The Number of the Book: A Guest Post by Greg Bear
Today we’re over the moon to have one of the world’s leading hard SF authors, Greg Bear, guest blogging for Gollancz. KILLING TITAN, book two in his War Dogs trilogy, is out in paperback and Greg is reflecting on the incredible body of work he’s amassed so far…
As I put the final touches on TAKE BACK THE SKY, the third book in the War Dogs sequence, I look back and realize I’ve never actually counted the novels and collections I’ve published in the last thirty-seven years… And to my amazement, that’s how long it’s been since HEGIRA was published in 1979. More amazing still, it’s been fifty years since my first short story was accepted for publication by FAMOUS SCIENCE FICTION in 1966. Half a century! But I was fifteen at the time.
So – how many books, all in all? Counting only original novels or single-story books and no adaptations or media tie-ins, and no short story collections, there have been twenty-nine… and if I add in the gigantic collaboration that is MONGOLIAD, that brings the total up to thirty-two. Short story collections add up to nine, now that a new compendium of three volumes has been published by Open Road. Add five media tie-ins and that’s forty-six. (Though I’d happily shift the HALO: FORERUNNER TRILOGY over to the list of original novels, since so much of the plot and character creation was left up to me by the good folks at 343.)
But let’s say forty-six. Not nearly the sums achieved by Isaac Asimov (most of his were non-fiction) or my father-in-law, Poul Anderson, but not bad.
Where does TAKE BACK THE SKY land in this list? Minus the collaborations and collections and tie-ins, it’s my twenty-ninth book and my twenty-seventh novel.
And that should sum it up.
Except that I’m sure I’ve forgotten something!
The Guru’s came in peace, bearing gifts to help mankind achieve astonishing feats – but there was, of course, a catch… KILLING TITAN is out now in paperback (haven’t yet read book one, WAR DOGS? Now’s your chance!). To enter to win a copy of WAR DOGS and KILLING TITAN fill in the form below. Good luck. For full terms and conditions of our giveaway visit: http://bit.ly/18tNWjB