Hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by concern for scientific accuracy and logic. The term was first used in print in 1957 by P. Schuyler Miller in a review of John W. Campbell's Islands of Space in the November issue of Astounding Science Fiction. The complementary term soft science fiction, formed by analogy to hard science fiction, first appeared in the late 1970s. The term is formed by analogy to the popular distinction between the "hard" (natural) and "soft" (social) sciences, although there are examples generally considered as "hard" science fiction such as Isaac Asimov's Foundation series, built on mathematical sociology. Science fiction critic Gary Westfahl argues that neither term is part of a rigorous taxonomy; instead they are approximate ways of characterizing stories that reviewers and commentators have found useful.
Sir Victor Gollancz was a British publisher and humanitarian. Gollancz was known as a supporter of left-wing politics. His loyalties shifted between liberalism and communism; he defined himself as a Christian socialist and an internationalist. He used his publishing house chiefly to promote pacifist and socialist non-fiction, and also launched the Left Book Club.
Matthew George Frewer is an American-born Canadian actor and comedian. He portrayed the 1980s icon Max Headroom in the 1985 TV film and 1987 television series of the same names.
Richard Kingsley Morgan, is a British science fiction and fantasy author of books, short stories, and graphic novels. He is the winner of the Philip K. Dick Award for his 2003 book Altered Carbon, which was adapted into a Netflix series released in 2018. His third book, Market Forces, won the John W. Campbell Award in 2005, while his 2008 work Thirteen garnered him the Arthur C. Clarke Award.
Broken Angels (2003) is a military science fiction novel by British writer Richard Morgan. It is the sequel to Altered Carbon, and is followed by Woken Furies.
Altered Carbon is a 2002 cyberpunk novel by the English writer Richard K. Morgan. Set in a future in which interstellar travel and relative immortality is facilitated by transferring consciousnesses between bodies ("sleeves"), it follows the attempt of Takeshi Kovacs, a former U.N. elite soldier turned private investigator, to investigate a rich man's death. It is followed by the sequels Broken Angels and Woken Furies.
Victor Gollancz Ltd was a major British book publishing house of the twentieth century and continues to publish science fiction and fantasy titles as an imprint of Orion Publishing Group.
Market Forces is a science fiction thriller novel by British writer Richard Morgan. Set in 2049, the story follows Chris Faulkner as he starts his new job as a junior executive at Shorn Associates, working in their Conflict Investment division where the company supports foreign governments in exchange for a percentage of the country's gross domestic product. Contracts are awarded, and promotions are given to employees, through driving duels in which combatants race vehicles on empty roads and often kill their opponents. With the Shorn-supported Colombian dictator Echevarria expected to transfer power to his son, who is supported by a competing firm, Chris allies Shorn with a rebel group to overthrow the government, though other executives attempt to sabotage his plans.
Woken Furies (2005) is a science fiction novel by British writer Richard Morgan. It is the third novel featuring the anti-hero Takeshi Kovacs and is the sequel to Broken Angels.
"Epic Pooh" is a 1978 essay by the British science fiction writer Michael Moorcock, which reviews the field of epic fantasy, with a particular focus on epic fantasy written for children. In it Moorcock critiques J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings for its politically conservative assumptions and its escapism.
William Yun Lee is an American actor and martial artist. He is best known for his roles as Danny Woo in the supernatural drama Witchblade and Jae Kim in the sci-fi series Bionic Woman. He has also appeared in the films Die Another Day (2002), Elektra (2005) and The Wolverine (2013). He had a recurring role as Sang Min in Hawaii Five-0, plays the original body of series protagonist Takeshi Kovacs in Altered Carbon, plays Marvelous Man in The Guardians of Justice (2022) and voiced Wei Shen in the game Sleeping Dogs (2012). As of 2023, he is appearing on the ABC medical drama The Good Doctor playing Dr. Alex Park.
Dichen Lachman is an Australian actress and model. She earned recognition starring as Katya Kinski in the soap opera Neighbours (2005–2007) and as Sierra in Joss Whedon's science fiction drama series Dollhouse (2009–2010).
