Alastair Reynolds, a British astrophysicist who turned his hand to penning fiction, writes what is known as "hard sci-fi," or, yet more intensely, "dark, hard sci-fi." The term " which you are forgiven for not knowing " is often used in reference to the likes of Arthur C. Clarke or Isaac Asimov...
SOURCE: Chicago Tribune at 03:47PM on January 23, 2017