History GenreShift / Literature

* The Robert Langdon series, written by ''Creator/DanBrown'', is generally a thriller/espionage series, with a lot of historical fiction thrown in. The fourth in the series, ''[[Literature/DanBrownsInferno Inferno]]'' becomes full-on Sci-Fi with the revelation that the antagonist has [[successfully sterilized one third of all humans on the planet]] by the end. Bizarrely enough, the later novel ignores this development entirely.

* Creator/StephenKing's ''Mercedes Saga'' gradually shifts genre. The first entry, ''Literature/MrMercedes'', is a hard-boiled detective story with absolutely no paranormal or supernatural elements. The second book, ''Literature/FindersKeepers'', also largely sticks to this genre, until the very end, where it is revealed that Brady Hartfield (the villain from the first book) has gained telekinetic abilities after awakening from his coma. This sets up the third book, ''Literature/EndOfWatch'', in which Brady is once again the villain and fully uses his new psychic powers. And finally, the fourth installment, ''Literature/TheOutsider'', completely ditches the human villains and gives the series its first EldritchAbomination.**

* Creator/StephenKing's ''Mercedes Saga'' gradually shifts genre. The first entry, ''Literature/MrMercedes'', is a hard-boiled detective story with absolutely no paranormal or supernatural elements. The second book, ''Literature/FindersKeepers'', also largely sticks to this genre, until the very end, where it is revealed that Brady Hartfield (the villain from the first book) has gained telekinetic abilities after awakening from his coma. This sets up the third book, ''Literature/EndOfWatch'', in which Brady is once again the villain and fully uses his new psychic powers. And finally, the fourth installment, ''Literature/TheOutsider'', completely ditches the human villains and gives the series its first EldritchAbomination.

* ''Literature/EatersOfTheDead'' (aka ''Literature/TheThirteenthWarrior'') begins as a translation/retelling of Ahmad ibn Fadlan's visit to the [[HornyVikings Volga Bulgars]]. Somewhere between the third and fourth chapters, however, it morphs into an ExternalRetcon {{Demythification}} of ''Literature/{{Beowulf}}''.

* [[Literature/TheDiaryOfAYoungGirl Anne Frank's diary]] does not begin with her family hiding in the attic. It begins with a girl receiving a blank diary for her thirteenth birthday, having a party, attending school, describing her friends...

* In ''Literature/HowNOTToWriteANovel'', they have a section ("One [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Ring]] to Rule them All" said the Old Cowpoke) on genre shifts handled poorly. Opens with a woman writing in a diary hinting at a romance novel (an obvious AffectionateParody of ''[[Literature/BridgetJones Bridget Jones' Diary]]''), ends with [[ApocalypticLog an entry of OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD HE'S NOT HUMAN.]]

* ''Literature/OutOfTheDark'' by Creator/DavidWeber is expanded from a short story he wrote. The genre shift doesn't take place near the end, resulting in a cry of TwistEnding or DeusExMachina. The original short story shifts about halfway through, the issue, though, is that the novel's expansion of the story is entirely before the events, resulting in 90% in the first genre of hard scifi alien invasion. The last 10% however involves [[spoiler:Dracula]].

