Most Popular Books by Greg Bear

Science fiction-roman.

The New York Times–bestselling author of Eon continues the interstellar saga of the Way. A devastating war has left Earth a nuclear wasteland. Orbiting the planet is the asteroid-starship containing the civilization of Thistledown, humanity''s future descendants. For decades, they have worked to heal their world and its survivors, but their resources are finite. They need to reopen the Way. An interdimensional gateway to a multiverse of realities, the Way was severed from Thistledown to stop an alien invasion and now exists as its own universe. Reopening the gate would not only benefit Earth but would also help the asteroid''s residents return home. But on the alternate world of Gaia, Rhita Vaskayza, daughter of mathematician Patricia Vasquez, has taken up her mother''s cause to find her own Earth, one that was never touched by nuclear war. There is a gateway on Gaia that could lead Rhita there—or unleash an even greater apocalypse across the multiverse . . . "Whether he''s tinkering with human genetic material or prying apart planets, Bear goes about the task with intelligence and a powerful imagination. Eternity offers many delights" ( Locus).

Greg Bear is one of the greatest science fiction writers of the late twentieth century. He has a powerful voice, combining the intense rationality of science with the intensely passionate characters that can only be created by a writer who loves humanity. Bear’s novel Moving Mars won the Nebula Award in 1994, and he did it again, in 2000, with Darwin’s Radio. He has been honored with Hugo and Nebula nominations for novel-length work eight more times. But Greg Bear’s short fiction is even more astounding, as this powerful career retrospective demonstrates. This collection contains Bear’s earliest published fiction from the late 1960s and early 1970s as well his remarkable award-winning work from the ‘80s and ‘90s—stories like the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning novella- length version of “Blood Music” and the Hugo and Nebula Award-winner “Tangents.” This Collection is enhanced by brand-new introductions for each story, commentary, and reminiscences by Greg Bear.

The final installment in the New York Times bestselling series In the last years of the Forerunner empire, chaos rules. The Flood-a horrifying shape-changing parasite-has arrived in force, aided by unexpected allies. Internal strife within the ecumene has desperately weakened Forerunner defenses. Too little, too late, the legal rate of Juridicals is only now investigating possible crimes by the Master Builder and others. Evidence-gathering agents known collectively as Catalog have been dispatched to collect testimony from the Librarian and both Didacts: the Ur-Didact, treacherously abandoned in a Flood-infested system, and the Bornstellar Didact, who accompanies the Librarian as she preserves specimens against the dire possibility of Halo extermination. Facing the imminent collapse of their civilization, the Librarian and the Ur-Didact reveal what they know about the relationship between the long-vanished Precursors and the Flood. The Precursors created many technological species, including humanity and the Forerunners. But the roots of the Flood may be found in an act of enormous barbarity, carried out beyond our galaxy ten million years before. Because of that barbarism, a greater evil looms. Only the Ur-Didact and the Librarian - husband and wife pushed into desperate conflict - hold the keys to a solution. Facing the consequences of a mythic tragedy, one of them must now commit the greatest atrocity of all time-to prevent an insane evil from dominating the entire universe.

A long time ago, I was a living, breathing human being. I went mad. I served my enemies. They became my only friends.

This doomsday masterpiece from the author of Eon and Hull Zero Three was a finalist for the Hugo and Nebula awards. On July 26, Arthur Gordon learns that Europa, the sixth moon of Jupiter, has disappeared. Not hiding, not turned black, but gone. On September 28th, Edward Shaw finds an error in the geological records of Death Valley. A cinder cone was left off the map. Could it be new? Or, stranger yet, could it be artificial? The answer may be lying beside it—a dying Guest who brings devastating news for Edward and for Planet Earth. As more unexplained phenomena spring up around the globe—a granite mountain appearing in Australia, sounds emanating from the earth''s core, flashes of light among the asteroids—it becomes clear to some that the end is approaching, and there is nothing we can do. In The Forge of God, award-winning author Greg Bear describes the final days of the world on both a massive, scientific scale and in the everyday, emotional context of individual human lives. Facing the destruction of all they know, some people turn to God, others to their families, and a few turn to saviors promising escape from a planet being torn apart. Will they make it in time? And who gets left behind to experience the last moments of beauty and chaos on earth? Nominated for the Nebula, Hugo, and Locus Awards, The Forge of God is an engrossing read, breathtaking in its scope and in its detail.

Science fiction-roman.

The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem has been blown to bits by extremists, and, in retaliation, thousands have died in another major attack on the United States. Now the FBI has been dispatched to deal with a new menace. A plague targeted to ethnic groups--Jews or Muslims or both--has the potential to wipe out entire populations. But the FBI itself is under political assault. There''s a good chance agents William Griffin, Fouad Al-Husam, and Jane Rowland will be part of the last class at Quantico. As the young agents hunt a brilliant homegrown terrorist, they join forces with veteran bio-terror expert Rebecca Rose. But the plot they uncover--and the man they chase--prove to be far more complex than anyone expects.

