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Monday 2 December 2024
Welcome to the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, Fourth Edition. Some sample entries appear below. Click here for the Introduction; here for the masthead; here for 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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Wager, Walter
(1924-2004) US crime and spy-thriller author who also wrote as John Tiger and (his first and second names) Walter Herman. His borderline-sf political suspense thriller Viper Three (1971), in which escaped prisoners take over a US nuclear missile silo and blackmail the government with threats of a launch that will trigger World War Three, was adapted for Cinema with a somewhat different slant and ending as ...
Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man
Film (1951). Universal International Pictures. Directed by Charles Lamont. Screenplay by John Grant, Robert Lees and Frederic I Rinaldo, very loosely based on The Invisible Man (1897) by H G Wells. Cast includes Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Nancy Guild, Arthur Franz. 82 minutes. Black and white. / Boxer Tommy Nelson (Franz) is framed for the murder of a boxing promoter when he refuses to throw a bout as ordered by local gangsters. Knowing that ...
Ebbs, Paul
(circa 1965- ) UK poet, screenwriter and author, in the latter two capacities producing content in various theatres of the Doctor Who universe: Doctor Who: New Adventures: The Book of the Still (2002), in which a Book serves as a lifeline for stranded time travellers (see Time Travel), the story spiralling complexly (for this universe) into a kind of Bollywood musical extravaganza; and ...
Andromeda Breakthrough, The
UK tv serial (1962). A BBC TV production. Produced by John Elliot, written Fred Hoyle, Elliot. Six episodes, five at 45 minutes, the sixth 50 minutes. Black and white. The cast included Peter Halliday, Mary Morris, Barry Linehan, John Hollis, Susan Hampshire. / In this sequel to A for Andromeda the android woman built according to instructions from the stars is played by Susan ...
Parasitism and Symbiosis
Parasitism and symbiosis are Nature's extreme forms of commensalism (physical association). A parasitic species promotes its own interests entirely to the detriment of the other; symbiosis refers to the much less common state in which both organisms obtain some benefit from the association. / Imaginary parasites of human beings are featured in many effective sf Horror stories, often linked to the idea of vampirism (although classical ...
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 ...