It’s also interesting when there’s a Big Premise that can support multiple leanings (as it were), and the author pics a particular direction. I’m specifically thinking of Neil Stephenson’s Seveneves, which I simultaneously enjoyed and was frustrated by, because I wanted to hear all about the interpersonal issues caused by being the Last Few Humans Crammed Into Tiny Adhoc Spaceships, and Stephenson was far more interested in telling me about orbital dynamics. Which, also an important part of surviving in space! ...just not the one I was most interested in.