SF Encyclopedia Home Page
Tuesday 13 January 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 12 January 2026
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von Däniken, Erich
(1935-2026) Swiss author of a series of purportedly nonfiction books, beginning with Erinnerungen an die Zukunft (1968; trans Michael Heron as Chariots of the Gods? 1969), which, based on a mass of often suspect and internally inconsistent data, argues that the Earth was visited by at least one Alien spacefaring race before and at the dawn of historical time; thus, for example, the Great Pyramid of ...
Berry, James R
(1933-2003) US author most noted for juveniles, beginning with Dar Tellum: Stranger from a Distant Planet (graph 1973) illustrated by Enrica Scull, an effective picture book for younger children, in which the eponymous plant-like Alien cures Earth of carbon-dioxide poisoning. The Galactic Invaders (1976) and Quas Starbrite (1981) are sf-adventure novels, and Magicians of Erianne (1988) is an Arthurian fantasy for ...
Manning, P L
(? - ) UK author, possibly pseudonymous, whose sf novel, The Destroyers (1958), is set on Mars, some time after Earth has been destroyed in a nuclear World War Three. After surviving for some time, the Genetically Engineered human remnant on Mars is driven back to Earth by the original Martians, who have suddenly returned to their home ...
Worlds Beyond
US Digest-size magazine; three issues, monthly December 1950 to February 1951, published by Hillman Periodicals; edited by Damon Knight. Worlds Beyond was divided between original and reprint material, and between sf and fantasy. New stories of note included "Null-P" by William Tenn (January 1951) and Harry Harrison's first story, "Rock Diver" (February 1951); ...
Lolina
Pseudonym used for some recordings and performances by Russian electronic musician and vocalist Alina Astrova (? - ), based in the UK from the age of 17, who has also recorded as Inga Copeland and as part of the duo Hype Williams. Her sf project Unrecognisable (2024) takes several forms. Set in a future "where buildings are being used as weapons in a war between the government and the people", it tells the story of resistance members ...
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 ...