SF Encyclopedia Home Page
Thursday 12 March 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.
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Okorafor, Nnedi
Working name of US academic and author Nnedimma Okorafor-Mbachu (1974- ), whose Igbo parents had emigrated to America in 1969 but from her early childhood often returned with her to Nigeria, a complex upbringing reflected throughout her writing career; she began to publish work of genre interest with "The Palm Tree Bandit", in Strange Horizons for 11 December 2000. From the first, her work has interwoven traditional sf topoi with ...
Kanbayashi Chōhei
Writing name of Japanese author Kiyoshi Takayanagi (1953- ), occasionally romanized as Chōhei Kambayashi, whose tone swings largely between Cyberpunk of conflicts with machines, and Satire involving cats. He has won the prestigious Seiun Award on multiple occasions, for works in both modes. / Ever since his competition-winning debut short "Kitsune ...
Garriott, Richard
(1961- ) US Game designer, inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame in 2006. Garriott began working on Sword and Sorcery Videogames much influenced by the fantasy Role Playing Game Dungeons and Dragons (1974 Tactical Studies Rules) designed by Gary Gygax, Dave ...
Abbott, Charles
(1858-1926) Australian medical doctor and author, in US from before the end of the century though he returned home; his Prehistoric SF novel, set in early America, was The Cliff Dweller's Daughter; Or, How He Loved Her, an Indian Romance of Prehistoric Times (1899). [JC] see also: Forgotten Futures. /
Hall, Hal
Working name of US author Harold Curtis Hall (1911-1992), not to be confused with Hal W Hall; his Future War novel, The Great Conflict (1942), clearly inspired by the challenge of the New Deal and then World War Two, introduces a visitor to the Utopian America of 2009, a land of peace and productivity. Politicking has ebbed; democracy rules. [JC]
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 reviews on BBC Radio from 1974 and ...