Greg Bear

Gregory Dale Bear (August 20, 1951 – November 19, 2022) was an American science fiction writer.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> His work covered themes of galactic conflict (Forge of God books), parallel universes (The Way series), consciousness and cultural practices (Queen of Angels), and accelerated evolution (Blood Music, Darwin's Radio, and Darwin's Children). His last work was the 2021 novel The Unfinished Land. Greg Bear wrote over 50 books in total.<ref name=":0" />

He was one of the five co-founders of San Diego Comic-Con.<ref name=":1" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Early life

Greg Bear was born in San Diego, California.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He attended San Diego State University (1968–1973), where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree. At the university, he was a teaching assistant to Elizabeth Chater in her course on science fiction writing; in later years, they were friends.Template:Cn

Career

Bear is often classified as a hard science fiction author because of the level of scientific detail in his work.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> Early in his career, he also published work as an artist, including illustrations for an early version of the reference book Star Trek Concordance and covers for periodicals Galaxy and F&SF.<ref name="locus" /> He sold his first story, "Destroyers", to Famous Science Fiction in 1967.<ref name="locus">"Greg Bear: Continuing the Dialog", Locus, February 2000, pp. 4, 76–78.</ref>

In his fiction, Bear often addresses major questions in contemporary science and culture and proposes solutions. For example, The Forge of God offers an explanation for the Fermi paradox, supposing that the galaxy is filled with potentially predatory intelligences and that young civilizations that survive are those that do not attract their attention but stay quiet. In Queen of Angels, Bear examines crime, guilt, and punishment in society. He frames these questions around an examination of consciousness and awareness, including the emergent self-awareness of highly advanced computers in communication with humans. In Darwin's Radio and Darwin's Children, he addresses the problem of overpopulation with a mutation in the human genome making, basically, a new series of humans. The question of cultural acceptance of something new and unavoidable is also indicated.

One of Bear's favorite themes is reality as a function of observation. In Blood Music, reality becomes unstable as the number of observers (trillions of intelligent single-cell organisms) spirals higher and higher. Anvil of Stars (sequel to The Forge of God) and Moving Mars postulate a physics based on information exchange between particles, capable of being altered at the "bit level."Template:Efn In Moving Mars, that knowledge is used to remove Mars from the Solar System and transfer it to an orbit around a distant star.

Blood Music was first published as a short story (1983) and then expanded to a novel (1985) features nanotechnology. In later works, beginning with Queen of Angels and continuing with its sequel, Slant, Bear gives a detailed description of a near-future nanotechnological society. This historical sequence continues with Heads—which may contain the first description of a so-called "quantum logic computer"—and with Moving Mars. The sequence also charts the historical development of self-awareness in artificial intelligence. Its continuing character Jill was inspired in part by Robert A. Heinlein's self-aware computer Mycroft HOLMES in The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress (1966).

Bear, Gregory Benford, and David Brin wrote a trilogy of prequel novels to Isaac Asimov's Foundation trilogy. Bear wrote the middle book named Foundation and Chaos.

While most of Bear's work is science fiction, he has written in other fiction genres. Examples include Songs of Earth and Power (fantasy) and Psychlone (horror). Bear has described his Dead Lines, which straddles the line between science fiction and fantasy, as a "high-tech ghost story".<ref> Template:Cite web</ref> He has received many accolades, including five Nebula Awards and two Hugo Awards.<ref> Template:Cite web</ref>

Bear cited Ray Bradbury as the most influential writer in his life. He met Bradbury in 1967 and had a lifelong correspondence. As a teenager, Bear attended Bradbury lectures and events in Southern California.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

He also served on the Board of Advisors for the Museum of Science Fiction.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Bear was also one of the five co-founders of San Diego Comic-Con.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life and death

In 1975, Bear married Christina M. Nielson; they divorced in 1981. In 1983, he married Astrid Anderson, the daughter of the science fiction and fantasy authors Poul and Karen Anderson. They had two children, Chloe and Alexandra, and resided near Seattle, Washington.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Bear died on November 19, 2022, at the age of 71, from multiple strokes, caused by clots that had been hiding in a false lumen of the anterior artery to the brain since a surgery in 2014.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After he had been on life support for two days and was not expected to recover, per his advance healthcare directive, life support was withdrawn.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Awards and accolades

