SF Encyclopedia Home Page
Sunday 19 July 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 July 2026
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Russell, Don
(? - ) US author of an sf Sex novel, The Ultimate Lust (1970). [JC]
McDonald, Raymond
Joint pseudonym of Canadian author Raymond Alfred Léger (1884-1934) and Canadian lawyer, politician, inventor and writer Edward Richard McDonald (1871-1952), whose sf novel, The Mad Scientist: A Tale of the Future (1908), features the increasingly dangerous – or effective – interventions of the eponymous Mad Scientist in the dealings of US businessmen and of the US Government itself. The scientist's inclinations are socialist ...
Other Worlds
US Digest-size magazine, switching to Pulp format from November 1955. Published by Clark Publishing Co, November 1949-July 1953, and Palmer Publications Inc, May 1955-November 1957; edited by Raymond A Palmer and Bea Mahaffey. 47 issues, only 46 featuring fiction (not counting those titled either Science Stories or ...
Spotswood, Christopher
(1813-1890) Indian-born author, in Australia from before 1848; the protagonist of his only known publication, Voyage of Will Rogers to the South Pole (1888 chap), while whaling in the South Seas, is dragged by a whale even farther southwards, into the heart of the Antarctic, where the climate is mild, and a Lost Race inhabits the fertile land of Bencolo. With no issues of scarcity to "civilize" them, they have created a mild-mannered ...
Bowen, Robert Sidney
(1900-1977) US aviator, journalist, editor; his middle name is spelled Sydney, but is given as Sidney in his books; he also wrote nonfantastic tales as James Robert Richard. He served during World War One, in 1917 as an ambulance driver for the American Field Service, and from 1918 in active service as a pilot. After the war he worked for the London Daily News, and in his later career worked as an editor, including a stint as editor-in-chief of ...
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 ...