* ''Literature/{{Misery}}'': In-universe example. Paul Sheldon writes a series of cheesy romance novels featuring a Victorian bimbo named Misery Chastain. He despises the character for being a CanonSue and only continues writing her because it's his flagship series and the money it makes goes into the kids' college fund, so he has her killed off via DeathByChildbirth. When his greatest fan (who is also AxCrazy) finds out, she demands he write a new book bringing her BackFromTheDead that directly follows from the last one (he at first tries a straight {{Retcon}} but she dismisses it as cheating). He eventually comes up with the idea that Misery fell into a coma due to a bee-sting and was BuriedAlive, in effect turning the story into a Gothic PsychologicalHorror which reveals dark secrets in Misery's family line and the town. Paul eventually comes to the conclusion that this is the best book he has ever written.
* Happens fairly early on in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''. The first chapter, and parts of the second, are very comical and whimsical, except for Gandalf's confrontation with Bilbo, whereas the rest is much more dark and grim. This has a lot to do with Tolkien trying to write a sequel to ''Literature/TheHobbit'' by [[ExecutiveMeddling editorial mandate]], but giving that up pretty early in favor of something connected to ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'' (which said Editor rejected). Even then, after the Fellowship splits, each character's story is, in many ways, a different genre, ranging from modern stories concerning war and morality to epic tales in a more medieval vein. These changes were more intentional than the shift out of a children's story, as Tolkien toyed a lot with the difference between medieval and modern works.
* ''The Hedge Knight'', the first of ''Literature/TalesOfDunkAndEgg'' prequel series for ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', shifts the story away from the EpicFantasy of the original to a romantic story of an up-and-coming knight who has smaller stakes and local conflicts. It's a more straightforward an exploration of a chivalric code than the main series.
* Creator/MichaelChabon's ''Literature/{{Summerland}}'' starts out as a ComingOfAgeStory with some MagicRealism, about a boy lives in a quirky island town and plays for his local baseball team. Then the [[OurFairiesAreDifferent baseball-playing fairies]] show up and the SaveTheWorld plot begins, and the book becomes full-on HighFantasy.
* In the novel ''Literature/IAmNotASerialKiller'', the first half of the novel is a character study and murder mystery as a psychopathic teen tries to 1. prevent himself from becoming a murderer while maintaining the facade of normalcy with his family and "friends", and 2. investigate the actual murders that have been happening in his small town. The genre takes a sudden turn when it's revealed that [[spoiler:the actual murderer is a literal demon]].

* ''Literature/{{Rant}}'' by Creator/ChuckPalahniuk is a fictional oral biography of... well, that's just it. He's an interesting character, but what we're supposed to think is significant about Buster Casey changes rapidly. There's a brief mention early on of a rabies epidemic, but by the end it's revealed that he [[spoiler: is his own adopted father, and ''biological'' father, and grandfather, and great-grandfather, and ''the villain,'' via ''car accident induced time travel.'']] In addition, it's not until an offhand remark by a character about a third of the way into the book about ports in the back of peoples head that you realize it's a sci-fi story set in the future.

* P.C. Hodgell's ''Literature/ChroniclesOfTheKencyrath'' series starts out in LowFantasy territory in the first book, ''God Stalk''; while there's foreshadowing there, the wider HighFantasy plot doesn't really emerge until the second book, ''Dark of the Moon''. The shift alienated some readers, who wanted more of the same style of book as the first.
* Creator/OrsonScottCard's works:
** ''Treasure Box'' turns out to be [[spoiler:one of his "tales of dread,"]] but you don't realize it's in that genre until well into the story, about the same time the main character does.
** In the Ender Saga, the first novel (and the most famous one) ''Literature/EndersGame'' is about a young boy who is taught to be a soldier in order to command humanity's fleet against the "[[BeePeople buggers]]". The sequel ''Literature/SpeakerForTheDead'' is focused on Ender (who is now in his 30s) 3000 years later (he survives due to frequent relativistic travel), helping a dysfunctional family and studying a new alien race. The third and fourth novels (which was originally one novel split for publishing reasons), ''Literature/{{Xenocide}}'' and ''Literature/ChildrenOfTheMind'', continue the story of the second novel (after a 30-year TimeSkip) with Ender slowly moving out of focus as the protagonist. Additionally, they add ''tons'' of metaphysics into the mix, to the point where [[spoiler:FTL travel becomes reality because a powerful AI can ''imagine'' it]]. The difference between the first and the second novels is justified because Card had always wanted to write ''Speaker for the Dead'' but couldn't find a compelling protagonist. Then, a friend suggested that he use Ender from a novella he wrote once. Thus, ''Ender's Game'' was expanded into a full-fledged novel with a chapter added to transition into ''Speaker for the Dead'' in order to avoid starting ''Speaker'' with a lengthy introduction of the character.
* ''Literature/RangersApprentice'' begins in classic fantasy style - a young orphaned hero has to fight against an evil sorcerer controlling an army of monsters. However, in later books there's not a shred of the fantastic to be seen; indeed, one story deals with an old man using primitive science to fake magic.
* ''Literature/TheReynardCycle'' is a scathing deconstruction of both the LoveableRogue trope, and the concept of the StandardHeroReward, but you wouldn't know it from the first novel, which plays both tropes rather straight.

