SF Encyclopedia Home Page
Saturday 19 April 2025
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 14 April 2025
Sponsor of the day: Ted Chiang
Stern, J David
(1886-1971) US newspaper publisher and author. His Eidolon: A Philosophical Phantasy Built on a Syllogism (1952) tells of a virgin birth (see Religion) and an enigmatic Messiah figure. Stern should not be confused with his son, David J Stern (1909-2003), who created Francis the Talking Mule in his novel Francis (1946). [PN/DRL]
Macdonald, James D
(1954- ) US author who began publishing work of genre interest with "The Little Prune That Couldn't Talk" for Apanage #62 in 1980, but who has worked almost exclusively since in partnership with Debra Doyle – they were married in 1978 – and we make no estimate of seniority in this partnership, as it gives every evidence of being seamless. They began publishing in collaboration with "Bad Blood" in Werewolves (anth ...
Starchaser: The Legend of Orin
US/South Korean animated film (1985). Young Sung Production Co. Ltd.. Directed by Steven Hahn. Written by Jeffrey Scott. Voice cast includes Carmen Argenziano, Tyke Caravelli, Joe Colligan, Anthony De Longis, Noelle North, Les Tremayne and Thomas H. Watkins. 101 minutes. Colour. / The slaves (see Slavery) who dig for crystals in planet Trinia's mines are told by the god Zygon (De Longis) that this is the only world and ...
Constable, Frank Challice
(1846-1937) UK lawyer and author, who sometimes published as F C Constable, and sometimes as Colin Clout or Machiavelli Colin Clout. Of his two sf novels, the first – The Curse of Intellect (1895) as Anonymous in UK and as by Machiavelli Colin Clout in the USA – is remarkable for the range of associations it evokes in its recounting of the tragic life of a "monkey". The narrative clearly describes a chimpanzee-like creature which has been brought to conscious life by a ...
Mystery in Space
US Comic (first run 1951-1966). DC Comics. Publication varied between monthly and bimonthly. Editor Julius Schwartz. Writers included Otto Binder, John Broome, Bill Finger, Gardner F Fox, and Edmond Hamilton. Artists included Murphy Anderson, Sid Greene, Gil Kane, Carmino Infantino, and Bob Oskner. ...
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 ...