Not a day goes by without media headlines trumpeting the discovery of new planets, discussing the pros and cons of cloning experiments or explaining our new-found ability to teleport atoms. As we switch on the television we see walking and talking robots, private jets that ferry travellers to the edge of space and space probes that rendezvous with asteroids. Science tells us that the first human to live for a thousand years has already been born. We are living in a science fictional world.

At a time when we are forced to explore the nature and limits of our own reality, FutureWorld will explain everything you need to know about how science fiction works, how it shapes the way we see and do things, and the way we dream of things to come. Focusing on four main themes – space, time, machine and monster – this book will separate fact from fiction, but also reveal what it is still possible to achieve in such areas as time travel and the discovery of alien life. Using examples from classic science fiction books and films, FutureWorld is a fun and exciting way to learn all sorts of fascinating facts about the world we live in today and the one that awaits us in the future.