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Friday 12 June 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 8 June 2026
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Duffy, Maureen
(1933-2026) UK author, active from around 1950, several of whose books focused on London, including Capital (1975), a complex set of era-switching meditations – including a Neanderthal man's thoughts about the future – on the deep mythos of the city. The novel influenced Michael Moorcock's Mother London (1988) (as the author acknowledged clearly), and similar later works by Iain ...
Taylor, Jefferys
(1792-1853) UK author, one of several children of Isaac Taylor (1759-1829), an engraver and author; most of Jefferys Taylor's siblings published books, including Isaac Taylor, not to be confused with their father. He is of some sf interest for The Young Islanders; Or, the School-Boy Crusoes: A Tale of the Last Century (1842), a Robinsonade describing the adventures of a group of lads cast away on a deserted ...
Zeigfreid, Karl
A John Spencer and Co House Name, erratically spelled Karl Zeigfried on sf titles predating the Badger Books imprint. It was initially used on early Spencer paperback sf novels published 1952-1954, all of which titles were bylined either Karl Zeigfried or Victor La Salle, another Spencer house name. John S Glasby used this pseudonym twice, and Tom W ...
Simonsen, Redmond
(1942-2005) US Game designer, inducted into the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design Hall of Fame in 1977. Simonsen was a graphic artist and Wargame enthusiast who cofounded Simulations Publications Inc (SPI) with James Dunnigan in 1969, creating the first significant competitor to the original developer of board and counter Wargames, Avalon Hill. While at SPI Simonsen concentrated on game presentation, ...
Banlieue 13
Film (2004; vt District 13, 2006). EuropaCorp presents a co-production in association with TF1 Films Production with the participation of Canal+. Directed by Pierre Morel. Written by Luc Besson and Bibi Naceri. Cast includes David Belle, François Chattot, Tony D'Amario, Samir Guesmi, Bibi Naceri, Patrick Olivier, Cyril Raffaelli, Dany Verissimo and Nicolas Woirion. Colour. 84 minutes. / A free-runner and an undercover policeman foil a government plot to set off a ...
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 ...