Alternate history can be a really powerful way of exploring the way the world works, even if you need to invest some amount of charity in the premise. The best

Alternate history can be a really powerful way of exploring the way the world works, even if you need to invest some amount of charity in the premise. The best example I can think of would be the TV series "For All Mankind", where the central conceit is really not about how close all of it was to actually happening but about examining the dynamics of American identity in the space race and the Cold War in general. It's also a risky genre. I can buy the Western Roman Empire not collapsing in the fifth century A.D., but if you extrapolate that to mean that Latin-speaking Napoleon Bonaparte becomes Emperor in 1804 and conquers China it's difficult to take your opinion on historical contingency seriously. At face value the hypothetical Incan conquest of Spain could really go either way, but there's definitely potential for something fascinating there. I hope this is worth a read. P.S. It's not exactly the traditional kind of Alternate History, but if you're fascinated by the genre I think the 1632 series by Eric Flint would be right down your alley.