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While the scale and detailed science of his work makes clear that he should be classified as a hard science fiction author, the plausibility of some of his science has been labelled questionable by some. For example, it is has been pointed out that it hard to imagine that the bacteria in Blood Music could process enough information to become self-aware. Others have noted that singly, the bacteria could merely have information processing ability and they could then develop consciousness when they grouped into colonies.
The Forge of God uses the Gaia theory freely in ways that might be considered questionable by some scientists. Neo-Darwinists such as Richard Dawkins would question the introduction of the Gaia hypothesis itself. More recent works such as the Darwin's Radio/Darwin's Children pair of novels which deal with the impact of a strange disease which appears to drive evolutionary transitions, stick closely to the known facts of molecular biology of viruses and evolution. While some fairly speculative ideas are entertained (it is after all, fiction) they are introduced in such a rigorous and disciplined way within the context of the cutting edge of those disciplines, that Darwin's Radio gained praise in the science journal Nature.
While most of Bear's work is science fiction, two of his early works, The Infinity Concerto and The Serpent Mage are clearly fantasies.
Work
Bibliography
External links