* ''Literature/TheBoyWhoCouldntSleepAndNeverHadTo'' turns from a coming-of-age tale to a frenzied escape from TheMan about 2/3 through.
* ''Literature/TheBartimaeusTrilogy'' undergoes one, together with some major CharacterDevelopment somewhere during the second book, and, most noticeably, between the second and third. It starts out as your typical fantasy story about a [[KidWithTheLeash preteen boy and his quirky sidekick demon]] defeating the bad guy and saving a whole lot of [[AdultsAreUseless useless adults]] in the process. In the later books the saved government is exposed to be oppressive and totalitarian, the glorified idols of the protagonist's youth are viciously unmasked. By the end of the series the books describe a dying empire, clinging desperately to its former glory. The most interesting part is probably that [[spoiler: the kid from the first book turns into one of the oppressors and the reader ends up rooting for LaResistance, that is originally introduced very briefly as nothing more than a bunch of deranged terrorists.]]
* ''Literature/OutOfTheDark'' by Creator/DavidWeber is expanded from a short story he wrote. The genre shift doesn't take place near the end, resulting in a cry of TwistEnding or DeusExMachina. The original short story shifts about halfway through, the issue is though the novel's expansion of the story is entirely before the events, resulting in 90% in the first genre of hard scifi alien invasion. The last 10% however involves [[spoiler:Dracula]]
* A story ''Distant Rainbow'' by the Creator/StrugatskyBrothers starts as a funny story about peculiar scientific experiments and shifts into a story about an apocalypse halfway through, as their experiment has GoneHorriblyWrong.
* [[Literature/TheDiaryOfAYoungGirl Anne Frank's diary]] does not begin with her family hiding in the attic. It begins with a girl receiving a blank diary for her thirteenth birthday, having a party, attending school, describing her friends...
* Creator/VladimirVasilyev's novel ''The Black Relay Race'', while not a direct sequel to his ''Literature/DeathOrGlory'' novel, takes place in the same 'verse. However, unlike ''[=DoG=]'', which involves a human colony discovering that there's more to humans than meets the eye, while alien races are hunting them, ''The Black Relay Race'' is a horror novel, taking place on a space yacht transporting strange cargo with the crew disappearing one-by-one. Then follow the novels ''The Legacy of Giants'' and ''No One but Us'', with an additional genre shift, although much more like the first novel than the second. These are pure war novels, inspired by Creator/DavidBrin's ''[[Literature/{{Uplift}} Startide Rising]]''.
* Creator/DaleBrown books: ''The Tin Man'' was the first one to be almost entirely focused on the dirtside perspective, unlike previous titles that were almost solely the flyboys' game. More infantry-centric content started creeping in after that.
* ''[[Literature/TheChroniclesOfAmber Nine Princes in Amber]]'' starts off as a hardboiled ''noir'' detective story, complete with a PrivateEyeMonologue (you can practically hear "Carl Corey's" narration in Creator/HumphreyBogart's voice). It only takes a few chapters before "Corey" discovers that he's actually an [[LaserGuidedAmnesia amnesiac]] DimensionalTraveler whose native plane is a fantasy realm, however.

