[DrNefario]

Originally Posted by jgaiser

See.... What did I tell you.

We can have an argument about it if you like?

Spoiler:

I did come up with a definition I liked after I made that post earlier:

In Space Opera, the science is there to serve the story; in Hard SF, the story is there to serve the science.

It seems to me that the tech in the HH series was initially created to emulate the navy of the early 19th Century, even down to having to fight with broadsides. It's just there to tell navy stories in SF clothes. It has become more of its own thing as the series has progressed and the technology has been developed.

Of course, it depends how you define the subdivisions, which is hard to get people to agree on, before you even get to apply them. The finer the distinctions, the less easy it is to put any given work in the right boxes.

There's a lot of really interesting stuff at the genre boundaries, too. It must be tricky to know how to shelve them in a bookstore. At least virtual stores can put the same book on many shelves.