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Wednesday 16 July 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.
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Stables, Gordon
(1840-1910) Scottish medical doctor and author of children's fiction, writing well over a hundred novels, primarily for boys; he served as surgeon on a whaling boat and later with the Royal Navy until 1875; some of his books were signed Dr Gordon Stables, RN, and some others were signed W Gordon-Stables or W Gordon Stables, MD, RN. He wrote extensively for the Boys' Papers, including The Boy's Own Paper, where he published many ...
UFOs
A common item of Terminology, both inside and outside sf: UFO is an acronym for Unidentified Flying Object. In the first edition of this encyclopedia in 1979, the subject of ufology was discussed under the heading "Flying Saucers". The change of title reflects the fact that ufology itself has changed over subsequent decades, and may now be thought of almost as three separate disciplines or interpretations of the phenomenon, one of which (the extraterrestrial ...
Lavender, Isiah, III
(? - ) US academic, currently associate Professor of English at Louisiana State University, where he researches and lectures on African American Studies and Science Fiction. From 2004 onwards he has contributed articles and reviews to such journals as Extrapolation and Science Fiction Studies; his first book was Race in American Science Fiction (2011). ...
Philip, Alex J
(1879-1955) UK author of Rabbits: A Novel of Realism (1946), which recounts an Invasion by Aliens who treat humans as though they were rabbits, and hunt them for sport (see Games and Sport). [JC]
Hallums, James R
(? - ) UK author of whom nothing is known beyond his authorship of the unremarkable They Came, They Saw (1965), set in a 1979 world menaced by the threat of Invasion. [JC]
Langford, David
(1953- ) UK author, critic, editor, publisher and sf fan, in the latter capacity recipient of 21 Hugo awards for fan writing – some of the best of his several hundred pieces are assembled as Let's Hear It for the Deaf Man (coll 1992 chap US; much exp vt The Silence of the Langford 1996; exp 2015 ebook) as Dave Langford, edited by Ben Yalow – plus five Best Fanzine Hugos ...