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Monday 16 March 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 9 March 2026
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Ultraviolet
UK tv series (1998). Channel 4, World Productions. Directed by Joe Ahearne. Written by Joe Ahearne. Cast includes Colette Brown, Jack Davenport, Idris Elba, Susannah Harker, Stephen Moyer, Philip Quast and Corin Redgrave. Six 50-minute episodes. Colour. / London detective Michael Colefield (Davenport) is co-opted into a covert task force investigating crimes committed by a group of Secret Masters, never explicitly identified, but unmistakably ...
Clare, Cassandra
Pseudonym of Iranian-born author Judith Rumelt (1973- ), in the US from an early age, who signed as Cassandra Claire for early fan fiction; she began to publish work of genre interest with "The Girl's Guide to Defeating the Dark Lord" in Turn the Other Chick (anth 2004) edited by Esther Friesner, but soon focused on longer book-length titles. She is best-known for two linked series of ...
Coffin, Bill
(1970- ) US author of two Young Adult novels: Overmind (1995), set some time into the future, in which a gladiator escapes his fate and tries to contact God (see Religion; Transcendence); and Prime Mover (1996), a Space Opera involving human-settled planets, war, and interfering Aliens. ...
Return of the Ape Man
US film (1944). Banner Productions. Directed by Philip Rosen. Written by Robert Charles. Cast includes Ernie Adams, Michael Ames, John Carradine, Mary Currier, Judith Gibson, Bela Lugosi, Frank Moran and George Zucco. Zucco, playing the ape man, fell ill during shooting and was replaced by Moran for most of the film. 60 minutes. Black and white. / A newspaper reports the disappearance of local tramp Willie the Weasel (Adams), last seen being driven ...
Masters, John
(1914-1983) Indian-born soldier and author, in the UK from an early age; after serving in World War Two, gaining an OBE in 1945, he resigned his commission with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, moved to the US in 1948 and began a series of novels (theoretically thirty-five in number) about British rule in India; the best-known of these is probably Bhowani Junction (1954). Of sf interest are Near Future thrillers like The Breaking Strain ...
Clute, John
(1940- ) Canadian critic, editor and author, in the UK from 1969; married to Judith Clute from 1964, partner of Elizabeth Hand since 1996. He began to publish work of genre interest with an sf-tinged poem "Carcajou Lament" in Triquarterly for Winter 1960 [ie Autumn 1959]; he began consistently publishing sf reviews in his "New Fiction" column for the Toronto Star (1966-1967), and later in ...