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Wednesday 4 October 2023
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.
Site updated on 3 October 2023
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Dig, The
Videogame (1995). LucasArts. Designed by Sean Clark, Brian Moriarty. Platforms: DOS (1995); Mac (1996); Win (2002). / The Dig is a graphical Adventure game using a point and click interface, based on an idea by Steven Spielberg which combined the haunted world of Forbidden Planet with the tense relationships of ...
ESP
An acronym for extra-sensory perception which was popularized by the pioneering exercise in parapsychology, Extra-Sensory Perception (1934) by J B Rhine, which attempted to repackage folkloristic notions of "second sight" or a "sixth sense" in scientific jargon; he is referred to in Psychoanalysis and the Occult (anth 1953) edited by George Devereux, where "occult" is understood primarily in terms of ...
Leacock, Stephen
(1869-1944) UK-born Canadian economist and author, in Canada from the age of eight, active as a writer from about 1890; of many books of humorous sketches, the most famous is perhaps Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town (coll 1912), where he expresses a deeply conservative view of the world (his anti-Feminism included opposition to women's suffrage) with engaging warmth and humour. Sf often featured as the target of the more fantastical of his ...
Thriller
US letter-size weird fiction magazine printed on cheap newsprint. Publisher: Myron Fass as Tempest Publications. Editor: Myron Fass. Three issues: February, May and July 1962. Publication, nominally bimonthly, was erratic. / Thriller was not a Media Magazine as such, but is nevertheless sought after by collectors of Monster Movies magazines owing to its rarity and its connection ...
Ditmar Award
The Australian SF Awards, familiarly known as the Ditmars, were first given in 1969 and are presented in various categories for sf, fantasy and horror-related work by Australians. Voting resembles the system used for the Hugos but is associated with membership of the annual Australian National Convention ("Natcon") rather than the Worldcon. There have been many category changes over the years, some ...
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 ...