Dean Ing

Dean Charles Ing was an American novelist and short-story writer whose fiction blended science fiction, techno-thriller tension, and practical survival themes. Reliable sources describe him as especially known for technically detailed, survival-minded stories, and note that The Ransom of Black Stealth One became a New York Times bestseller.

Before writing full time, he served in the U.S. Air Force and worked as an aerospace engineer and university professor. Sources also note that he became a professional writer in the late 1970s, published more than thirty books, and was nominated for both the Hugo and Nebula awards for his novelette Devil You Don’t Know.

Born in Austin, Texas, on June 17, 1931, he died at home in Ashland, Oregon, on July 21, 2020, at age 89. He also completed several unfinished manuscripts by fellow science fiction writer Mack Reynolds, adding another chapter to a long career in speculative fiction.