Sci-fi offers bold visions of the way a different world might look

There’s a lot to love about science fiction. New technologies, new planets and epic battles between right and wrong are found in abundance. Another trademark of the genre is the way it reimagines society, offering up visions of utopias, dystopias and brand new political structures. Some of the best sci-fi titles peer into the political realm and explore how everything could be different.

There’s no bigger way to dream than reimagining how society works. Sci-fi is full of dystopian Earths, intergalactic empires and futures where everything is different. From political structures to the way everyday life is organized, sci-fi authors are constantly inventing new societies that inspire us to change – or warn us that we need to.

If there’s one area where sci-fi writers excel, it’s worldbuilding. From physics to politics, everything is on the table. Listening to the genre can open up your mind to new perspectives and new possibilities for change. Even the most dystopian stories offer hope the world can be different.

Dystopias That Inspire Us to Challenge Authority

Suzanne Collins’s came out during a politically charged era. It was a time when young people were challenging authority and rallying against the “one percent.” It was fitting that the most popular YA series of the day was about a young woman taking on an unfair system and leading a rebellion against inequality. When sci-fi writers invent , sometimes they inspire their audiences to make a change in the world.

A decade since the last installment of her series, Collins is back with , a prequel that explores the origin story of the series’ chief villain, President Coriolanus Snow. A young Snow has been given the lowly task of mentoring a tribute from District 12 in The Hunger Games, and her victory becomes Snow’s only chance to make a name for himself. Taking place in the aftermath of the first failed rebellion that sets the stage for the original series, it promises to be a fascinating look at the way The Hunger Games’ dystopian society took shape.

Present Day Problems in Fictional Worlds

If literary fiction is uniquely equipped to look at the everyday problems facing the individual, science fiction is made for looking at the problems all of society contends with. Science fiction has always addressed the big picture issues in their fictional worlds, from class structures to ecological devastation to Cold War anxieties.

In that vein, many science fiction writers are now tackling climate change – if in a roundabout way at times. Take John Scalzi’s series. By using a naturally-occurring network of streams called “The Flow” to travel faster than the speed of light, humans have built a solar-system-spanning empire and a massive trade network that keeps it all together. However, every now and then one of these essential connections collapses, leaving planets and solar systems isolated forever. The series begins with one physicist’s discovery that “The Flow” is on the brink of total and permanent collapse.