SF Encyclopedia Home Page
Wednesday 15 April 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 14 April 2026
Sponsor of the day: Andy Richards of Cold Tonnage Books
Watson, Ian
(1943-2026) UK teacher and author who lectured in English in Tanzania (1965-1967) and Tokyo (1967-1970) before beginning to publish sf with "Roof Garden Under Saturn" for New Worlds in 1969; he then taught Future Studies for six years at Birmingham Polytechnic, taking there one of the first academic courses in sf in the UK; he became a full-time writer in 1976, publishing around 200 short stories since 1969 at a gradually increasing tempo and with visibly ...
Space Command
Juvenile tv series (1953-1954). Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for CBC TV. Produced and directed by Murray Chercover. Writers included Alfred Harris (see Harris Moore). Cast includes Andrew Anthony, Robert Barclay, James Doohan and Austin Willis. Uncertain number of 30-minute episodes. Black and white. / This all but forgotten series featured the adventures of the titular organization, based on ...
Galaxy Express 999
Japanese animated film (1979). Original title Ginga Tetsudo Surī-Nain. Based on the Manga by Leiji Matsumoto. Toei Animation. Directed by Rintaro. Written by Shiro Ishimori. Voice cast includes Masako Ikeda, Makio Inoue, Masako Nozawa, Hidekatsu Shibata and Reiko Tajima. 129 minutes. Colour. / The first Anime adaption of the manga was a 113-part ...
McLean, Robin
(? - ) US attorney, potter and author whose two collections, Reptile House (coll 2015) and Get 'em Young, Treat 'em Tough, Tell 'em Nothing (coll 2022), contain tales in various genres, often insightful in a gonzo manner that opens up sharp lines of perspective into agitated lives. Her first novel, Pity the Beast (2021), applies a abstract but vivid take on the Western to illuminate the violent experiences of its ...
Landis, S M
(1829-1902) US clergyman and man of medicine (but not a doctor) whose theories about physical and mental health are promulgated in the 100 chapters of An Entirely New Feature of a Thrilling Novel!: Entitled, The Social War of the Year 1900; Or, the Conspirators and Lovers!: A Lesson for Saints and Sinners (1872), in which a healer, whose powers are sufficient for him to be described as a proto-Superman, combats evil and brings good sense (and a savage ...
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 ...