The notion of the utopian is also explored through representations of otherness, alien life and alien worlds in science fiction, including LeGuin, Lem, Stapledon and the Strugatskys, and concludes with an examination of the opposing positions on utopia and an assessment of its political value and function today. The volume also includes a collection of Jameson's essential essays on science fiction, including studies of Philip K. Dick, Ursula LeGuin, William Gibson, Brian Aldiss and Kim Stanley Robinson.