Jules Hall
Re: yes it is
Exposition is a bad thing if the reader doesn't want to read it. So, it definitely depends on your audience. Hard SF readers can take (and often expect) more exposition than other genres -- an example is a book I recently read, Wheelers by Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen. This book is written by two prominent scientists, one of whom (Jack Cohen) is particularly well known for his work on potential forms of alien life. I would have been disappointed if it _hadn't_ had large chunks of exposition about the aliens involved in the story.
Exposition is a bad thing if the reader doesn't want to read it. So, it definitely depends on your audience. Hard SF readers can take (and often expect) more exposition than other genres -- an example is a book I recently read, Wheelers by Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen. This book is written by two prominent scientists, one of whom (Jack Cohen) is particularly well known for his work on potential forms of alien life. I would have been disappointed if it _hadn't_ had large chunks of exposition about the aliens involved in the story.