What is Hard Sci-Fi?

When I started Jupiter Three, I had the misunderstanding that I was going to write "hard" sci-fi. Wikipedia qualifies Hard Science Fiction as "science fiction characterized by an emphasis on scientific or technical detail, or on scientific accuracy, or on both". Over at the SciFi channels web site, they outline minimum requirements for Hard Sci Fi:

• the science in the story is accurate to what is known of science today, and
• (real-world) science or engineering is central to the plot of the story

They at least allow that the "hardness" of sci fi is a spectrum

Fair enough. So since my background in science is not strong enough to produce real hard sci fi, just a few sprinkling elements, I have to loosen up. I want to explore social issues in the context of the future, so that is what I will do.

I will say this-- for a time at least I am burnt out on fantasy, urban or otherwise. I still plan on read Jim Butcher's Dresden series (Turn Coat comes out in April 2009), and I will probably get the next Kat Richardson Greywalker novel in August, but for a while at least I want to focus on Nebula and Hugo nominees over the past 10 years. For 2009 I will be skipping the sword and the fang. Time to play catchup!

In the mean time, I did find a Hard Sci Fi WebRing, though it is small; and one that focuses on Science Fiction Book Reviews, though they don't disclude fantasy.