Author Greg Bear has passed away, reports his wife Astrid. The 71-year-old novelist underwent surgery earlier in the month, and following the successful process, doctors discovered he’d had a stroke from clots that had been building in his body since surgery he had in 2014. He remained unconscious until November 18, at which point Astrid said she chose to follow his advance directive and end life support, and he passed two hours later.
“I will spare you daily updates until that time, but know that I’ll be there as much as I can, as he journeys to the undiscovered country,” wrote Astrid on November 18. “Thank you for all your love and support. They mean a lot, and I’ve shared your messages with him. Image is a sunset, a liminal space.”
Bear began his writing career at the age of 15 after selling his short story Destroyers to the publication Famous Science Fiction in 1967. Early on, he also had published artwork (including the cover for his 1988 reprint of his novel Psychlone), one them released in an early version of the Star Trek Concordance reference book. In 1970, Bear helped co-found San Diego Comic-Con with Shel Dorf, Ken Kreuger, Mike Towry, Richard Alf, Barry Alfonso, Bob Sourk, and Ron Graf.
And now he is gone. Rest in peace, my beloved. Greg Bear 8/20/1951–11/19/2022 pic.twitter.com/EnTE8T16jD
— Astrid “I’ve voted, have you?” Bear (@AstridBear) November 20, 2022
Beginning in 1979 with Hegira and the aforementioned Psychlone, Bear would go on to write over 50 books and win five Nebula awards. Due to the level of scientific detail in his books, they would come to be known as “hard” sci-fi, with much of his books being about accelerated evolution or artificial universes. Though most of his works were original, he had written books set in someone else’s world: he’s written for Star Wars (2000’s Rogue Planet), Isaac Asimov’s Foundation (1998’s Foundation & Chaos), and Larry Niven’s Known Space (1991’s The Man Who Would Be Kzin). From 2011-2013, he wrote a trilogy of Halo novels that focused on the Forerunner race and served as the narrative background for 2012’s Halo 4. His final book, The Unfinished Land, was published in February 2021.
Along with his wife Astrid, Bear is survived by his daughters Chloe and Alexandra. Our thoughts go out to them at this time.
Said goodbye to my dad today. I love him and I’m going to miss him so much. A lot of who I am I got from him, and I know he was always proud of me and I was proud to be his daughter. Read one of his books in his honor, if you’re so inclined. https://t.co/eUFvX45HCU
— Dickgirl Van Dyke (@Correspondence) November 19, 2022
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