Seveneves

Neal Stephenson’s Seveneves belongs to the tradition of hard science fiction, a subgenre defined by its reliance on scientific accuracy, technological plausibility, and detailed extrapolation from real-world principles. Distinguishing between hard and soft sci-fi is somewhat subjective, and most sci-fi novels arguably contain elements of both. Well-known hard sci-fi works include The Andromeda Strain (1969) by Michael Crichton, Neuromancer (1984) by William Gibson, and The Martian (2011) by Andy Weir (Kenneth W. Myers, “Understanding the Difference Between Hard and Soft Sci-Fi,” Myersfiction.com, 16 Jan. 2024). Many consider Arthur C. Clarke’s Rendezvous With Rama (1973) and Robert A. Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land (1961) seminal works of hard sci-fi.

In contrast, soft science fiction focuses much more on the how than the why, featuring character-driven plots and foregrounding sociopolitical aspects; scientific rigor is secondary. Well-known works that are generally considered soft sci-fi include George Orwell’s 1984 (1949), Frank Herbert’s Dune (1965), Ursula K. LeGuin’s The Dispossessed (1974), and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale (1985).