History FollowTheLeader / Literature

** It created a market for many new YoungAdult {{Dystopia}} novels. To name a few: ''Literature/TheMazeRunner'' by James Dashner, ''Literature/ShipBreaker'' by Paolo Bacigalupi, The ''DustLands'' trilogy by Moira Young, ''Wither'' by Lauren [=DeStefano=]. Many of these also hold to ''Literature/TheHungerGames'''s structure: ActionGirl protagonist (with the notable exception of ''The Maze Runner'', which has a male main character), present-tense first-person narration and social commentary, with many of them, such as ''Literature/{{Divergent}}'' by Veronica Roth and the ''Literature/LegendSeries'' by Marie Lu, often accused of ripping ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' off. In addition, many dystopian YA series have been released that have taken a LighterAndSofter, more romance-based approach, such as ''Literature/{{Delirium}}'', ''Literature/{{Matched}}'' and ''Literature/TheSelection''; these are often criticized for not utilizing their dystopian premises properly, neutering the edge of books like ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' and ''Literature/ChaosWalking'' and being watered-down dystopia for the ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' audience.

* ''WebOriginal/JeffTheKiller'' inspired a long line of copycat {{Creepypasta}}s about quirky young {{Serial Killer}}s, including the DistaffCounterpart ''Jane the Killer''. ''Clockwork: Your Time is Up'' ups the {{Squick}} quotient by adding sexual abuse to the main character's troubled past, while ''[[https://lolpasta.fandom.com/wiki/Yancy Yancy]]'', with its TrollFic-quality writing, comes off as more absurd than scary.

* Creator/RLStine's success with ''Literature/{{Goosebumps}}'' led to dozens of similarly named series being published including ''Literature/BoneChillers'', ''Series/DeadtimeStories'', ''Literature/{{Shivers}}'', ''Literature/{{Spinetinglers}}'', ''Literature/{{Spooksville}}'', ''Literature/GraveyardSchool'', and ''Literature/StrangeMatter''. And ''Literature/GalaxyOfFear'' is pretty clearly taking inspiration from ''Goosebumps'', though the books follow one set of protagonists for the whole series and have a clear arc. Subject matter is largely the same, the kids are around the same age, there are constant {{Cliffhanger}}s and PseudoCrisis chapter endings...

* From the same author as ''Shivers'' came [[Literature/{{Animorphs}} Humano-morphs]]. Unlike the actual Animorphs, this was an anthology series with new characters every time, with a different explanation for how they get the power to morph into other people.

* Many YuriGenre series have taken ''a lot'' of inspiration from ''Literature/MariaWatchesOverUs''. To specify: a lot of them have lots of blushing, are set in an [[OneGenderSchool all-girls school]] (often Catholic), feature a SenpaiKohai dynamic, and are rather like the PseudoRomanticFriendship trope. There have been a fair share of parodies though, such as ''Manga/MariaHolic''.

* Some time after the success of ''Literature/{{Oreimo}}'' and its associated anime, a lot of other RomanticComedy LightNovels with overly-long sentence-y titles started cropping up...and it seems to be a good strategy, because many of them are getting anime adaptations, too. See LongTitle for the growing list[[note]]Listed under Literature.[[/note]].

* Sometime in the early 2010s, it became trendy for LightNovels to have [[LongTitle ridiculously long titles]] that function as more of a tongue-in-cheek description of the general concept than a proper title. [[Literature/OreImo "There's No Way My Little Sister Can Be This Cute"]] was probably the original inspiration; many imitators have tried to [[SequelEscalation push the envelope further]] with titles like "I'm A High School Boy and a Successful Light Novel Author, But I'm Being Strangled By A Female Classmate Who's A Voice Actress And Is Younger Than Me." Many other examples can be found in the Light Novels section of LongTitle.

* 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 [[TheMentor a very old, very wise mentor who is also secretly a user of the mystical power]]. It just might remind people of a very popular [[Franchise/StarWars film series]][[note]]the similarities grow stronger when you look at the generation prior to that of the main characters[[/note]]. There are enough plot differences that it doesn't read like a SerialNumbersFiledOff kind of thing, though.

