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Saturday 14 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.
Site updated on 9 March 2026
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August, Riley
(? - ) US author whose first novel, The Last Gifts of the Universe (2022; rev 2024), traces the hegira of an Archivist through a Space Opera universe nearing the End of Time, in search of relics as well as clues to the fall of so many great civilizations over the aeons: it is hinted that there may be a reason for this (a sequel is expected) (see ...
It Came from Beneath the Sea
Film (1955). Clover/Columbia. Produced by Charles H Schneer. Directed by Robert Gordon. Written by George Worthing Yates, Hal Smith, based on a story by Yates. Cast includes Donald Curtis, Faith Domergue and Kenneth Tobey. 77 minutes. Black and white. / In this Monster Movie a giant octopus is affected by atomic radiation – as so often in the genre – and goes on a destructive rampage, attacking San Francisco and demolishing various ...
Moffat, W Graham
(1866-1951) UK author whose What's the World Coming To? (1893) with John White takes the form of a series of discussions, set in 2003 CE, of the various marvels which the twentieth century has seen. The tone is Satirical; the targets include Edward Bellamy, fictional Clichés such as crime detection by psychic means, and concerns such as Feminism. [JC]
Berens, Lewis Henry
(1855-1913) English-born businessman and author, in Australia from 1876 for some years, whose The Story of My Dictatorship [for various vts see Checklist below] (1887-1888 Our Commonwealth; 1894) with Ignatius Singer, set in the very Near Future, describes in dialogue form the disputatious creation of a Utopia on socialist lines in London. [JC]
Hartmann, Franz
(1838-1912) German medical doctor, astrologer and author, a central figure (along with his associate Helena Blavatsky) in Theosophy, whose doctrines he espoused throughout his literary career. He wrote in both German and English; German originals for titles cited only in English have not been found. From his large output, of some moderate sf interest are An Adventure Among the Rosicrucians: By a Student of Occultism (1887) ...
Robinson, Roger
(1943- ) UK computer programmer, bibliographer and publisher, active in UK Fandom for many years. The Writings of Henry Kenneth Bulmer (1983 chap; rev 1984 chap) is an exhaustive Bibliography of one of the most prolific sf writers, Kenneth Bulmer, and Who's Hugh?: An SF Reader's Guide to Pseudonyms (1987) is similarly exhaustive in its ...