Are all of his books as good as Moving Mars? In looking at his Amazon listings , I don’t remember reading his other books, although I very well may have in my heavy sci fi reading days in the past.
My only experience with Greg Bear is the first book of The Mongoliad, co-written with Neal Stephenson. It’s my least favorite of the seven or eight Stephenson books I’ve read. I don’t know if it was just a lackluster effort for both guys, or it’s Bear’s influence that I’m detecting and not liking.
In hindsight, this was not a terribly helpful post.
Um…bump? 
The Mongoliad was as good as a book written by committee could ever be (ie, bad). I don’t lay the blame at any one participant’s feet, I mean, except all of them for dreaming up such an obviously dumbass project.
Greg Bear’s novel Darwin’s Radio won the Nebula for Best Novel in 2000. He’s generally well regarded.
I’ve read several of Greg Bear’s books and enjoyed them all. (I actively seek them out at used bookstores) About as close as I can come to quantifying “as good as Moving Mars”.
I think he’s reliably good; at least I’ve never been disappointed. But it’s been a while since I read any of his stuff, so I can’t make specific recommendations. I too thought that Moving Mars was very good; I have also read Eon, Eternity, and Blood Music, and enjoyed all of them. I have not read any of his Halo books, nor anything since 2007 or so.
It’s been a while, but I really enjoyed Darwin’s Radio. The sequel, not so much. The dialog/interpersonal relationship depiction is somewhat naive, as I recall, but that’s not unusual in the genre. I’ll still recommend it, since the premise is quite fun and thought-provoking, and the action is enjoyable.
I’m pretty sure I enjoyed Vitals when I was reading it, in the same way as above, but I don’t remember as much about it. If it’s the book I’m thinking about, there is a neat bit incorporating the fabled Cold War Russian research into reviving canines and such. I’m going to have to reread this one.
I didn’t care for Darwin’s Radio. . . the story just didn’t grab me.
But, I read one of his early books, Eon, back in 1985 and I thought that was excellent. A really great work of science fiction with some really compelling and original ideas.
Not to hijack the thread, but Neal Stephenson is an enigma. Two pretty much ignored first books. Two amazing genre-setting books after (Snow Crash and Diamond Age). Downhill ever since, with Reamde being really the bottom of the barrel hack. It’s like Snow Crash and Diamond Age were written by someone else.
Having read The Way series and the Forge of God (and sequel), I’d characterize Bear as having wonderful speculative and futurist ideas, but his plotting and character construction is often clunky. Within a book, his narrative voice seems to drift around randomly between hard-sciencey analytical and space opera at a whim, and his characters feel more like they were generated from a spreadsheet library of personality attributes rather than being organically created, which I find distracting.
In short, great concepts and adventures, but the authorial puppet-strings are too visible.
edit: Looking at his list of works, I realize I’ve started Queen of Angels twice over the years, and never made it past the first couple of chapters, it just didn’t hook me.
Oh god, Stephenson’s the Baroque cycle. So many words, so much tedious page-turning. Except, occasionally, every 100 pages or so, an awesome fight or drama or historical info dump. And i keep reading damn it.
It’s been a long time since I read Greg Bear, but Blood Music is excellent, and was nominated for the Hugo, the Nebula, and the John W. Campbell award in the year it came out. In the original novelette form, it won the Hugo and the Nebula. So it’s really something a science fiction fan should read. In fact, I think I’ll go re-read it…
Actually, lots of Bear’s books have been nominated for major awards. He’s a real awards magnet. Something about his successful mix of hard science fiction and more speculative stuff works well. His work usually has a lot of hard science, but doesn’t usually come across as space opera or simplistic. Some hard SF is terrible when it comes to characterization and plot complexity. Bear strives for something a little deeper, usually.
I must be in a minority. I found Cryptonomicon and the Baroque Cycle truly awesome, while his earlier scirnce fiction I merely liked - Snow Crash and the Diamond Age.
That was actually part of the appeal. I like hard sci fi, but I want some story to go along with it. That’s why I finally figured I have such a hard time with Kim Stanley Robinson.
I’m bumping my own Zombie thread. There are two Eon books available from Greg Bear for the Kindle daily deals. Eon and Eternity, each for $1.99
Should I grab these for the low price?
It’s up to you. I read Eon and didn’t care for it at all. Didn’t like Darwin’s Radio, either. After those, I didn’t feel very interested in trying Bear for another shot. But YMMV
I love Greg Bear. FWIW.
Don’t all his book end with the destruction of the Earth?
The Forge of God certainly does; but it is a brilliant book, and includes a lot of hope, which is fulfilled in the sequence, Anvil of Stars. Both together would make a very good film or two.
Blood Music squicked me something fierce.
Counterpoint: Good Omens