SF Encyclopedia Home Page
Monday 13 April 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 13 April 2026
Sponsor of the day: John Howard
Goliath Awaits
Made-for-tv film (1981). Larry White Productions/Columbia Picture Television. Syndicated. Produced by Hugh Benson. Directed by Kevin Connor. Written by Richard M Bluel and Pat Fielder from a story by Bluel, Fielder, and Benson. Cast includes Robert Forster, Frank Gorshin, Mark Harmon, Christopher Lee and Emma Samms. 200 minutes, cut to 186 minutes, 110 minutes for home video release. Colour. / 1939: early in World War Two, the British liner ...
Falkner, John
Pseudonym used by UK author Ernest John Gale (1917-1976) for two routine sf adventures, Untrodden Streets of Time (1954) – featuring Time Travel to the future – and Overlords of Andromeda (1955), a Space Opera featuring human revolt against the titular Aliens. [JC/DRL]
Platt, Marc
(1953- ) UK author associated mainly with the Doctor Who universe, for which he has written Ties in various media; books of interest begin with Doctor Who – Ghost Light (1990) and conclude with Doctor Who: The New Adventures: Lungbarrow (1997). [JC]
Housman, Laurence
(1865-1959) UK playwright and author, brother of Clemence Housman, whose The Were-Wolf (1896) he illustrated [for differently focused entries on both Housman and his sister, see The Encyclopedia of Fantasy under links below], and of the poet A E Housman (1859-1936). During his life Housman was best known for his plays and for several volumes of fantasy and sf stories, including ...
Weinbaum, Batya
Working name of US critic, academic, poet, editor and author Betty Susan Weinbaum (1952- ), most of her work being focused on women's studies (see Feminism) within and without the regions of Speculative Fiction, or more broadly Fantastika. She founded and edits the feminist journal Femspec, which publishes fiction and nonfiction, also editing a ...
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 ...