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Friday 11 September 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 7 September 2026
Sponsor of the day: David Cowhig
Blommedaal, Laurens J
(1956- ) Dutch-born UK author whose The Desperado of the Metal (1991) follows the adventures of a Cyberpunk protagonist through a noir Near Future Britain on the brink of extinction. [JC]
Introduction to the Second Book Edition
The first edition of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction won a Hugo Award as best nonfiction sf book of its year, and immediately became the standard one-volume reference in the field. However, as the years passed, its usefulness diminished as it fell slowly out of date. That first edition was completed in June 1978, and published in 1979. This is its second edition, from new publishers. It has been not only updated, but also wholly revised and almost wholly rewritten. In effect it is a ...
Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens
Film (2015). Lucasfilm/Bad Robot/Truenorth Productions. Directed by J J Abrams. Written by Lawrence Kasdan and Abrams. Cast includes John Boyega, Daniel Craig (uncredited), Adam Driver, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Domhnall Gleeson, Mark Hamill, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong'o, Daisy Ridley, Andy Serkis, Max von Sydow. 3D. 135 minutes. Colour. / This smooth and splendiferous resumption of the ...
Lost Saucer, The
Juvenile tv series (1975). Krofft Entertainment for ABC-TV. Executive producers Sid and Marty Krofft (see The Krofft Brothers). Directors included Dick Dorley, Walter C Miller and Jack Regas. Writers included Barry E Blitzer, John L Greene, and Seaman Jacobs. Cast includes Ruth Buzzie, Jarrod Johnson, Jim Nabors and Alice Playten. Sixteen 30-minute episodes. Colour. / Two friendly Aliens who seem to be ...
Stevenson, Philip L
(? -circa 1920) UK soldier and author, who served in World War One as an historian of the conflict; most of his novels were historical romances. He is of sf interest for the Near Future Battle of Dorking tale, How the Jubilee Fleet Escaped Destruction, and the Battle orf Ushant: Or, Two Episodes in the Career of a Naval Officer (1899), where the UK ...
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 ...