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Sunday 22 June 2025
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.
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Forsyth, Frederick
(1938-2025) UK author who gained fame with his first novel, The Day of the Jackal (1971), and whose books are generally political thrillers. The Shepherd (1975 chap), however, is a sentimental Timeslip or ghost fantasy in which a pilot on Christmas Eve 1957 is saved from crashing by a World War Two pilot in an antique bomber: pilot and plane had been shot down on the Christmas Eve of 1943. ...
Kirn, Walter
(1962- ) US critic and author whose sf novel, The Unbinding (23 June 2006 Slate web; rev 2007), is a Near Future novel about the intricacies and implications of online prying. [JC]
Pagetti, Carlo
(1945- ) Italian critic, since 1971 Professor of English Literature, first at the University of "G. D'Annunzio", Pescara-Chieti, then in other Italian universities: Siena, Bergamo, Turin, and most recently Milan, where he has taught since 1995, occupying several roles. He coordinated the doctoral program in English studies from its founding until 2005. / His Il senso del futuro: la fantascienza nella letteratura Americana ["The Meaning of the Future: Science ...
Gorman, J T
(1869-? ) UK author of Young Adult books, usually of a military cast; he often signed himself Major J T Gorman. Of sf interest is Gorilla Gold (1937), whose young heroes traverse Africa in an autogiro, meeting a giant white gorilla and a pterodactyl en route. [JC]
Green, Roger Lancelyn
(1918-1987) UK scholar, critic, translator (from classical Greek) and author, with a special interest in Fantasy, much of his fiction comprising retellings of traditional material for young readers. Tellers of Tales (1948) [for expansions of this title see Checklist below] is an invaluable early companion to this literature. He was a member of the Inklings group, and among his many works those most relevant to sf studies ...
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 ...