* The first seven books of the Literature/VorkosiganSaga are MilitaryScienceFiction, followed by a few books of MysteryFiction mixed with political intrigue. Then comes ''Literature/ACivilCampaign'', which is a Comedy of Manners...
* This is part-and-parcel of the premise of ''Franchise/{{Mistborn}}'' as a fantasy "trilogy of trilogies" set each several hundred years after the previous in a world where MedievalStasis is ''not'' in effect. ''Literature/MistbornTheOriginalTrilogy'' is HighFantasy; ''Literature/TheAlloyOfLaw'' and its forthcoming sequels (bridge books between trilogies one and two) is a quasi-Victorian mystery/adventure with fantastic elements and a vaguely steampunk aesthetic, the second full trilogy (as yet unwritten) is slated to be UrbanFantasy, and the third trilogy is set to be SpaceOpera.
* Both of Creator/TamoraPierce's series undergo this:
** The Literature/TortallUniverse format shifts from Fantasy-Adventure to Fantasy-PoliceProcedural with the ''Literature/ProvostsDog'' trilogy. It's also the first time we see Tortallan life from the commoners' point-of-view.[[note]]Yes, Daine is technically a commoner, but she's in the King's inner circle [[spoiler:and a demigod]] so she's not exactly ordinary folk.[[/note]]
** The ''Circle Opens'' quartet in the ''Literature/CircleOfMagic'' universe are also crime novels; each plot has the protagonist and student becoming entangled with a local crime spree--assassinations, gang murders, arson, and serial killings, in that order.
* ''Literature/DrFranklinsIsland'' turns from a {{Robinsonade}} to a story of psychological torture, BodyHorror, and struggles with what it means to be human. Though the blurb on the back does tell the reader ahead of time.
* ''Literature/EatersOfTheDead'' (aka ''Literature/TheThirteenthWarrior'') begins as a translation/retelling of Ahmad ibn Fadlan's visit to the [[HornyVikings Volga Buglars]]. Somewhere between the third and fourth chapters, however, it morphs into an ExternalRetcon {{Demythification}} of ''Literature/{{Beowulf}}''.
* ''Literature/RainbowDashAndTheDaringDoDoubleDare'' goes from SliceOfLife to adventure with the introduction of a villain near the end.
* In Creator/GregEgan's ''Literature/{{Orthogonal}}'' trilogy, the first book is highly plot-oriented, but has little action aside from the launch of the GenerationShip. The ''second'' book is a highly-technical romp through the science of the trilogy's universe, in which not much actually ''happens'' aside from a brief kidnapping plot for the climax, which is over nearly as soon as it begins. In contrast, the third book is fairly action-packed. It's rife with sabotage, thoroughly-justified [[TimeyWimeyBall Timey-Wimey-ness]], questionably [[WellIntentionedExtremist Well-Intentioned]] [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters Terrorists]], and more than a few [[StuffBlowingUp explosions]] (none of which are accidental, or have anything to do with {{Antimatter}}, unlike in the previous books).
* While the first book in ''Literature/TheRing'' trilogy is a strictly horror story, the second is pretty much a medical mystery, and the third is just straight-up sci-fi. Complete lack of horror elements and tremendous amount of [[InfoDump infodumps]] can come as surprise for those who read the novels after the ([[AdaptationDisplacement much more popular]]) movie adaptation.
* ''Literature/TheHungerGames'': ''Mockingjay'' abandons the Games entirely, [[BrokenBase breaking the base]] as it does so.
* ''Literature/TheDinosaurLords'' does a full ''Form'' Shift in the epilogue, turning from prose to drama - the final conversation is presented like a scene from a play.
* The first two "Chip Harrison" novels by mystery writer Lawrence Block aren't mysteries at all- being coming of age stories/sex comedies about the eponymous character's quest to lose his virginity. However, in part because once that happened, there was no forward momentum, Chip was retooled to be the assistant to an eccentric detective named Leo Haig, and the stories were retooled to be a ''Literature/NeroWolfe'' pastiche, while still keeping some of the original sex comedy tone.

