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Monday 5 October 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 5 October 2026
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Smith, Robert Charles
(1938- ) UK author, prolific in various genres under several pseudonyms, including Roger C Brandon, Robert Charles and Charles Leader. A Clash of Hawks (1975) as by Robert Charles depicts a Near Future conflict between Israel and the Arab world; Flowers of Evil (1981) as by Robert Charles is horror; and Nightworld (1984; vt The Comet 1985), also as by Charles, is an expertly told but ...
Stout, Amy
(1960- ) Author and editor who began to publish work of genre interest with the near-simultaneous "Becoming Mother" in Voices from the Night: 27 Stories of Horror and Suspense (anth 1994) edited by John Maclay and "And Baby Makes Three" in The Dragons of Krynn (anth 1994) edited by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. She co-edited the final three volumes of the Bantam Books ...
Sandford, John
Pseudonym of US journalist and author John Roswell Camp (1944- ), best known for his nonfantastic work, in particular the Prey series of detective thrillers [not listed below]; he won the Pulitzer Prize for journalism in 1986. He is of initial sf interest for the Young Adult Near Future Singular Menace sequence written in collaboration with his wife (since 2013) Michele ...
Shirley, John
(1954- ) US author who began publishing sf with "The Word 'Random,' Deliberately Repeated" for Clarion (anth 1973) edited by Robin Scott Wilson, and who has performed as lead singer in rock bands, including the punk band Sado Nation. This background heavily influenced his first novel, the Dystopian Transmaniacon (1979) – the title is taken from a ...
Adair, Hazel
Pseudonym of India-born actor, television producer, scriptwriter and author Hazel Joyce Marriott (1920-2015), in the UK from infancy, perhaps best known for her co-creation with Peter Ling of the British daily television serial Crossroads (1964-1988); she also wrote as by Clare Nicol and Klaus Vogel. Of sf interest is Stranger from Space (1953) with Ronald Marriott (her husband), about a young Alien from Mars who is ...
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 ...