** Popular romance novel ''{{Literature/Fifty Shades Of Grey}}'' was originally a ''Twilight'' fanfiction. It was so successful that it spawned its own followers: two novels entitled ''Gabriel's Inferno'' and ''Gabriel's Rapture'' have gotten a seven-figure deal. And like ''Fifty Shades'', these novels started off as ''{{Literature/Twilight}}'' fanfics.

* Various effects of ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'':

* ''Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya'''s immense popularity has spawned a lot of PostModernism and/or pop-culture-filled comedy light novels and anime (''Literature/{{Bakemonogatari}}'', ''LightNovel/NyarukoCrawlingWithLove'', ''LightNovel/{{Oreimo}}''), semi-expies of Haruhi and Kyon (with Kyon in particular [[TropeCodifier codifying]] a [[StockLightNovelEveryman certain kind of light novel protagonist]]) , and generally gets blamed for the high concentration of PanderingToTheBase shows in its wake.
* Some time after the success of ''LightNovel/{{Oreimo}}'' and its associated anime, a lot of other RomanticComedy LightNovels with overly-long sentence-y titles started cropping up...and it seems to be a good strategy, because many of them are getting anime adaptations, too. See LongTitle for the growing list[[note]]Listed under Literature.[[/note]].
* ''Literature/SwordArtOnline'' has created a swarm of imitators in the TrappedInAnotherWorld premise such as ''Literature/LogHorizon''. It also inspired the whole slew of ReincarnateInAnotherWorld LightNovels (even though the series itself is ''not'' an example), such as ''LightNovel/MushokuTenseiJoblessReincarnation'', which in turn has enough that {{Genre Deconstruction}}s such as ''Literature/KonoSuba'' and ''Literature/ReZero'' exist.

* The non-fiction book ''The World Without Us'' (2007), whose premise is showing what would happen to the world if all humans suddenly vanished one day, was followed by two 2008 documentaries that were basically ''The World Without Us'' with the serial numbers filled off: ''Series/LifeAfterPeople'' and ''Series/{{Aftermath}}: Population Zero'' (each would later give birth to full TV series, with only ''Life'' staying true to the original premise). After that there was a noticeable shift in post-apocalyptic fiction from sterile, gray or [[RealIsBrown brown]] settings often brought by nuclear warfare to "green" overgrown cities where humans had been [[DepopulationBomb decimated by some disease]] and/or anarchy, but everything else was doing alright: ''Film/IAmLegend'' (2007), ''{{Revolution}}'' (2012), ''Videogame/TokyoJungle'' (2012), ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs'' (2013) and ''Film/DawnOfThePlanetOfTheApes'' (2014).

* Sometime in the early 2010s, it became trendy for LightNovels to have [[LongTitle ridiculously long titles]] that function as more of a tongue-in-cheek description of the general concept than a proper title. [[LightNovel/OreImo "There's No Way My Little Sister Can Be This Cute"]] was probably the original inspiration; many imitators have tried to [[SequelEscalation push the envelope further]] with titles like "I'm A High School Boy and a Successful Light Novel Author, But I'm Being Strangled By A Female Classmate Who's A Voice Actress And Is Younger Than Me." Many other examples can be found in the Light Novels section of LongTitle.

* ''Literature/ShakuganNoShana'' is about a flat chested {{Tsundere}} that treats the hero like dirt, but gradually falls for him. It popularized [[ShanaClone very similar stories and characters]].

* The success of Creator/WilliamGibson [[FromClonesToGenre 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.

* ''LightNovel/KenkyoKenjitsuOMottoNiIkiteOrimasu'' appears to have been inspired by the isekai formula but took its own twist in having the main character reincarnate as the villainess of a popular shoujo manga. ''LightNovel/MyNextLifeAsAVillainessAllRoutesLeadToDoom'' copied the concept with an otome game instead, which has inspired an entire sub-genre of otome isekai stories which tend to follow the same formula as the original and has gained its own share of {{deconstruction}}s. This has resulted the RebornAsVillainessStory trope being an DeadUnicornTrope since the genre originated as a villainess reincarnated in [[ShoujoDemographic shoujo manga]], but was overtaken in popularity by the otome variant despite the vast majority of otome games not having a shoujo villainess.

