SF Encyclopedia Home Page
Monday 16 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 ...
Ruth, Rod
(1912-1987) Working name of American artist Rodney Ruth. After growing up in a rustic area near Lake Michigan, which inspired a lifelong devotion to nature, Ruth moved to Chicago to receive artistic training at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, the Frederick Mizen School of Arts, and the Institute of Design. Some freelance work eventually led to regular employment as a staff artist for the Chicago-based Ziff-Davis magazines, which included the sf magazines ...
Day After, The
Made-for-tv film (1983). ABC. Directed by Nicholas Meyer. Written by Edward Hume. Cast includes Steven Guttenberg, Lori Lethin, John Lithgow, Jason Robards, Jo-Beth Williams and William Allen Young. 121 minutes. Colour. / Set in Lawrence, Kansas, the film tells of a massive nuclear exchange between the USA and USSR. Many of the missiles hit Kansas and Missouri, targeted because of their numerous Minuteman silos. The Day After opens a week ...
Williamson, Robert H
(? -? ) UK author whose only known novel, The Sweetness of Revenge (1904) is an adventure with sf elements, including the Invention of an advanced Machine; any Near Future implications of the tale, which takes place mostly at sea, are only dubiously to be inferred. [JC]
Baen Books
US publishing company founded in 1983 by Jim Baen by arrangement with Simon and Schuster, which wanted Baen to preside over a makeover of the Pocket Books sf line but agreed to his counter-proposal of an independent company providing genre publications for distribution through Simon and Schuster. Baen Books, publishing only sf and fantasy, has maintained itself as a full and genuine publisher – generally specializing 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 reviews on BBC Radio from 1974 and ...