Greg Bear: Fiction Writer of the Future
The author of over forty books, writer Greg Bear has been delighting science fiction readers for decades. The winner of multiple awards such as the Hugo and Nebula, he's appeared frequently on the New York Times bestseller list. While the majority of his work is hard science fiction, Bear has experimented with other genres: fantasy in Songs of Earth and Power and horror in Dead Lines. He's even written a recent novel based on the popular videogame Halo with Halo: Cryptum.
Asked what literary genre he thinks is best suited to Seattle, Bear replied: "Given the high-tech component of Seattle’s economy—and the fact that many of the entrepreneurs in our area are science fiction aficionados, how could I not say science fiction? But Seattleites also love fantasy and mysteries... and a good many of them are into dressing up steampunk... So I’d say the best genre for Seattle is a good book, any good book."
For him, the quintessential Seattle experience is "driving south down the 5 freeway after a heavy rain, just at sunset, and discovering that Mount Rainier has decided to make a spectacular appearance, with a hat of orange and purple cloud set rakishly on its brow."
Seattle offers many advantages for a science fiction writer, Bear says, including its status as a tech, gaming, and biotech center as well as its universities and many bookstores. "Lots of weather to keep you inside, focused on your writing—and glorious spring-summer-fall weather to get out and exercise and go see nature. Mountains, rivers, volcanoes, ocean, rain forests, fresh fish, Pike Place Market, great restaurants, great museums, great symphony, great opera house. EMP like a spilled box of cool toys, Science Center filled with exhibits and hands-on for kids (and writers). And so much more. What better environment is there?"
Posted on Feb 1, 2011 by Cat Rambo