* ''Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya'''s immense popularity has spawned a lot of PostModernism and/or pop-culture-filled comedy light novels and anime (''LightNovel/{{Bakemonogatari}}'', ''LightNovel/NyarukoCrawlingWithLove'', ''LightNovel/{{Oreimo}}''), semi-expies of Haruhi and Kyon (with Kyon in particular [[TropeCodifier codifying]] a [[StockLightNovelEveryman certain kind of light novel protagonist]]) , and generally gets blamed for the high concentration of PanderingToTheBase shows in its wake.

* Many YuriGenre series have taken ''a lot'' of inspiration from ''Literature/MariaWatchesOverUs''. To specify: a lot of them have lots of blushing, are set in an [[OneGenderSchool all-girls school]] (often Catholic), feature a SempaiKohai dynamic, and are rather like the PseudoRomanticFriendship trope. There have been a fair share of parodies though, such as ''Manga/MariaHolic''.

** Popular romance novel ''{{Literature/Fifty Shades Of Grey}}'' was originally a ''Twilight'' fanfiction. It was so successful that it spawned its own followers: two novels entitled ''Gabriel's Inferno'' and ''Gabriel's Rapture'' have gotten a seven-figure deal. And like ''Fifty Shades'', these novels started off as ''{{Literature/Twilight}}'' fanfics. Read about it [[http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/sylvain-reynard-fan-fiction_b55297 here]].

* ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'' has created a swarm of imitators in the TrappedInAnotherWorld premise such as ''LightNovel/LogHorizon''. It also inspired the whole slew of ReincarnateInAnotherWorld LightNovels (even though the series itself is ''not'' an example), such as ''LightNovel/MushokuTenseiJoblessReincarnation'', which in turn has enough that {{Genre Deconstruction}}s such as ''Literature/KonoSuba'' and ''Literature/ReZero'' exist.

** It created a market for many new YoungAdult {{Dystopia}} novels. To name a few: ''Literature/TheMazeRunner'' by James Dashner, ''Literature/ShipBreaker'' by Paolo Bacigalupi, The ''DustLands'' trilogy by Moira Young, ''Wither'' by Lauren [=DeStefano=]. Many of these also hold to ''Literature/TheHungerGames'''s structure: ActionGirl protagonist (with the notable exception of ''The Maze Runner'', which has a male main character), present-tense first-person narration and social commentary, with many of them, such as ''Literature/{{Divergent}}'' by Veronica Roth and the ''Literature/LegendTrilogy'' by Marie Lu, often accused of ripping ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' off. In addition, many dystopian YA series have been released that have taken a LighterAndSofter, more romance-based approach, such as ''Literature/{{Delirium}}'', ''Literature/{{Matched}}'' and ''Literature/TheSelection''; these are often criticized for not utilizing their dystopian premises properly, neutering the edge of books like ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' and ''Literature/ChaosWalking'' and being watered-down dystopia for the ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' audience.
** Many of these novels 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. For example: ''Literature/{{Divergent}}''[='s=] Dauntless symbol, the ''Literature/LegendTrilogy''[='s=] Republic logo, ''TheTesting''[='s=] coin or ''Literature/IAmNumberFour''[='=]s Loric number symbols. This has even spread to other genres in YA, such as fantasy: look at ''[[SevenRealms The Demon King]]''[='=]s serpent flashpiece, ''Literature/SnowLikeAshes'''s chakram or the Charter Magic symbols found on the newer editions of the ''Literature/OldKingdom'' series.

* DimeNovel hero Literature/NickCarter was pretty clearly a source for Franchise/DocSavage. Reading through the Nick Carter dime novels is like going through a Doc Savage checklist: trained since childhood by father to be a mental and physical superman, travels the world righting wrongs and battling evil, a master of disguise, has a RoguesGallery full of sinister villains, leads a team colorful assistants, etc. Its Franchise/DocSavage, only in the 19th century.

