SF Encyclopedia Home Page
Wednesday 13 May 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 11 May 2026
Sponsor of the day: Conversation 2023
Suzuki Kōji
(1957-2026) Japanese author and essayist, largely known in English through the Cinema adaptations of several of his books, the international success of which obscured his wide-ranging domestic output. His horror and Equipoisal fiction proceeded in tandem with a wide array (not listed here) of books on young fatherhood and occasional works on motorcycle travel. He was also the translator of Simon Brett's ...
Heldon
French electronic rock band formed in 1974 by Richard Pinhas (1951- ), named after The High Land of Heldon in Norman Spinrad's novel The Iron Dream (1972); originally active until 1979, and reformed with differing line-ups occasionally since. Pinhas has said the band was inspired equally by the events of May 1968 (in which he participated), the works of Gilles Deleuze, and science fiction, especially Philip K Dick (Pinhas ...
Roberts, Charles G D
(1860-1943) Canadian poet and author, important in Canada's literary history, prolific in several modes from 1880 to 1941, brother of Theodore Goodridge Roberts; the posthumous collapse of his reputation came about partly because of the unyielding conservatism of his poetry (now forgotten except for warhorses), but also because his racism about Native Canadians (and others) has worn poorly. ...
Rucker, Rudy
Working name of US mathematician, computer programmer and author Rudolf von Bitter Rucker (1946- ), who has advanced degrees in Mathematics from Rutgers University, concentrating on transfinite mathematics and multidimensional geometry. Like many sf writers, he began very early to produce stories, but unlike most who became successful he had difficulty placing his work, in which mathematical concepts and diagrams tended to generate both ...
Undersea Kingdom
US Serial Film (1936). Republic Pictures. Directed by B Reeves Eason and Joseph Kane. Written by John Rathmell, Maurice Geraghty and Oliver Drake, based on a story by Tracy Knight and John Rathmell. Cast includes Lee Van Atta, Monte Blue, John Bradford, Ray "Crash" Corrigan, William Farnum, C Montague Shaw and Lois Wilde. 12 episodes, 226 minutes in total. Black and white. / Professor Norton's (Shaw) (see Scientists) new ...
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 ...