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Wednesday 11 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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Darton, Eric
(1950- ) US teacher and author, much of whose nonfiction work is devoted to New York; his first novel, Free City (1996), is an exuberant Alternate History of Western Europe set in the mid 1600s, when "sleepwalkers" like Sir Isaac Newton (1640-1725), and his many colleagues and foes, were edging themselves, and the Western world, into the modern age, but only partially abandoning the ...
Kingsmill, Hugh
Working name of UK author and anthologist Hugh Kingsmill Lunn (1889-1949), who spent part of World War One in a German prison camp, and who remains best known for An Anthology of Invective and Abuse (anth 1929). His Scientific Romances include two tales assembled in The Dawn's Delay (coll 1924),"The End of the World", which is of interest for its vision of a ...
Creation of the Humanoids
US film (1962). Genie Productions. Directed by Wesley Barry, Written by Jay Simms. Cast includes David Cross, Don Doolittle, Erica Elliot, Frances McCann and Don Megowan. 84 minutes. Colour. / After a two-week "atomic war" (see World War Three) 92% of the human race has been wiped out. With a birthrate of "below 1.4 per union", the survivors "turn to robotic automation devices to help them rebuild their cities and maintain a high standard of ...
Mayne, Andrew
(1973- ) US stage magician and author, probably best known in the former capacity; his fiction is various, some of it comprising nonfantastic thrillers [not listed below]. He is of sf interest for three series: the Chronological Man sequence beginning with The Chronological Man: The Monster in the Mist (2011 ebook), adventures in Steampunk-inflected venues; the Station Breaker sequence beginning with ...
Barrett, David V
(1952- ) UK author of some short fiction of genre interest, beginning with "Les Temps étrange sur L'île Fisseau" for The Gate in 1990. He is editor of Digital Dreams (anth 1990), which contains original British stories about AI, Computers and Virtual Reality; and of Tales from the Vatican Vaults (anth 2015), ...
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 ...