The conclusion to an epic interstellar trilogy of war from master of science fiction, Greg Bear. Marooned beneath the icy, waxy crust of Saturn''s moon, Titan, Skyrine Michael Venn and his comrades face double danger from Earth and from the Antagonists, both intent on wiping out their growing awareness of what the helpful alien Gurus are really doing in our solar system. Haunted by their dead and by the ancient archives of our Bug ancestors, the former combatants must now team up with their enemies, forget their indoctrination and their training, and journey far beyond Pluto to the fabled Planet X, the Antagonists'' home world, a Sun-Planet in the comet-generating Kuiper belt. It''s here that Master Sergeant Venn will finally understand his destiny and the destiny of every intelligent being in the solar system-including the enigmatic Gurus.

Multiple Hugo and Nebula award-winning author, Greg Bear is one of science fiction’s most accomplished writers. Bold scientific speculation, riveting plots, and a fierce humanism reflected in characters who dare to dream of better worlds distinguish his work. Now Bear has written a mind-bendingly epic novel that may well be his masterpiece. Do you dream of a city at the end of time? In a time like the present, in a world that may or may not be our own, three young people–Ginny, Jack, and Daniel–dream of a doomed, decadent city of the distant future: the Kalpa. Ginny’s and Jack’s dreams overtake them without warning, leaving their bodies behind while carrying their consciousnesses forward, into the minds of two inhabitants of the Kalpa–a would-be warrior, Jebrassy, and an inquisitive explorer, Tiadba–who have been genetically retro-engineered to possess qualities of ancient humanity. As for Daniel: He dreams of an empty darkness–all that his future holds. But more than dreams link Ginny, Jack, and Daniel. They are fate-shifters, born with the ability to skip like stones across the surface of the fifth dimension, inhabiting alternate versions of themselves. And each guards an object whose origin and purpose are unknown: gnarled, stony artifacts called sum-runners that persist unchanged through all versions of time. Hunted by others with similar powers who seek the sum-runners on behalf of a terrifying, goddess-like entity known as the Chalk Princess, Ginny, Jack, and Daniel are drawn, despite themselves, into an all but hopeless mission to rescue the future–and complete the greatest achievement in human history.

An amnesiac man awakens on board a mysterious starship full of monsters in this terrifying sci-fi adventure by a New York Times –bestselling author. "A lean, mean, supercharged sense-of-wonder engine." —Alastair Reynolds A starship hurtles through the emptiness of space. Its destination, unknown. Its purpose, a mystery. Now, one man wakes up. Ripped from a dream of a new home—a new planet and the woman he was meant to love in his arms—he finds himself wet, naked, and freezing to death. The dark halls are full of monsters but trusting other survivors he meets might be the greater danger. All he has are questions—Who is he? Where are they going? What happened to the dream of a new life? What happened to Hull three? All will be answered, if he can survive the ship. Hull Zero Three is an edge-of-your-seat thrill ride through the darkest reaches of space. "This beautifully written tale where nothing is as it seems will please readers with a well-developed sense of wonder." — Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Never one to play it safe in his consistently inventive fiction, Bear takes the reader for a harrowing ride on a labyrinthine starship. . . . Bear''s pithy, occasionally cryptic writing style perfectly captures the chaotic experiences and unsettling revelations the team endures, while putting an intriguing spin on the timeworn SF theme of interstellar planet hunting. One of Bear''s most thought-provoking and well-crafted novels to date." — Booklist

From a New York Times–bestselling author: A new kind of phone awakens the dead in this technological horror novel "reminiscent of Koontz at his best" ( Booklist). Ever since his life was shattered by the kidnapping and murder of his young daughter, Peter Russell has become a ghost of a man. Once a successful director of adult films, he has been reduced to running questionable errands for an eccentric California millionaire. But everything changes when a Los Angeles start-up offers him the opportunity to create promotional videos for their revolutionary new technology, Trans. The product offers exceptionally powerful, crystal-clear mobile communication that can operate anywhere and everywhere—and Peter sets out to put it into every palm. But as he uses the device himself, he starts to see his murdered little girl . . . Soon, there are other voices—disembodied, confused, angry—emanating from a newly invaded dimension. Many are even malevolent . . . and hungry . . . and deadly. As the death toll of Trans-users skyrockets, Peter''s life begins a new spiral downward. Now, he must race to make sense of the horror Trans has wrought before the gateway to Hell bursts wide open. With Dead Lines, author of the Eon series Greg Bear transforms the literary realm of Dean Koontz, Peter Straub, and Stephen King into something unique by ingeniously blending the speculative with the supernatural. You''ll never look at your phone the same way again.

