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Wednesday 11 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 ...
Sullivan, Mary W
(? - ) US author of Young Adult fiction whose Earthquake 2099 (1982) is a fairly early example of the tale whose young protagonist, trapped in a Dystopian City-state, must eventually learn to survive in the surrounding wilderness; in this case, the eponymous Disaster provides her with the chance to grow up. [JC]
DiSilvestro, Roger L
(1949- ) US author whose first novel of genre interest was Ursula's Gift (1988), a humorous fantasy. His second, Living with the Reptiles (1990), spoofs the ethical tomfooleries of that form of the Time-Travel tale in which the protagonist changes history to save/destroy/play with the future. In this case the protagonists, after acquiring the necessary equipment in what remains of the Amazon jungle, pass into the ...
Harrington, Alan
(1919-1997) US author, author of The Revelations of Dr Modesto (1955), a novel of ideas about a system called Centralism which brings too much luck, and The Immortalist (1969), an unfictionalized Utopia which describes a world free of death. His sf novel, Paradise 1 (1977), set in the twenty-first century, also tells of potential Immortality and of a continuing struggle to wrest humanity free ...
Real Steel
Film (2011). Dreamworks Pictures and Reliance Entertainment present a 21 Laps/Montford Murphy production. Directed by Shawn Levy. Written by John Gatins, Dan Gilroy and Jeremy Leven, based on the short story "Steel" (May 1956 F&SF) by Richard Matheson. Cast includes Hope Davis, Olga Fonda, Dakota Goyo, Hugh Jackman, Evangeline Lilly, Anthony Mackie, James Rebhorn and Karl Yune. 127 minutes. Colour. / A father and son ...
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 ...