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Saturday 5 September 2026
Welcome to the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, Fourth Edition. Some sample entries appear below. Click here for the Introduction; here for what we mean by Science Fiction; here for the masthead; here for some Statistics; here for the Acknowledgments; here for the FAQ; here for advice on citations. Find entries via the search box above (more details here) or browse the menu categories in the grey bar at the top of this page.
Site updated on 31 August 2026
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Murray, Will
Working name of US author William Patrick Murray (1953-2026), who showed an interest throughout his career in Superheroes of the Pulp tradition (on which he was a known authority) such as Doc Savage, about which figure he wrote the nonfiction Secrets of Doc Savage (1981 chap). In this context he had been literary agent for Lester Dent's estate since 1979. ...
Babylon Zoo
Short-lived UK pop group founded in Wolverhampton in 1992, who enjoyed chart success with their single "Spaceman" (1996), a number one chart hit in 23 countries including the UK. The song, a glamrock expression of yearning to become an "intergalactic" astronaut, is memorable for its speeded-up opening and closing sections in which singer and writer Jas Mann's (1971- ) usually thrumming voice is rendered squeaky and alien. Two albums, including one ( ...
Sanda
Japanese animated tv series (2025). Science Saru. Based on the Manga by Paru Itagaki. Directed by Tomohisa Shimoyama. Written by Kimiko Ueno. Voice cast includes Hiroaki Hirata, Mariya Ise, Ayumu Murase, Anna Nagase, Masako Nozawa, Toshihiko Seki, Umeka Shōji and Hiroki Tōchi. Twelve 24-minute episodes. Colour. / When Kazushige Sanda's (Murase) classmate Shiori Fuyumura (Shōji) repeatedly tries to stab him on 25 ...
Crimes of the Future [2]
Film (2022). A Canadian/French/UK/Greek co-production. Serendipity Point Films, Telefilm Canada, Ingenious Media, Argonauts Productions, Crave, CBC Films, ERT, Rocket Science. Written and directed by David Cronenberg. Cast includes Welket Bungué, Don McKellar, Viggo Mortensen, Léa Seydoux, Scott Speedman and Kristen Stewart. 107 minutes. Colour. / In an unspecified future time and place, disease and physical pain have largely been ...
Weir, Andy
(1972- ) US author who has also written as by Jack Sharp and has self-published fiction at his Galactanet site [see links below] since 2009. His first novel, The Martian (2014), initially self-published as a free online ebook in 2012, describes in considerable detail the travails of an astronaut stranded on Mars as fellow-Scientists work out a way to rescue him. His survival techniques include ...
Clute, John
(1940- ) Canadian critic, editor and author, in the UK from 1969; married to Judith Clute from 1964, partner of Elizabeth Hand since 1996. He began to publish work of genre interest with an sf-tinged poem "Carcajou Lament" in Triquarterly for Winter 1960 [ie Autumn 1959]; he began consistently publishing sf reviews in his "New Fiction" column for the Toronto Star ...