Lit Greg Bear has passed away

This is sad news:



Greg Bear was one of the times when a far more in-depth SF take was applied to Star Wars in Rogue Planet. All the way back in 2000.

It became a key part of the then PT era content but also linked to the decades later New Jedi Order by being Vergere and Zonema Sekot's origin.

 

Awful news. Rogue Planet is one of the most underrated EU novels. Even today, when many unappreciated gems from the pre-Disney era have been re-evaluated, I still see people slagging off RP off the time. It’s always been a personal favorite of mine and I think Bear’s writing style was one of the best and most understated we ever got for Star Wars. Sad he never got to do more.

 

Obviously his Rogue Planet novel is his connection to Star Wars, but he is one of the all time great Sci-Fi authors in general.

His Halo Forerunner trilogy actually holds a similar place in Halo fandom that the OG Thrawn trilogy holds to SW fans. A trilogy of books so well regarded there usually held up alongside the beloved OG products as one of its most important works.

So sad, wish his family all the best

 

I know I have a few books of his in my collection (and not just the SW ones). Sad news and best wishes to his family and friends.

Edit - seeing on several sites (Wiki, etc) that he has passed away.

 

So he has. Had no idea he was involved in founding the San Diego Comic Con.

 

That’s sad. Rogue Planet was one of my first-ever EU books. How he wrote Zonama Sekot was so interesting, and the mystery setup of Vergere and the Far Outsiders (didn’t know yet it was planned as part of the NJO series). The worldbuilding details, and how the ships are created. Anakin’s first kill, of the Blood Carver, still remember reading the graphic details of his pasty gold blood from his broken body… and now the foreshadowing with it being in defense of the Magister’s daughter. Obi-wan’s character was a little off, with him wishing to hit Anakin. The sad death of the Jabitha, after all that. But yeah, it goes to show it left a mark on me, that I can still remember all these details. And of course he was a prolific author outside of Star Wars too.

 

Shame to hear.

Rogue Planet is a good book, really like how it deals with Anakin and how dark he gets.

 

https://locusmag.com/2022/11/greg-bear-1951-2022/ - short Locus Magazine obit. Article says a longer one will be posted.

 

Rogue Planet is terribly underrated. It’s extremely well-written sci-fi literature, one of the few books I would point to alongside Stover’s work as being more than just tie-in SF. It’s weird, exciting literary adventure, with the sense of exploration and discovery of this strange new world with a great sci-fi conceit, the aura of fall-of-the-Republic decay that pervades Sienar and Tarkin’s plotline with its dark, conspiratorial rise-of-Palpatine paranoid-thriller elements, the rich themes running throughout exploring ideas about life and the Force, and above all, fantastic characterization that showcases the best-ever depiction of Anakin and Obi-Wan as a duo. The genuine affection, Anakin’s restlessness, a childlike innocence paired with rambunctious, heedless energy, playing off Obi-Wan’s paternal joy paired with a despairing struggle to keep up, feeling unworthy and unready, fearful of not living up to Qui-Gon’s example. It’s a bond of genuine love and affection shot through with apprehension about the future, something that Bear did far better than even Lucas did in blending heroism and foreboding, delivering a believable characterization. It’s really fantastic.

I’ll also point out that I’ve read one non-SW book of his, Hull Zero One, and am looking to read more. It was really interesting and fun, a good combination of adventure and ideas. Bear’s a really good, interesting author with a great contribution to SW, and it’s a shame to hear he’s gone.

 

I said it in my post, but that also very accurately describes his Forerunner Trilogy. There beloved both in Halo fandom but also the wider Sci-Fi community. You don't even need to know or like the Halo games to get alot out of it, but if you do they go from 10/10's to 11/10s.

Highly recommend them even if you don't care about Halo.

As for his original stuff, Blood Music is seminal and Forge of God is amazing

 

Well this is sad news, I have yet to read rouge planet but I did read his Forerunner trilogy for Halo which was amazing his engagement with that community was also just as amazing.