Work	Year & Award	Category	Result	Ref.
The Venging	1976 Locus Award	Novelette	Template:Nominated	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Schrödinger's Plague	1982 Analog Award	Short Story	4th Place	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Petra	1983 Locus Award	Short Story	Template:Nominated
	1983 World Fantasy Award	Short Fiction	Template:Nom
	1983 Nebula Award	Short Story	Template:Nominated
	1983 SF Chronicle Award	Short Story	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Blood Music	1984 Locus Award	Novelette	Template:Nominated
	1984 Hugo Award	Novelette	Template:Won
	1984 Nebula Award	Novelette	Template:Won
	1986 Locus Award	SF Novel	Template:Nominated
	1986 Hugo Award	Novel	Template:Nominated
	1986 John W. Campbell Memorial Award	Science Fiction Novel	Template:Nominated
	1986 Prix Apollo Award	-	Template:Won
	1986 BSFA Award	Novel	Template:Nominated
	1986 Nebula Award	Novel	Template:Nominated
	1988 Tähtivaeltaja Award	-	Template:Won
Tangents	1987 Locus Award	Short Story	Template:Nominated
	1987 Hugo Award	Short Story	Template:Won
	1987 Nebula Award	Short Story	Template:Won
	1987 SF Chronicle Award	Short Story	Template:Nominated	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	1990 Locus Award	Collection	Template:Nominated
	1994 Seiun Award	Best Translated Short Story	Template:Won
	1998 Kurd Laßwitz Award	Foreign Work	Template:Nominated	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Hardfought	1984 Locus Award	Novella	Template:Nominated
	1984 Hugo Award	Novella	Template:Nominated
	1984 SF Chronicle Award	Novella	Template:Nominated	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	1984 Nebula Award	Novella	Template:Won
Eon	1986 Locus	SF Novel	Template:Nominated
	1987 Arthur C. Clarke Award	-	Template:CFinalist
The Infinity Concerto	1985 Locus Award	Fantasy Novel	Template:Nominated
The Wind from a Burning Woman	1983 Locus Award	Collection	Template:Nominated
The Serpent Mage	1987 Locus Award	Fantasy Novel	Template:Nominated
The Forge of God	1988 Locus Award	SF Novel	Template:Nominated
	1988 Hugo Award	Novel	Template:Nominated
	1988 Nebula Award	Novel	Template:Nominated
Eternity	1989 Locus Award	SF Novel	Template:Nominated
Sisters	1990 Locus Award	Novelette	Template:Nominated
	1990 Nebula Award	Novelette	Template:Nominated
Sleepside Story	1990 Locus Award	Novelette	Template:Nominated
Heads	1991 Interzone Readers Poll	Fiction	4th Place	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	1991 Locus Award	Novella	Template:Nominated
	1996 Hayakawa's S-F Magazine Reader's Award	Foreign Short Story	Template:Won
	1996 Kurd Laßwitz Award	Foreign Work	Template:Nominated	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	1997 Seiun Award	Translated Short Story	Template:Won
Queen of Angels	1991 Locus Award	SF Novel	Template:Nominated
	1991 John W. Campbell Memorial Award	Science Fiction Novel	Template:Nominated
	1991 Hugo Award	Novel	Template:Nominated
Bear's Fantasies	1993 World Fantasy Award]]	Collection	Template:Nominated
Anvil of Stars	1993 Locus Award	SF Novel	Template:Nominated
Moving Mars	1994 Locus Award	SF Novel	Template:Nominated
	1994 Hugo Award	Novel	Template:Nominated
	1994 John W. Campbell Memorial Award	Science Fiction Novel	Template:Nominated
	1994 SF Chronicle Award	Novel	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	1995 Nebula Award	Novel	Template:Won
	1996 Premio Ignotus	Foreign Novel	Template:Won
	1998 Seiun Award	Translated Long Work	Template:Nominated
Judgement Engine	1996 Locus Award	Novelette	Template:Nominated
Legacy	1996 Locus Award	SF Novel	Template:Nominated
	1998 Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire	Foreign Novel	Template:Nominated	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
New Legends	1996 Locus Award	Anthology	Template:Nominated
Strength of Stones	1997 Kurd Laßwitz Award	Foreign Work	Template:Nominated	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Slant (/)	1998 Locus Award	SF Novel	Template:Nominated
	1998 John W. Campbell Memorial Award	Science Fiction Novel	Template:Nominated
	1999 SF Site Readers Poll	SF/Fantasy Book	5th Place	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	2000 Prix Ozone	Foreign SF Novel	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	2002 Kurd Laßwitz Award	Foreign Work	Template:Nominated	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Dinosaur Summer	1998 Sidewise Award for Alternate History	Long Form	Template:Nominated	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	1999 Locus Award	SF Novel	Template:Nominated
	1999 Endeavour Award	-	Template:Won
Darwin's Radio	2000 Endeavour Award	Novel or Collection	Template:Won
	2000 John W. Campbell Memorial Award	Science Fiction Novel	Template:Nominated
	2000 Locus Award	SF Novel	Template:Nominated
	2000 Hugo Award	Novel	Template:Nominated
	2001 Seiun Award	Translated Long Work	Template:Nominated
	2001 Nebula Award	Novel	Template:Won
	2002 Premio Ignotus	Foreign Novel	Template:Nominated
The Way of All Ghosts	2000 Locus Award	Novella	Template:Nominated
The Collected Stories of Greg Bear	2003 Locus Award	Collection	Template:Nominated
Vitals	2003 Locus Award	SF Novel	Template:Nominated
	2003 John W. Campbell Memorial Award	Science Fiction Novel	Template:CFinalist
Darwin's Children	2004 John W. Campbell Memorial Award	Science Fiction Novel	Template:CFinalist
	2004 Audie Awards	Science Fiction	Template:Nominated
	2004 Locus Award	SF Novel	Template:Nominated
	2004 Arthur C. Clarke Award	-	Template:CFinalist
	2005 Kurd Laßwitz Award	Foreign Work	Template:Nominated	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Dead Lines	2005 Locus Award	Fantasy Novel	Template:Nominated
Quantico	2006 Endeavour Award	-	Template:Nominated
City at the End of Time	2008 Neffy Awards	Laureate Awards: SF/F Author	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	2009 Locus Award	SF Novel	Template:Nominated
	2009 John W. Campbell Memorial Award	Science Fiction Novel	Template:CFinalist
Hull Zero Three	2011 Locus Award	SF Novel	Template:Nominated
	2011 John W. Campbell Memorial Award	Science Fiction Novel	Template:CFinalist
	2012 Arthur C. Clarke Award	-	Template:Nominated
	2012 Kurd Laßwitz Award	Foreign Work	Template:Nominated	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
War Dogs	2015 Locus Award	SF Novel	Template:Nominated
The Machine Starts	2016 Locus Award	Novelette	Template:Nominated
Take Back the Sky	2017 Locus Award	SF Novel	Template:Nominated

