SF Encyclopedia Home Page
Sunday 12 July 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 July 2026
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SF Site
Web-based science fiction magazine launched by John O'Neill and Rodger Turner (1947-2025) in June 1997, making it in its final year of 2025 one of the oldest sf websites still in existence. O'Neill left to launch Black Gate, a site devoted primarily to fantasy and gaming (first issue, November 2000) but Turner continued as editor, assisted by Wayne McLaurin and Neil Walsh. Originally published as a rolling series of updates to the ...
Monomolecular Wire
An ultra-strong and ultra-thin monofilament occasionally found in sf and typically consisting of a single, very strongly bonded molecule, though other explanations may be given. Obvious real-world precursors are synthetic fibres such as nylon monofilament; the film The Man in the White Suit (1951) extrapolates from nylon to the nearly uncuttable monofilament used to make the dirt-proof and tear-proof garment of the title. In the same ...
Rustoff, Michael
Pseudonym of UK minister and author Forbes Edward Winslow (1842-1913), whose What Will Mrs Grundy Say? or A Calamity on Two Legs (A Book for Men) (1891) carries its protagonist via Balloon to an unnamed (but nearby) planet where euthanasia is practised. The tale is told in a Satirical vein. [JC]
Ballinger, William S
(1912-1980) US screenwriter (10 scripts between 1954 and 1974) and author who has also signed his books Bill S Ballinger (but who should not be confused with W A Ballinger, a House Name used by W Howard Baker and Wilfred McNeilly); he also published books as by Frederic Freyer and B X Sanborn. His work in radio, film and television was relatively successful (he won an Edgar Award ...
Button, John
(? -? ) US author, sometimes referred to as Dr John Button. He is noted for ghostwriting five novels in the Hardy Boys series of juvenile adventures, attributed (like all others in the series) to Franklin W Dixon; everyone familiar with the series agrees that his work was inferior to that of his predecessor (and successor), the much-admired Leslie McFarlane (1902-1977), whose contributions to the series were ...
Clute, John
(1940- ) Canadian critic, editor and author, in the UK from 1969; married to Judith Clute from 1964, partner of Elizabeth Hand since 1996. He began to publish work of genre interest with an sf-tinged poem "Carcajou Lament" in Triquarterly for Winter 1960 [ie Autumn 1959]; he began consistently publishing sf reviews in his "New Fiction" column for the Toronto Star ...