SF Encyclopedia Home Page
Thursday 10 July 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.
Site updated on 7 July 2025
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Alpers, Hans Joachim
(1943-2011) German sf editor, critic, Small-Press publisher, literary agent and author, sometimes as Jurgen Andreas; editor 1978-1980 of Knaur SF and 1980-1986 of the Moewig SF list. With Ronald M Hahn (1948- ) he edited the first anthology of native German sf (see Germany), Science Fiction aus Deutschland ["Science Fiction from Germany"] ...
Sieveking, Lance
Working name of UK poet, radio and television producer and author Lancelot de Giberne Sieveking (1896-1972) for his later work, though his first books were signed with his full name, or with Lancelot reduced to L, or as Capt L de G Sieveking (he reached the rank of Captain during active service in the Royal Naval Air Service through most of World War One). He was with the BBC 1925-1956, producing at least 200 plays for Radio by 1938, ...
Definitions of SF
The term Science Fiction came into general use in the 1930s, an early appearance being in Hugo Gernsback's editorial to #1 of Wonder Stories (June 1929); its first use on the cover of a standalone book may be the first volume in Gernsback's Science Fiction Series, The Girl from Mars (1929 chap) by Miles J ...
Grossman, Dave
(1956- ) German-born US author, a former lieutenant colonel in the US Army and student of the psychology of killing [see Checklist below]. He began to publish sf with The War with Earth (2003) and Kren of the Mitchegai (2004), both in collaboration with Leo Frankowski (whom see for description); these are the second and third books in the A Boy and His Tank/New Kashubia ...
Campbell, H J
(1925-1983) UK research chemist (a Fellow of the Chemical Society), author and editor. He was active in Fandom during the early 1950s as Bert Campbell. After writing some science articles he gradually branched out into the world of sf, as well as selling line drawings to many magazines, including Amateur Photographer and Television Weekly. He scripted the Daily Herald cartoon series Captain Universe and served as technical editor and then ...
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 ...