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Wednesday 11 February 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 9 February 2026
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Carver, Jeffrey A
(1949-2026) US author who began publishing sf with "... Of No Return" in Fiction Magazine for 1974. His first novel, Seas of Ernathe (1976), which serves as an introduction to the loose Star Rigger sequence of Space Operas, showed early signs of a love of plot and thematic complexity which would take him some time, and several novels, to control. The continuation, Star Rigger's Way (1978), for instance, combines quest ...
Couvreur, André
(1863-1944) French medical doctor and author who used his professional knowledge in the creation of the Caresco sequence – comprising Le Mal Nécessaire (1899; trans Brian Stableford as The Necessary Evil 2014) and Caresco surhomme; ou le Voyage en Eucrasie (1904; trans Brian Stableford as Caresco, Superman 2014) – whose protagonist, ...
E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial
Film (1982). Universal. Directed and coproduced by Steven Spielberg. Written by Melissa Mathison. Cast includes Drew Barrymore, Peter Coyote, Robert McNaughton, Henry Thomas and Dee Wallace. 115 minutes. Colour. / 10-year-old Elliott (Thomas) meets an alien, "E.T.", who has been accidentally left outside Los Angeles when his spacecraft and its crew – which we infer includes his parents – is forced to depart rapidly to avoid a search ...
Pacific Rim
American film (2013). Warner Brothers/Legendary Pictures. Directed by Guillermo Del Toro. Written by Travis Beacham and del Toro, based on a story by Beacham. Cast includes Charlie Day, Idris Elba, Burn Gorman, Charlie Hunnam, Robert Kazinsky, Rinko Kikuchi, Max Martini and Ron Perlman. 131 minutes. Colour. / As a prelude to their colonization of Earth, Aliens from another Dimension have ...
Food of the Gods
Film (1976). American International Pictures. Produced and directed by Bert I Gordon. Written by Gordon, based on a "portion" of The Food of the Gods and How it Came to Earth (1904) by H G Wells. Cast includes Pamela Franklin, Marjoe Gortner, Ida Lupino and Ralph Meeker. 88 minutes. Colour. / Set on an island off the coast of British Columbia, ...
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 ...