Eight science fiction novels that explore the “human dilemma”

Emily Wenstrom is a freelance writer with a deep love for anything monstrous, magical, or strange. She is a regular contributor to BookRiot and DIY MFA, and her debut novel was named the 2016 Book of the Year by the Florida Writers Association. At the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog she tagged eight science fiction novels that explore the “human dilemma,” including:

Infomocracy, by Malka Older

In these dark political times, what’s more human than exploring the idealism and failure of a vast complex political system, via the everyday lives that hang in the balance? In a future world, nations have been replaced. Humanity is now divided into 100,000-person segments—centenals that run their own micro-democracies. It’s within this fragmented system that Older starts a countdown to a high-stakes election, but the story doesn’t rely on typical high-action spy chases to drive it forward. Instead, its heroes are number crunchers and behind-the-scenes analysts (and yes, okay, one field agent) who let big thinking do the driving as political parties manipulate the system to win over the world, one centenal at a time.

Read about another entry on the list.

Infomocracy is among Jeff Somers's fifty science fiction essentials written by women, Joel Cunningham's twelve science fiction & fantasy books for the post-truth era, and Sam Reader's six most intriguing political systems in fantasy and science fiction.

The Page 69 Test: Infomocracy.

--Marshal Zeringue