8 Thought-Provoking SFF Books That Explore Political Control

Deeply political, The Fifth Season is set in a world experiencing large-scale collapse, in both systemic inequality and climate change. Author N. K. Jemisin noted that she found inspiration in real events, including the Black Lives Matter Movement. 

The world is effectively coming to an end, and a woman with an ordinary life has lost her children—her husband murdered their son and kidnapped their daughter. Around her, the world-spanning empire Sanze, the foundation on which civilization has come to fruition, is under attack, and its people are being murdered. 

Even more, the Stillness is tearing across the continent, creating a rift that is spewing ash into the sky. Against this backdrop, Essun must find her daughter at any cost. Winner of the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2016, The Fifth Season casts a spotlight on the people affected by systems and on what they will do to break free. 

Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author Greg Bear is widely considered to be “the complete master of the grand scale sf novel” (Booklist). Narrated as a memoir, the plot follows Casseia Majumdar on a journey from childhood to adulthood, from student to political leader, as a descendant of one of Mars's most prominent colonizers. 

During the fifty-third year of the settlement, Casseia awakens and shifts towards activism. Following the growing divide between Earth and the third generation of “Martians,” Moving Mars navigates political conflict and growing corporate control. 

Exploring themes of power and identity, The Traitor Baru Cormorant considers the impact of colonialism on the individual and the high costs of fighting oppressive systems. With red sails cast high, the Empire of Masks has invaded Baru Cormorant’s home, rewriting her culture and customs, and taking with them one of her fathers.

But Baru refuses to do nothing. She will brush aside her hate, join the Masquerade, and be patient as she climbs the ranks of power. In one final test, the Empire sends her to Aurdwynn, where all previous rulers have been murdered. 

She’ll not only need to unpack secrets, but gain trust—that is, if she can keep her growing feeling for the enthralling Duchess Tain Hu in check. Baru must deal in games of power, without being consumed…

Centering on a society that claims to be progressive but actually operates on rampant inequality, The Space Between Worlds follows Cara, who uncovers a secret that threatens to destroy her world. Multiverse travel has been made possible, but there is a catch: no one can travel to a world where their counterpart still lives.

Cara and her parallel selves are having the opposite problem. They just can’t seem to survive, with endings on 372 worlds in total. But on this Earth, Cara has managed to stay alive. Here, she has been identified as an outlier and is thus taken to live among the wealthy. She works and entertains a romance with her handler, Dell, as the two women collect data for the Eldridge Institute.

All Cara has to do is stay out of trouble, even if she is beginning to miss her family in the wastelands, to attain citizenship. But when one of her eight remaining clones dies, Cara will be plunged into a secret that threatens to ruin not only her world, but the entire multiverse. 

From a Grand Master of Science Fiction, Hawksbill Station is set during the late Cambrian period, set on the east coast of what would be the United States. There lies a penal colony, in which men from the twenty-first century have been sent to live out the rest of their days.

Once the leader of an underground movement working to topple America’s totalitarian government, Jim Barrett has grown withered with age. But his mind is still as sharp as ever, and when a new prisoner joins the colony—one that reminds him of a younger, hopeful version of himself—he takes him under his wing. 

Set in a near-future, the sci-fi political thriller Infomocracy depicts a world in which nation-states are replaced by "micro-democracy," divided into areas of 100,000 people each. These centenals elect governments with power overseen by "Information," a massive search engine monopoly. 

The story follows three characters from different ideological backgrounds: Ken, an operative for the idealist Policy1st party; Mishima, an agent for Information; and Domaine, a dissident aiming to dismantle the entire world order. With the third global election cycle on the horizon, the future of democracy will be in question.

Perfect for fans of Squid Games, a terrifying allegory for late-stage capitalism, Chain-Gang All-Stars is set in a world where millions watch as prisoners fight for their freedom. Chain-Gang All-Stars is a program, albeit a controversial one, set inside America's prison system.

For viewers, Loretta Thurwar and Hamara 'Hurricane Staxxx' Stacker are fan favorites, as the ultimate teammates and lovers. Thurwar’s time on the circuit is coming to a close, and with her finals games coming up, will she be able to beat the odds—stacked by protesters and the program’s corrupt elite—to get a shot at a better life?

Equal parts dystopian and cyberpunk, Eclipse is an intensely political thriller, based on Cold War anxieties and the rise of right-wing authoritarianism in the '80s. Set in 2039, parts of Europe have been decimated by Russia in the onslaught of the third world war.

It is among this rubble that the Second Alliance senses an opportunity. Representing themselves as a party seeking order, they are really a group of racists and theocrats that function akin to a cult. 

Slowly but surely, they seize power in the United States and beyond, but the New Resistance will not give up without a fight. Rick Rickenharp, a once-famous musician, will play a crucial role in the cause…