SF Encyclopedia Home Page
Sunday 9 August 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 3 August 2026
Sponsor of the day: John Howard
Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe
US Serial Film (1953; vt Commando Cody). Republic Pictures. Directed by Franklin Adreon, Fred C Brannon and Harry Keller. Written by Ronald Davidson and Barry Shipman. Cast includes Richard Crane, Gregory Gaye, Judd Holdren, William Schallert and Aline Towne. Twelve circa 28-minute episodes. Black and white. / Commando Cody (Holdren), nicknamed after his wartime employment, has been ordered by the government to wear a mask at all times ...
Jones, Alice Eleanor
Working name of US academic and author Alice Eleanor Nearing (1916-1981), married to Homer Nearing Jr, whose surname she adopted legally. She began to publish work of genre interest with "Life, Incorporated" in Fantastic Universe for April 1955, and remained active for the next decade, though most of her work was nonfantastic, including one novel-length tale, "Strange Courtship" (5 March Redbook), which did not ...
May, Julian
(1931-2017) US editor and author, active in US Fandom in the 1940s and early 1950s; married to T E Dikty from 1953 to his death in 1991, founding with him Publication Associates in 1957 (see his entry for this and later enterprises); he also served as editor and agent for all her mature work. She began publishing sf with "Dune Roller" in Astounding for December 1951, a frequently anthologized story that was ...
Only Lovers Left Alive
Film (2013). Recorded Picture Company,/Pandora Filmproduktion,/Snow Wolf Produktion. Directed by Jim Jarmusch. Written by Jim Jarmusch. Cast includes Tom Hiddleston, John Hurt, Tilda Swinton and Mia Wasikowska. 123 minutes. Colour. / The protagonists' names, Adam and Eve, augur ill. Adam (Hiddleston) and Eve (Swinton) are Vampire lovers who have enjoyed a sophisticated but intermittent intimacy for centuries ...
Gingrich, Newt
Working name of US history professor, politician and author Newton Leroy Gingrich (1943- ), Speaker of the House of Representatives 1995-1999, contender in the run-ups to the American presidential election fo 2012, of interest here for his collaborations with William R Forstchen, beginning with 1945 (1995), a Hitler Wins tale in which Germany confronts America after its 1945 victory in ...
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 ...