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Wednesday 11 February 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 9 February 2026
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Carver, Jeffrey A
(1949-2026) US author who began publishing sf with "... Of No Return" in Fiction Magazine for 1974. His first novel, Seas of Ernathe (1976), which serves as an introduction to the loose Star Rigger sequence of Space Operas, showed early signs of a love of plot and thematic complexity which would take him some time, and several novels, to control. The continuation, Star Rigger's Way (1978), for instance, combines quest ...
Septerra Core: Legacy of the Creator
Videogame (1999). Valkyrie Studios. Designed by Brian Babendererde. Platforms: Win. / Septerra Core is a Computer Role Playing Game played in Isometric three-dimensional perspective, with a design heavily influenced by Japanese console games such as the Final Fantasy series. It is set on an alternate ...
Portal
Videogame (1986). Nexa Corporation. Designed by Rob Swigart. Platforms: Amiga, AppleII, AtariST, C64, Mac, PCBoot. / Portal was an attempt to create a "computer novel", a form that was intended to more closely resemble that of hyperfiction (see Hypertext) than that of the text Adventure. The player takes the part of an astronaut sent on a solitary mission ...
Schumacher, Tony
(circa 1968- ) UK journalist and author whose Hitler Wins sequence, the John Rossett series, comprising The Darkest Hour (2014) and The British Lion (2015), is set in a 1946 London under Nazi occupation; the widowed protagonist, after distinguished service in the defeated forces, is seconded to the Office of Jewish Affairs, under control of the new rulers. His job, which ...
Fellman, Isaac
(? - ) US author, who wrote as Rachel Fellman before his transition. His first novel, The Breath of the Sun (2018) as by Rachel Fellman, was reissued (2019) as by Isaac R Fellman; complexly Equipoisal amongst readings as Fabulation, fantasy and self-Parodying sf, the tale focuses on attempts to understand, through climbing, a great mountain (not on ...
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 reviews on BBC Radio from 1974 and ...