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Thursday 12 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.
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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 ...
Almedingen, E M
Working name of Russian-born author Martha Edith von Almedingen (1898-1971), who emigrated to the UK in 1923. Of her children's fictions, which made up about half her total works, several are of fantasy interest. Her only title of clear sf import is Stand Fast, Beloved City (1954), about a Dystopian tyranny. [JC]
Keith, William H, Jr
(1950- ) US author who has specialized in Military SF sequences, often Tied to Games or other proprietary worlds; it is presumed that those written for enterprises like the Wargame Battletech are Sharecrops. He is efficient and prolific, but relatively few individual characteristics manifest ...
Karta
Pseudonym of Australian author Charles Carter (1871-1951) for his Utopia, The Island of Justice (1901), set on an Island whose teetotal society enjoys a relatively moneyless economy, and electricity-enabled Inventions. [JC]
Nestle, Tom
(? - ) US author, of whom nothing is known under this name beyond a soft-porn Space Opera, Orgies in Space (1978; vt Star Whores 1978 as by A J Rimmer; vt Space Whores 1979 as by Rimmer). [JC]
Nicholls, Peter
(1939-2018) Australian editor and author, primarily a critic and historian of sf through his creation and editing of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction [see below]; resident in the UK 1970-1988, in Australia from 1988; worked as an academic in English literature (1962-1968, 1971-1977), scripted television documentaries, was a Harkness Fellow in Film-making (1968-1970) in the USA, worked as a publisher's editor (1982-1983), often broadcast film and book reviews on BBC Radio from 1974 and ...