Editing Greg Bear (section)

==Career==
Bear is often classified as a [[hard science fiction]] author because of the level of scientific detail in his work.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=SFE: Bear, Greg |url=https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/bear_greg |access-date=2022-11-26 |website=[[The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction]]}}</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 Science Fiction|''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 (magazine)|''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 (novel)|Queen of Angels]]'', Bear examines crime, guilt, and punishment in society. He frames these questions around an examination of consciousness and awareness, including the [[Artificial intelligence|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 (novel)|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."{{efn|Bear has credited the inspiration for the idea to [[Frederick Kantor]]'s 1967 treatise "Information Mechanics" (see [[Digital physics]]).}} 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''&mdash;which may contain the first description of a so-called "quantum logic computer"&mdash;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 ''[[The Foundation Series|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 fiction|horror]]). Bear has described his ''Dead Lines'', which straddles the line between science fiction and fantasy, as a "high-tech [[ghost story]]".<ref>
{{cite web
 | url = http://www.fwomp.com/interview_gregbear.htm
 | title = interview
 | work = fwomp.com
 | publisher= Fiction Writers of the Monterey Peninsula
 | access-date=July 11, 2009
}}</ref> He has received many accolades, including five [[Nebula Award]]s and two [[Hugo Award]]s.<ref>
{{cite web
 | url = http://www.worldswithoutend.com/authors.asp
 | title = Top SF/F Authors
 | work = WorldsWithoutEnd.com
 | access-date=July 11, 2009
}}</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>{{Cite magazine|url = https://www.wired.com/2012/06/ray-bradbury-writer-memories/|title = Sci-Fi Scribes on Ray Bradbury: "Storyteller, Showman and Alchemist"|last = Adams|first = John Joseph|date = June 6, 2012|magazine = [[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]|access-date = October 20, 2015}}</ref>

He also served on the Board of Advisors for the [[Museum of Science Fiction]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/personal/2013/11/04/museum-of-science-fiction-indiegogo/3433947/ |title=Funds sought for science fiction museum lift-off |newspaper=USAToday.com |date=November 3, 2013 |access-date=September 7, 2014}}</ref> Bear was also one of the five co-founders of [[San Diego Comic-Con]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Robbins |first=Gary |date=2022-11-22 |title=Greg Bear, prize-winning sci-fi author and Comic-Con co-founder, dies at 71 |url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/obituaries/story/2022-11-21/greg-bear-prize-winning-sci-author-and-comic-con-co-founder-dies-at-71 |access-date=2022-11-26 |website=San Diego Union-Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref>