SF Encyclopedia Home Page
Sunday 26 July 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 20 July 2026
Sponsor of the day: John Howard
Fire Maidens from Outer Space
UK film (1956; vt Fire Maidens of Outer Space). Criterion Films. Directed and written by Cy Roth. Cast includes Owen Berry, Paul Carpenter, Jacqueline Curtis, Anthony Dexter, Susan Shaw and Richard Walter. 80 minutes. Black and white. / Following the discovery of the Earth-like 13th moon of Jupiter, a nuclear-powered Rocket ship lifts off from the American-British Astronomical Station in Surrey; the five-man crew is led ...
Tears in the Rain
South African short film (2017). Andrew MacDonald Films. Directed by Christopher Grant Harvey. Written by Harvey and Evan James Demskey. Cast includes Sean Cameron Michael and Russel Savadier. 11 minutes. Colour. / While most filmed fan fiction is limited in exposure to Conventions and variously popular corners of the internet, this tribute to Blade Runner (1982) played at film festivals around the world, ...
Salisbury, H B
(? -? ) US author of a Utopia, Miss Worden's Hero; Or, the Birth of Freedom (November 1890-April 1891 The Nationalist; 1890; vt The Birth of Freedom: A Socialist Novel 1894), where a great cataclysm makes possible in America the rational establishment of an ideal society on socialist lines. [JC]
Biss, Gerald
(1876-1922) UK journalist with a particular interest in motoring or "automobilism" (his coinage), and a prolific author, active from 1901 or earlier; he began to publish of serial stories syndicated in many newspapers worldwide, five of which subsequently appeared as hardback thriller novels. The earliest known serialization venues are given here but may not be reliable. Biss's second novel The White Rose Mystery (1904 Falkirk Herald as "The White Rose"; 1907) is arguably ...
Neo Tokyo
Japanese animated film (1987). Original title Meikyū Monogatari; vt Manie-Manie. Based on the works of Taku Mayumura. Project Team Argos, Madhouse. Directed and written by Yoshiaki Kawajiri, Katsuhiro Ōtomo and Rintaro. Executive producer Haruki Kadokawa. Voice cast includes Banjō Ginga, Yū ...
Nicholls, Peter
(1939-2018) Australian editor and author, primarily a critic and historian of sf through his creation and editing of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction [see below]; resident in the UK 1970-1988, in Australia from 1988; worked as an academic in English literature (1962-1968, 1971-1977), scripted television documentaries, was a Harkness Fellow in Film-making (1968-1970) in the USA, worked as a publisher's editor (1982-1983), often broadcast film and book ...