Lifeboat Foundation

Greg Bear, the affable San Diego native who wrote such highly acclaimed and plausible science fiction novels as “Blood Music,” “Darwin’s Radio” and “Eon” and who helped create San Diego Comic-Con, died Saturday in Seattle. He was 71.

His books included “Blood Music” and “Darwin’s Radio,” which helped establish him as a “hard” sci-writer who created plausible tales with the help of scientists.