In addition, Bear is also a singular award winner of the 1984 Inkpot Award, the 2006 Robert A. Heinlein Award, the 2017 "Forry Award"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> for lifetime achievement & the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association's 2022 Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Doris Lessing, winner of the 2007 Nobel Prize in literature, wrote, "I also admire the classic sort of science fiction, like Blood Music, by Greg Bear. He's a great writer."<ref>Doris Lessing: Hot Dawns, interview by Harvey Blume in Boston Book Review.</ref> The 2024 novel Halo: Epitaph, a continuation of Bear's Forerunner Saga, was dedicated to Bear's memory by author Kelly Gay.

Bibliography

Novels

Series

Darwin

• Darwin's Radio (1999)
• Darwin's Children (2003)

The Forge of God

• The Forge of God (1987)
• Anvil of Stars (1992)

Songs of Earth and Power

• The Infinity Concerto (1984)
• The Serpent Mage (1986)
• Songs of Earth and Power (1994 – combines The Infinity Concerto and The Serpent Mage)

Quantico

• Quantico (2005)
• Mariposa (2009)

Quantum Logic

Novels in internal chronology:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

• Queen of Angels (1990)
• Slant (1997)
• Heads (1990)
• Moving Mars (1993)

War dogs

• Template:Cite book
• Killing Titan (2015)
• Take Back the Sky (2016)

The Way

• Eon (1985)
• Eternity (1988)
• Legacy (1995)
• The Way of All Ghosts (1999)

Series (non-originating author)

The Foundation Series

• Foundation and Chaos (1998) (Second Foundation series: book 2)

Man-Kzin Wars

• The Man Who Would Be Kzin (with S.M. Stirling) (1991)

Halo

• Forerunner Saga (trilogy)
  • Halo: Cryptum (2011)
  • Halo: Primordium (2012)
  • Halo: Silentium (2013)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Star Trek: The Original Series

• Corona (1984)

Star Wars

• Rogue Planet (2000)

Foreworld Saga

• The Mongoliad (2012–2013<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>)

Non-series

• Hegira (1979)
• Psychlone (1979)
• Beyond Heaven's River (1980)
• Strength of Stones (1981)
• Blood Music (1985)
• Dinosaur Summer (1998)
• Dead Lines (2004)
• City at the End of Time (Gollancz edition published July 17, 2008;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Del Rey Books edition August 2008<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>)
• Hull Zero Three (2010)
• The Unfinished Land (2021)

Short fiction

Uncollected Short Fiction

• Destroyers (1967)
• Sun Planet (1977)
• If I Die Before I Wake (1980)
• Eucharist (1981)
• RAM Shift Phase 2 (2005)
• Object 00922UU (2015) (with Erik Bear)
• The Machine Starts (2015)

Collections

• The Wind from a Burning Woman (1983, vt The Venging 1992)
• Early Harvest (February 1988)
• Tangents (1989)
• Bear's Fantasies (1992)
• The White Horse Child (1993)
• The Collected Stories of Greg Bear (2002)
• W3: Women in Deep Time (2003)
• Sleepside: The Collected Fantasies (November 2005)

Anthologies edited

• New Legends (1995, with Martin H. Greenberg)
• Multiverse: Exploring Poul Anderson's Worlds (2014, with Gardner Dozois)
• Nebula Awards Showcase 2015 (2015)<ref>Briefly reviewed by Don Sakers in the April 2016 issue of Analog, pp.105–108.</ref>

Critical studies and reviews of Bear's work

War dogs

• Template:Cite magazine

External links

• Template:Official website
• 2010 Interview on the Geek's Guide to the Galaxy Podcast
• Interview with Greg Bear, By Dag R., February 1, 2000, at Template:URL
• All of Greg Bear's audio interviews on the podcast The Future And You (in which he describes his expectations of the future)
• Template:Isfdb name
• Template:IBList
• The 20th challenge of the society of digital artists, which made use of EON. In the about part it includes the chapters 1, 2, 10 and 33.
• Complete list of sci-fi award wins and nominations by novel
• Interview with questions submitted by Reddit.com users
• Greg Bear on Worlds Without End
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• Template:Discogs artist