Bear's work, whether written for adult or young adult readers, often appeals as strongly to the audience it was not directed at. Dinosaur Summer (1998; see separate entry, Vol. 9) is aimed at young adults, but can be read by adults with equal pleasure. C. S. Lewis asserted that if one could read and enjoy a story when young and then as an adult read it again with enjoyment, then the story was likely one of substantial merit. Applying this criterion of worth and dual appeal to Bear's fiction, one finds several other crossover works such as "Tangents" and "Blood Music" (1983; see separate entry, Vol. 9), a story which has been widely imitated.

"Tangents" is also written in the tradition of mathematical adventures.

The characters in the story speculate on how two-dimensional beings might view the third dimension. This may show the influence of the novel Flatland by E...