: Would a government care if my novel mentioned their controversial / questionable practices? I am writing a story about fictional events in several nations all over the world. Much of the plot

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Look up what happened to the Tron cartoon series, specifically why it was "cancelled".

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It depends more the the people that you are offending. You are living in the United States (along with me), so you are fine. You are protected by Constitutional Rights to say whatever you want about the US without being arrested or whatever.

However, if you are attacking a religious group (like the Islamic faith) or cultural group, or another people group, then you will offend someone. Take care when doing so.

Similarly, I don't think other countries can do anything about it, although the people in said country may be offended by your book. Like you said, they might ban the book or toss into a bonfire, but that's about it.

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That depends a great deal on the country you are writing about and the country you are living in. And on how famous you are or how successful your book is.

The United States has a pretty strong tradition of free speech, so you can criticize the government very freely without getting arrested or persecuted.

North Korea, no so much.

If you are living in country A and attack country B, and country B is an enemy of country A, there will likely be no repercussions.

Similarly, if you attack Christianity or Buddhism or Judaism, people may object, they may throw counter-criticisms, but that's likely to be the end of the story. But attack Islam and your life may be in danger. Make jokes about rednecks and people will laugh. Make jokes about homosexuals and you may be charged with a hate crime. Etc.

If you're famous, or if your book sells millions of copies, people you offend will take notice and maybe there will be some reprisals. If you're like most writers on this site and your book sells hundreds of copies, it's likely that no one will particularly care. It's pretty common for powerful people to say, "Nobody has read this book. If we make a big deal of it, then everybody will read it to find out why we're making such a big deal of it. Better to just ignore it."

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One of two things will likely happen.

By far, the more likely is that it will reach a small audience of Americans, you will get your "props" from that handful of Americans, and that will be it. Most foreign governments know that the American government disapproves of them, and will not pay attention to a "no name" American author.

The other possibility is that your book, or more likely, a book like yours, becomes the modern equivalent of Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin." Then some governments will be offended, and censor your book, but Americans, plus other "first world" readers, plus some citizens of the offended countries will praise it highly. In that event, it could be in line for a Nobel Prize. (But, this, the second possibility, is far less likely than the first.)

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You can write whatever the heck you want. Don't worry about what other governments will say; all they can do it ban your book.

Unless your book reaches international fame and is a hit all over the world, governments will not pay any attention to it. They may catch wind of your book, but unless a multitude of their people are reading it and they perceive it as propaganda that needs to be destroyed, you're fine. You will not start a war with just a single book unless thousands, or perhaps millions of other people rally to the same cause and twist your book into something altogether different.

As it is a fictional story, most likely people will not take it that seriously. Make sure you emphasize its fictional state and veer off the trodden path a bit.

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