/BattleRoyale'' ripoff. However, ''Battle Royale'' doesn't have [[LordOfTheFlies too]] [[TheRunningMan original]] [[TheLongWalk a premise]] either, and there are an equal amount of differences as there are similarities. Either way, the two series have got quite a FandomRivalry going on, with a quiet minority liking both. Oddly enough, the debate is almost never "which is better", but rather "is it a ripoff". ''Battle Royale'' fans tend to disrespect the series even more for having a love triangle and tend to regard ''HungerGames'' fans as being no different from the ''{{Twilight}}'' crowd.
* Though not as successful as ''TheHungerGames'', ''{{Graceling}}'', a well-acclaimed YA fantasy series, has inspired YoungAdult authors to hit the fantasy route rather than {{Dystopia}}. One of the most popular ones is Leigh Bardugo's ''Shadow and Bone''.