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Wednesday 9 July 2025
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 7 July 2025
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Kingston, W H G
(1814-1880) UK author, almost solely for boys from 1850, more than 100 of his novels being juveniles, many of which expose his evangelical convictions; of these two are sf interest: Mark Seaworth: A Tale of the Indian Ocean (1852), a Lost Race tale; and At the South Pole: Or, the Adventures of Richard Pengelley, Mariner (1870), where the climate is unexpected. From 1853 until his death he was married to Agnes Kinloch ...
Taylor, Charles Henry
(1863-1950) US lawyer, entrepreneur and author of By Wireless from Venus (1922), a lightly fictionalized report, conveyed by radio Communications from Venus, describing life in the Solar System. Some civilizations are advanced Utopias but others are not. [JC]
Recursive SF
Recycling material from the vast and growing storehouse of the already-written has long been a practice of sf writers. Plots and characters constantly reappear throughout sf, usually but not always in the form of sequels written by the author of the original work; venues (like Edgar Rice Burroughs's Mars) become universal props; and terms descriptive of devices or circumstances unique to sf (from BEMS to ...
Felix the Cat
US animated film shorts (1919-1930). Pat Sullivan studio. Created by Otto Messmer and Pat Sullivan. Directed and written by Otto Messmer. 180 episodes (4-11 minutes), all but 12 silent; 15 silent episodes were reissued with sound 1929-1930. Black and white. / Felix was the most popular animated character prior to the rise of Mickey Mouse, and an early example of the successful merchandising of film-related Toys and songs. There is some dispute over who ...
Joker
Film (2019). Warner Bros Pictures in association with DC Films, Joint Effort, Bron Creative and Village Roadshow Pictures. Directed by Todd Phillips. Written by Phillips and Scott Silver. Cast includes Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, Robert De Niro and Joaquin Phoenix. 122 minutes. Colour. / This origin story for Batman's most famous nemesis (see Villains), which is technically nonfantastic, is included here for ...
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 ...