Steve Miller, best known for the long-running Liaden Universe® series of space opera stories and novels, coauthored with his beloved wife and partner Sharon Lee, died February 20, 2024, in their home in Waterville, Maine. He was 73.

Steve had been fighting heart trouble for several years and, old newspaperman that he was, had prepped his obituary for the trade months before. Steve had worked many jobs before becoming a full time writer, including managing early BBS systems, acting as an internet librarian, owning and managing a science fiction themed used bookstore and art gallery with his wife, and acting as a freelance reporter for many Baltimore area and national publications.

Steve leaves behind a legacy that has profoundly shaped the landscape of science fiction and inspired a generation of new writers. Last year saw the publication of their 100th collaboration together, the national best-selling science fiction novel Salvage Right; Ribbon Dance, also a Liaden novel, is scheduled for release in June 2024, and Sharon intends to continue the series as they had planned.

Steve’s interest in chess was lifelong. He was a member of the University of Maryland Baltimore County Chess League, a U.S. Chess Federation Tournament Director, President of the Owings Mills Chess Club, President of the Waterville Chess Club, and ran numerous tournaments in many venues. He was part of Waterville’s Main Chess League championship team in 1998.

We at Baen honor not only his remarkable literary achievements but also the warmth, kindness, and boundless imagination that defined him as both an author and a friend. “He was one of the good guys,” said his publisher Toni Weisskopf. “A true light shining in the science fiction community.” In this time of sorrow, our thoughts and condolences are with Sharon Lee, and the countless fans whose lives have been touched by Steve’s legacy.

Steve was predeceased by his father, Donald Miller of Madeira Beach, FL, his stepfather, Ronald L. Moore, Sr., and his mother, Helen Moore. Survived by his wife, Sharon Lee, and siblings Donald George Miller (Kim), Craig Edward Miller (Brenda), Cindy Rex (Ron Prietz Sr.), Roland L. Moore, Jr. (Kay) and numerous nieces and nephews.

Finalists exemplify the best of near-future, forward-thinking science fiction. Annual contest marks 16 years of highlighting bright futures and rising talent.

For the month of April, to celebrate the mass market release of his novel The Moon and the Desert, we’re offering discounts on all of Robert E. Hampson’s backlist ebook titles. A working scientist and lifelong reader of science fiction, Hampson’s work echoes the best hard SF of the Golden Age but remains firmly grounded in the present while looking toward the future.

Dr. Robert E. Hampson is a neuroscientist and author. By day, he is a professor in the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine. By night, he writes military, adventure and hard-science science fiction as well as nonfiction articles explaining science to the general public.

Robert Hampson's 2023 novel The Moon and the Desert, builds on his forty-year scientific career to update the 1970s classic TV program The Six Million Dollar Man. His SF writing career began with "They Also Serve," a short story in Riding the Red Horse, published in 2015. That story became the foundation of his first solo novel The Human Side, in 2020. He has three collaborative novels with Sandra Medlock, Chris Kennedy and Casey Moores in the "Wrogul's Oath" arc of the popular Four Horsemen Universe, has co-edited two anthologies, and published more than 25 works of short fiction (some written as “Tedd Roberts”). He is also a regular contributor of nonfiction articles for science fiction readers, with more than 15 articles published.

Dr. Hampson is a professor of regenerative medicine, translational neuroscience, and neurology at Wake Forest School of Medicine; a teacher; a scientific journal editor; a reviewer for dozens of journals and research agencies; has been interviewed on his research by newspapers, radio and TV; and a consultant to TV and game producers, defense contractors, and authors. He has published more than 175 peer-reviewed scientific articles.

His website is http://REHampson.com.

Bionic Frontier

Robert E. Hampson

“Hey, Shep, great to see you again!” Jakob Novikoff and Victoria Horst met Glenn “Shep” Shepard in the entrance lobby of the Jack Steele Center for Bionics in San Antonio. Jakob and Shep had been fellow patients at a rehabilitation center for amputees not far from their current location. Vicky had been a later addition to the patient population. The common thread linking them was that each had received bionic replacements for their missing limbs, and were re-entering the workforce.

“Have I got something to show you! Take a look at this,” Jakob continued with enthusiasm. He held up a pair of bionic limbs that looked like legs with considerable modifications.

Glenn took a limb and examined it. It had the usual magnetic bearing at the knee, but the lower leg appeared slender, with a less pronounced heel and longer, more flexible toes. “Those look almost like hands,” he said wonderingly.

“Got it in one. We’re calling those ‘tingers.’ The whole structure is a ‘foothand’ although some of the techs shorten that to ‘fands,’” Jakob told Glenn. “They’re for use in zero-gee environments.”

“Who came up with this, you?”

“Yeah, there was a book I read from the late Twentieth. Genetically engineered humans with four arms and no legs. They were designed as slaves for zero-gee work. Artificial gravity made them obsolete, and the owners were going to eliminate them, but were stopped by a slave revolt.”

“I hope that’s not a prediction for how things will go.”

“No, but it’s not a bad analogy. Instead of being a burden on society, bionics allow me to be a very productive member of space-based society.”

“I notice you’re wearing regular legs right now, though.”

“Sure, I refuse to be defined by my injury. Land, sea, air, or space, I can do any job I want.”

“Good for you, Jakob. Good for you.”

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