Many of the tropes of science fiction can be viewed as similar to the goals of transhumanism. Science fiction literature contains many positive depictions of technologically enhanced human life, occasionally set in utopian societies. However, science fiction's depictions of technologically enhanced humans or other posthuman beings frequently come with a cautionary twist. The more pessimistic scenarios include many dystopian tales of human bioengineering gone wrong.
Anthony Dwane Mackie is an American actor. Mackie made his film debut starring in the semi-biographical drama film 8 Mile (2002). He was later nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Actor for his performance in the LGBT drama Brother to Brother (2004), and in the same year, appeared in psychological thriller The Manchurian Candidate, the Spike Lee TV film Sucker Free City, and the sports film Million Dollar Baby. Mackie starred in Half Nelson (2006); in 2008, Mackie both appeared in the action thriller Eagle Eye and was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Hurt Locker. He portrayed Tupac Shakur in Notorious (2009) and later starred in Night Catches Us (2010), and The Adjustment Bureau and Real Steel.
Charles Joel Nordström Kinnaman is a Swedish actor. He first gained recognition for his roles in the 2010 Swedish film Easy Money and the Johan Falk crime series. Kinnaman is known internationally for his television roles as Detective Stephen Holder in AMC's The Killing, Takeshi Kovacs in the first season of Altered Carbon, and Governor Will Conway in the U.S. version of House of Cards. He has also played Alex Murphy in the 2014 RoboCop remake, and Rick Flag in the Warner Bros. film adaptations of the DC Comics anti-hero team Suicide Squad (2016), as well as its sequel, The Suicide Squad. Since 2019, he has starred as NASA astronaut Ed Baldwin in the Apple TV+ science fiction drama series For All Mankind.
The Quantum Thief is the debut science fiction novel by Finnish writer Hannu Rajaniemi and the first novel in a trilogy featuring the character of Jean le Flambeur; the sequels are The Fractal Prince (2012) and The Causal Angel (2014). The novel was published in Britain by Gollancz in 2010, and by Tor in 2011 in the US. It is a heist story, set in a futuristic Solar System, that features a protagonist modeled on Arsène Lupin, the gentleman thief of Maurice Leblanc.
Miguel Sapochnik is an English film and television director of Argentine origin, and former storyboard artist. For his work as a director on the HBO epic fantasy series Game of Thrones, he won the award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series at the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards and Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Drama Series at the 69th Directors Guild of America Awards. Sapochnik also directed the science fiction film Repo Men.
Altered Carbon is an American cyberpunk television series created by Laeta Kalogridis and based on the 2002 novel of the same title by English author Richard K. Morgan. In a world where consciousness can be transferred to different bodies, Takeshi Kovacs, a former soldier turned investigator, is released from prison in order to solve a murder. The first season consists of ten episodes and premiered on Netflix on February 2, 2018. On July 27, 2018, the series was renewed for a second season of eight episodes, which was released on February 27, 2020, with an anime film set before the first season released on March 19, 2020. Though the series received generally positive reviews, it was canceled after two seasons.
Santa Clarita Diet is an American comedy horror television series created by Victor Fresco for the streaming service Netflix, starring Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant. Fresco serves as the showrunner, and is an executive producer alongside Barrymore, Olyphant, Aaron Kaplan, Tracy Katsky, Chris Miller, Ember Truesdell and Ruben Fleischer. The series centers on husband and wife real estate team Joel and Sheila Hammond whose normal, mundane lives change dramatically when Sheila shows symptoms of having become a zombie. The bewildered family seek a cure for her condition while dealing with its consequences, such as Sheila's new craving of human flesh and radically altered personality that has become more primal and impulsive.
Altered Carbon: Resleeved is a 2020 Japanese anime film that is a spin-off of Netflix's Altered Carbon television series. The film is directed by Jō Nakajima and written by Dai Sato and Tsukasa Kondo. Set 253 years before the main events of season 1, and 283 years before the events of season 2, Takeshi Kovacs, on the planet Latimar, must protect a tattooist while investigating the death of a yakuza boss alongside a no-nonsense CTAC.