Hugo Award Finalist: A near-future novel of artificial intelligence, human nature, and mass murder that "succeeds on virtually every level" ( The New York Times Book Review). In Los Angeles in 2047, advances in the science of psychology have made crime a rare occurrence. So it''s utterly shocking when eight bodies are detected in an apartment, and not long afterward the perpetrator is revealed as well: noted poet Emmanuel Goldsmith. The LAPD''s Mary Choy—who has had both her appearance and her police work enhanced by nanotechnology—is tasked with arresting the killer, while psychotherapy pioneer Martin Burke prepares to explore his mind. Meanwhile, Goldsmith''s good friend and fellow writer reels at the news—while, far from all of them, a space probe makes a startling discovery. This "excellent" novel about technology, identity, and the nature of consciousness is a thought-provoking stunner by the Nebula Award–winning author of the Eon series and the Forerunner Saga ( Chicago Tribune).

HUGO AWARD FINALIST • “WOW! What a splendid (scary) notion: a human upgrade! What a superb plot! Darwin''s Radio is bloody damned good.”—Anne McCaffrey “Virus hunter” Christopher Dicken is a man on a mission, following a trail of rumors, government cover-ups, and dead bodies around the globe in search of a mysterious disease that strikes only pregnant women and invariably results in miscarriage. But when Dicken finds what he’s looking for, the answer proves to be stranger—and far deadlier—than he ever could have imagined. Something that has slept in human DNA for millions of years is waking up. Molecular biologist Kaye Lang has spent her career tracing ancient retroviruses in the human genome. She believes these microscopic fossils can come to life again. But when Dicken’s discovery becomes public, Lang’s theory suddenly turns to chilling fact. As the outbreak of this terrifying disease threatens to become a deadly epidemic, Dicken and Lang must race against time to assemble the pieces of a puzzle only they are equipped to solve—an evolutionary puzzle that will determine the future of the human race . . . if a future exists at all. Praise for Darwin’s Radio “Bear is one of our very best, and most innovative, speculative writers.”—New York Daily News “Superb . . . Bear''s novel is frighteningly believable with a lot of clearly explained hard science, but the personal struggles of the well-realized characters keep everything on a human level.”—Focus “Bear is a writer of passionate vision.”—Locus “Darwin’s Radio scores a high rating on the thrill monitor.”—Birmingham Post (England) “Absorbing and ingenious.”—Kirkus Reviews

A harrowing thriller based on real-life discoveries in cell theory and the battle against aging and death by the bestselling author of Darwin''s Radio and War Dogs Scientist Hal Cousins is on the brink of success in his quest to determine the biological underpinnings of immortality. Funded by angel investors, the brilliant researcher makes a trip by submersible to the bottom of the sea, searching for primitive one-celled organisms that may be related to the earliest life forms on Earth. But the trip turns into a nightmare when Cousins''s pilot goes berserk and turns on him. The homicidal attack is only the first in a series of events that sends the biochemist on the run, pursued by faceless enemies who want his studies terminated and Cousins dead. Cousins must face the realization that his research has brought him into contact with a vast conspiracy. Across the country, scientists are being murdered to cover up the fact that someone has discovered how to control minds through bacterial manipulation—and that the trigger bacteria now infects much of the world''s population. Discredited and not knowing whom to trust, Cousins must gamble everything with Earth''s very survival at stake. Award-winning author Greg Bear creates a tense, stunningly plausible thriller all too firmly rooted in scientific fact.

The "reigning master of hard-edge science fiction takes a chilling look at the plausible near-future" in this cyberpunk sequel to Queen of Angels ( Seattle Post-Intelligencer ). Hugo and Nebula Award–Winning Author New York Times –Bestselling Author In the second half of the twenty-first century, nanotechnology has transformed every aspect of society. Humans can now change their abilities, their appearance, their very bodies on microscopic level. Advanced psychotherapy seems to have wiped away violence and illness. The world is sane and in balance. However, that balance teeters with the grisly murder of two prostitutes and a series of suicides. Soon, public defender Mary Cho''s investigation finds a dark danger lurking in the recesses of the "dataflow." Entertainment, virtual pornography, neo-Luddite separatists, an unknown artificial intelligence—everything seems to be intertwined in a vast conspiracy. As technology fails so too does the society perched high atop it. Perfection is a high pedestal from which to fall.

This masterpiece by Nebula and Hugo Award-winning author Greg Bear, based on Bear''s short story and expanded to novel form, is available for the first time in mass market paperback. A scientist conducts an experiment in cell restructuring, but the experiment soon takes on a threatening life of its own. (June)

An awesome force of protostars known as Corona has taken control of a stranded team of Vulcan scientists. The Starship "Enterprise"* has come on a rescue mission, with a female reporter and a new computer that can override Kirk''s command. Suddenly, the rescuers must save themselves and the entire universe before Corona unleashes a Big Bang.