SF Encyclopedia Home Page
Friday 15 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.
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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 ...
Who Is Julia?
US made-for-tv film (1986). CBS Entertainment International for CBS-TV. Directed by Walter Grauman. Produced by Graumann, Philip Barry, and Andrew Fenady. Written by James Steven Sadwith based on the novel Who Is Julia? (1972) by Barbara S Harris. Cast includes Jonathan Banks, Jeffrey DeMuneas, Judith Ledford, Jameson Parker and Mare Winningham (Mary Bodine). 91 minutes. Colour. / Beautiful fashion model Julia North (Ledford) is struck down while saving a young child ...
Wells, Barry
Pseudonym of UK author Horace Arthur Richards (1911-1971), author of one sf Tie of interest, The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961), novelizing the Disaster film The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961) [which see]. This novel resolves the film's cliffhanger ending (will the news headline be "World Saved" or "World Doomed"?) on its final page, when the rains do come and ...
Lease, Mary Elizabeth
(1850-1933) US editor, political activist of Feminist interest for her advocacy of women's suffrage; and author. Her activities on behalf of farmers, from her first public appearances around 1885, led to her close involvement in the founding of the anti-business Populist Party; she was a charismatic orator, unacceptable therefore by many of her male colleagues; her eventual departure from the Party signalled its imminent dissolution. It has been suggested by Brian ...
Lars of Mars
US Comic (1951). Two issues (numbered #10 and #11). Ziff-Davis. Artists include Allen Anderson, Murphy Anderson and Gene Colan. Four long comic strips per issue, three involving Lars; plus a two-page text story and three brief science-related articles. Lars was created by Jerry Siegel and artist Murphy Anderson; it is probable that Siegel wrote the scripts. / ...
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 ...