* ''Literature/MeddlingKids'': A great deal of this book's approach to doing a DarkerAndEdgier CerebusSyndrome take on Franchise/ScoobyDoo is very reminiscent of ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated'' (the meddling kids and the HarmlessVillain alike being manipulated by a LovecraftLite EldritchAbomination, the LesYay with the "Velma" ButchLesbian character, [[spoiler: an actual supernatural explanation for the TeamPet being a TalkingAnimal]]), although it seems unlikely there's a direct connection ([[WordOfGod Cantero]] says his main interest in the Franchise/ScoobyDoo franchise was the original ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooWhereAreYou'').

** The entire fantasy genre hit a bit of a slump at the end of TheSeventies and throughout the entirety of TheEighties, fueled largely by this trope. Following Tolkien's death in 1973, many fantasy authors tried to claim legitimacy as the heir to Tolkien's throne, writing novels that more or less directly aped Tolkien's work. Throughout the ensuing period, many, many fantasy sagas were published which attempted to replicate the magic of ''The Lord of the Rings''. At the time they were published, many of these books were actually [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny praised as worthy successors to Tolkien's epic]], though nowadays [[CondemnedByHistory have not stood the test of time]], and is now regarded by many as a DorkAge for the fantasy genre, in both print and film. It wasn't until the onset of TheNineties that the genre began to break free from Tolkien's shadow, with book series such as ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'', ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', and ''Literature/HarryPotter'' seeing immense success, and proving to the general public that there was much more to fantasy outside of ''Lord of the Rings''.

* The incredible success of ''Literature/HarryPotter'' has led to a glut of children's fantasy and, while it isn't the first WizardingSchool, [[TropeCodifier it is certainly the inspiration for many]]. ''Harry Potter''[='s=] success also persuaded authors and publishers to write longer and more complex young-adult literature, often blending the [[GrowingUpSucks foibles of maturity]] alongside SpeculativeFiction tropes, and even having a MythArc to boot. This is a very good example that [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools this isn't actually a bad thing]] -- the success of ''Harry Potter'' 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. The most notable examples include: ''Literature/TheInheritanceCycle'', ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'', ''Literature/ArtemisFowl'', ''Literature/TheBartimaeusTrilogy'', ''Literature/TheUnderlandChronicles'', ''Literature/RangersApprentice'', ''Literature/{{Graceling}}'', ''Literature/TheWardstoneChronicles'', ''Literature/TheKeysToTheKingdom'', ''Literature/TheHeirChronicles'', ''Literature/{{Fablehaven}}'', ''Literature/{{Inkheart}}'', ''Literature/TheSecretsOfTheImmortalNicholasFlamel'', ''Literature/{{Abarat}}'', ''Literature/TheSeaOfTrolls'', ''Literature/FarsalaTrilogy'', ''Literature/BooksOfPellinor'' and ''Literature/TheMortalInstruments''. [[note]]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.[[/note]]

* The non-fiction book ''The World Without Us'' (2007), whose premise is showing what would happen to the world if all humans suddenly vanished one day, was followed by two 2008 documentaries that were basically ''The World Without Us'' with the serial numbers filled off: ''Series/LifeAfterPeople'' and ''Film/{{Aftermath}}: Population Zero'' (each would later give birth to full TV series, with only ''Life'' staying true to the original premise). After that there was a noticeable shift in post-apocalyptic fiction from sterile, gray or [[RealIsBrown brown]] settings often brought by nuclear warfare to "green" overgrown cities where humans had been [[DepopulationBomb decimated by some disease]] and/or anarchy, but everything else was doing alright: ''Film/IAmLegend'' (2007), ''{{Revolution}}'' (2012), ''Videogame/TokyoJungle'' (2012), ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs'' (2013) and ''Film/DawnOfThePlanetOfTheApes'' (2014).