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Greg Bear

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Gregory Dale Bear (born August 20, 1951) is a science fiction author. His work has covered themes of galactic conflict (Forge of God books), artificial universes (Eon series) and accelerated evolution (Blood Music, Darwin's Radio, and Darwin's Children). Bear, Gregory Benford, and David Brin also wrote a trilogy of prequel novels to Isaac Asimov's famous Foundation trilogy with Bear credited for the middle book in the trilogy.

Bear was born in San Diego, California. From 1968 to 1973 he attended San Diego State University, from which he received a Bachelor of Arts degree. In 1975, he married Christina M. Nielson, but they divorced in 1981. He remarried in 1983, to Astrid Anderson, the daughter of science fiction author Poul Anderson. They have two children, Erik and Alexandra and live outside of Seattle, Washington.

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[edit] Work

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The scientific details in his work are such that he is usually classified as a hard science fiction author, but not all of the speculations in his works are equally rigorous. For example, the mathematics in the Eon series, such as the "pi meter", are dubious at best and The Forge of God interprets the Gaia theory freely in ways that might be considered questionable by most scientists. Bear is obviously a believer in the probability that scientific progress will eventually outstrip our current concepts.

As well, Bear often addresses major questions in science with (so-far) science fictional solutions. "The Forge of God" offers an explanation for the Fermi paradox, supposing that the galaxy is filled with potentially predatory intelligences, and that those young civilizations which survive are those which do not attract the attention of the predators — by staying quiet. One of his pet themes is reality as a function of observers. In Blood Music reality becomes unstable as the number of observers — trillions of intelligent single-cell organisms — spirals higher and higher. Both Anvil of Stars — a 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". (Bear has credited the inspiration for this idea to Frederick Kantor's 1967 treatise, "Information Mechanics.") In Moving Mars this knowledge is used to remove Mars from the solar system and transfer it to an orbit around a distant star.

"Blood Music" (first published as a short story in 1983, and expanded to a novel in 1985) has also been credited as being the first account of nanotechnology in science fiction. More certainly, the short story is the first in science fiction to describe microscopic medical machines, and to treat DNA as a computational system, capable of being re-programmed--that is, expanded and modified. 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. This sequence also charts the historical development of self-awareness in AIs, with its continuing character, Jill, inspired in part by Robert A. Heinlein's Mike in The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.

More recent works such as the Darwin's Radio/Darwin's Children pair of novels, which deal with the impact of a strange disease which appears to drive evolutionary transitions, stick closely to the known facts of molecular biology of viruses and evolution. While some fairly speculative ideas are entertained (it is after all, fiction) they are introduced in such a rigorous and disciplined way that Darwin's Radio gained praise in the science journal Nature.

While most of Bear's work is science fiction, two of his early works, The Infinity Concerto and The Serpent Mage which are now published together as one novel Songs of Earth and Power are clearly fantasies, and Psychlone is horror. "Dead Lines" has been described as a "high tech ghost story," and certainly straddles the line between science fiction and fantasy. First and foremost, Bear is an author of works of speculative fiction that are intended to entertain and inspire, and the sheer audacity of the scope and vision that he has exhibited throughout his career make him one of science fiction's most well-respected authors. New readers wanting to familiarize themselves with his writing could start with the award winners from the list below. Blood Music, Moving Mars, and Darwin's Radio serve as a fine introduction to Greg Bear's body of work.

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] Collection of Short Stories

[edit] Darwin

[edit] The Eon Series

[edit] The Forge of God series

[edit] Second Foundation Series

[edit] 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)

[edit] Star Trek: The Original Series

  • Corona (1984)

[edit] Star Wars

  • Rogue Planet (2000)

[edit] Queen of Angels

A group of novels featuring a shared history and some common characters.

[edit] Non-series Novels

[edit] External links

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