* The Creator/StrugatskyBrothers novel ''Inspector Glebsky's Puzzle'' starts off as a ClosedCircle whodunit, where a police inspector is trying to find out the culprit behind two macabre murders in a hotel... and then near the end [[spoiler:it turns out that several of the hotel guests are aliens, and the "murder victims" are deactivated humanlike robots.]] Worth noting is that the video game adaptation [[SpoilerCover spoils the twist right on the cover]] by putting a [[spoiler:flying saucer]] on the box.
* Creator/StephenKing's ''Mercedes Saga'' gradually shifts genre. The first entry, ''Literature/MrMercedes'', is a hard-boiled detective story with absolutely no paranormal or supernatural elements. The second book, ''Literature/FindersKeepers'', also largely sticks to this genre, until the very end, where it is revealed that Brady Hartfield (the villain from the first book) has gained telekinetic abilities after awakening from his coma. This sets up the third book, ''Literature/EndOfWatch'', in which Brady is once again the villain and fully uses his new psychic powers. And finally, the fourth installment, ''Literature/TheOutsider'', completely ditches the human villains and gives the series it's first EldritchAbomination.

* The first two "Chip Harrison" novels by mystery writer Lawrence Block aren't mysteries at all- being coming of age stories/sex comedies about the eponymous character's [[AManIsNotAVirgin quest to lose his virginity]]. However, in part because once that happened, there was no forward momentum, Chip was retooled to be the assistant to an eccentric detective named Leo Haig, and the stories were retooled to be a ''Literature/NeroWolfe'' pastiche, while still keeping some of the original sex comedy tone.

* The first two "Chip Harrison" novels by mystery writer Lawrence Block aren't mysteries at all- being coming of age stories/sex comedies about the eponymous character's [[AManIsNotAVirgin quest to lose his virginity]]. However, in part because once that happened, there was no forward momentum, Chip was retooled to be the assistant to an eccentric detective named Leo Haig, and the stories were retooled to be a ''Literature/NeroWolfe]]'' pastiche, while still keeping some of the original sex comedy tone.
* ''Worm'' starts out as a fairly dark and somewhat cynical take on the superhero genre from the perspective of a teenage girl who more or less accidentally becomes a supervillain. Then when the first Endbringer appears it suddenly shifts into apocalyptic gear, and after that, when the Slaughterhouse Nine appear, it's almost straight horror.

* A story ''Distant Rainbow'' by Brothers Strugatski starts as a funny story about peculiar scientific experiments and shifts into a story about an apocalypse halfway through, as their experiment has GoneHorriblyWrong.

* Kurt Vonnegut's ''Slaughterhouse-Five'' shifts between World War II fiction and science fiction involving AlienAbduction and MentalTimeTravel.

* The first two "Chip Harrison" novels by mystery writer Lawrence Block aren't mysteries at all- being coming of age stories/sex comedies about the eponymous character's [[AManIsNotAVirgin quest to lose his virginity]]. However, in part because once that happened, there was no forward momentum, Chip was retooled to be the assistant to an eccentric detective named Leo Haig, and the stories were retooled to be a ''Literature/NeroWolfe'' pastiche, while still keeping some of the original sex comedy tone.
* Worm starts out as a fairly dark and somewhat cynical take on the superhero genre from the perspective of a teenage girl who more or less accidentally becomes a supervillain. Then when the first Endbringer appears it suddenly shifts into apocalyptic gear, and after that, when the Slaughterhouse Nine appear, it's almost straight horror.

* In the novel''Literature/{{IAmNotASerialKiller}}'', the first half of the novel is a character study and murder mystery as a psychopathic teen tries to 1. prevent himself from becoming a murderer while maintaining the facade of normalcy with his family and "friends," and 2. investigate the actual murders that have been happening in his small town. The genre takes a suddent turn when it's revealed that [[spoiler:the actual murderer is a literal demon]].

* Worm starts out as a fairly dark and somewhat cynical take on the superhero genre from the perspective of a teenage girl who more or less accidentally becomes a supervillain. Then when the first [[Kaiju Endbringer]] appears it suddenly shifts into apocalyptic gear, and after that, when the Slaughterhouse Nine appear, it's almost straight horror.

''Literature/Worm'' starts out as a fairly dark and somewhat cynical take on the superhero genre from the perspective of a teenage girl who more or less accidentally becomes a supervillain. Then when the first [[Kaiju Endbringer]] appears it suddenly shifts into apocalyptic gear, and after that, when the Slaughterhouse Nine appear, it's almost straight horror.

* ''Literature/Worm'' starts out as a fairly dark and somewhat cynical take on the superhero genre from the perspective of a teenage girl who more or less accidentally becomes a supervillain. Then when the first [[Kaiju Endbringer]] appears it suddenly shifts into apocalyptic gear, and after that, when the Slaughterhouse Nine appear, it's almost straight horror.

* ''WebSerial/Worm'' starts out as a fairly dark and somewhat cynical take on the superhero genre from the perspective of a teenage girl who more or less accidentally becomes a supervillain. Then when the first [[Kaiju Endbringer]] appears it suddenly shifts into apocalyptic gear, and after that, when the Slaughterhouse Nine appear, it's almost straight horror.

* DaleBrown books: ''The Tin Man'' was the first one to be almost entirely focused on the dirtside perspective, unlike previous titles that were almost solely the flyboys' game. More infantry-centric content started creeping in after that.

* The first two "Chip Harrison" novels by mystery writer Lawrence Block aren't mysteries at all- being coming of age stories/sex comedies about the eponymous character's [[AManIsNotAVirgin quest to lose his virginity]]. However, in part because once that happened, there was no forward momentum, Chip was retooled to be the assistant to an eccentric detective named Leo Haig, and the stories were retooled to be a ''Literature/NeroWolf'' pastiche, while still keeping some of the original sex comedy tone.

* Creator/OrsonScottCard's ''Treasure Box'' turns out to be [[spoiler: one of his "tales of dread,"]] but you don't realize it's in that genre until well into the story, about the same time the main character does. Also, in his Ender Saga, the first novel (and the most famous one) ''Literature/EndersGame'' is about a young boy who is taught to be a soldier in order to command humanity's fleet against the "[[BeePeople buggers]]". The sequel ''Literature/SpeakerForTheDead'' is focused on Ender (who is now in his 30s) 3000 years later (he survives due to frequent relativistic travel), helping a dysfunctional family and studying a new alien race. The third and fourth novels (which was originally one novel split for publishing reasons), ''Literature/{{Xenocide}}'' and ''Literature/ChildrenOfTheMind'', continue the story of the second novel (after a 30-year TimeSkip) with Ender slowly moving out of focus as the protagonist. Additionally, they add ''tons'' of metaphysics into the mix, to the point where [[spoiler:FTL travel becomes reality because a powerful AI can ''imagine'' it]]. The difference between the first and the second novels is justified because Card had always wanted to write ''Speaker for the Dead'' but couldn't find a compelling protagonist. Then, a friend suggested that he use Ender from a novella he wrote once. Thus, ''Ender's Game'' was expanded into a full-fledged novel with a chapter added to transition into ''Speaker for the Dead'' in order to avoid starting ''Speaker'' with a lengthy introduction of the character.

* The first seven books of the Literature/VorkosiganSaga are MilitaryScienceFiction, followed by a few books of MysteryFiction mixed with political intrigue. Then comes ''A Civil Campaign'', which is a ComedyOfManners...

* Creator/VladimirVasilyev's novel ''The Black Relay Race'', while not a direct sequel to his ''Death or Glory'' novel, takes place in the same 'verse. However, unlike ''[=DoG=]'', which involves a human colony discovering that there's more to humans than meets the eye, while alien races are hunting them, ''The Black Relay Race'' is a horror novel, taking place on a space yacht transporting strange cargo with the crew disappearing one-by-one. Then follow the novels ''The Legacy of Giants'' and ''No One but Us'', with an additional genre shift, although much more like the first novel than the second. These are pure war novels, inspired by Creator/DavidBrin's ''[[Literature/{{Uplift}} Startide Rising]]''.