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Tuesday 21 April 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 20 April 2026
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Watson, Ian
(1943-2026) UK teacher and author who lectured in English in Tanzania (1965-1967) and Tokyo (1967-1970) before beginning to publish sf with "Roof Garden Under Saturn" for New Worlds in 1969; he then taught Future Studies for six years at Birmingham Polytechnic, taking there one of the first academic courses in sf in the UK; he became a full-time writer in 1976, publishing around 200 short stories since 1969 at a gradually increasing tempo and with visibly ...
Roberts, J W
(1824-1900) US newspaper publisher and author of Looking Within: The Misleading Tendencies of "Looking Backward" Made Manifest (1893), a Dystopia designed as its subtitle indicates to rebut Edward Bellamy's Looking Backward 2000-1888 (1888). The rich young protagonist, with the aid of a scientist whose potion puts him into Suspended Animation for a several ...
People Who Own the Dark, The
Spanish/US film (1976; 1980 US). Original title Ultimo deseo; vt Planeta Ciego. Cinematic Releasing Corporation (US). Produced by Jorge Luis Renena Tomayo (Spain), Sean S Cunningham (US). Directed by Léon Klimovsky. Written by Gabriel Moreno Burgos (credited as Gabriel Burgos), Vicenta Aranda and Joaquim Jordà. Cast includes Alberto de Mendoza, Teresa Gimpera, Nadiuska, Paul Naschy (credited as Paul MacKay), Tomás Picó and Julia Saly. 94 ...
Kerr, A W
(1848-1934) Scottish author of Space: A Mirage (1913), in which an extremely early version of the Galactic Empire is sketched, though in allegorical terms involving spiritually advanced "celestials" who watch and ward over Earth, despite opposition from the Sardonics who inhabit a planet of that name. [JC]
Montgomery, Rutherford
(1894-1985) US author of books for children from 1932, mostly set in the American west, often featuring animals prominently. Of sf interest is the Young Adult Kent Barstow sequence, beginning with Kent Barstow Special Agent (1958) and ending with Kent Barstow Aboard the Dyna Soar (1964); Barstow, a test pilot and special agent, engages in Technothriller adventures in defense of America, and ...
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 ...