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Wednesday 11 February 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 February 2026
Sponsor of the day: The Telluride Institute
Carver, Jeffrey A
(1949-2026) US author who began publishing sf with "... Of No Return" in Fiction Magazine for 1974. His first novel, Seas of Ernathe (1976), which serves as an introduction to the loose Star Rigger sequence of Space Operas, showed early signs of a love of plot and thematic complexity which would take him some time, and several novels, to control. The continuation, Star Rigger's Way (1978), for instance, combines quest ...
Bolt, Morgan J
(1991-2018) US author whose early (and soon fatal) experience with cancer is recorded in Cancer Just Is: Confessions of a 20-Something Exploring His Illness, Faith and Culture (2018). The Young Adult Tamyth trilogy, beginning with The Rise of Gnurlbane (2013), is fantasy, notable for its geographical sweep and a complexly diversified cast. He is of sf interest for The Favored (2018), a ...
Donne, Hamilton
A House Name of John Spencer & Co, appearing on several short stories in this publisher's poorly-regarded pocketbook magazines Futuristic Science Stories, Tales of Tomorrow and Worlds of Fantasy. It was used three times by Norman A Lazenby and once by John F Watt ...
Arrested Development
Term used in this encyclopedia for the not uncommon scenario whereby humanity's perceived failure to realize its potential – assumed by John W Campbell Jr and others to be boundless – results from externally imposed shackles whose recognition can amply justify Paranoia. Removal of these constraints is likely to trigger a more or less traumatic Conceptual Breakthrough. ...
Laumer, March
(1923-2000) US author, brother of Keith Laumer, whose first novel, The Time Machine That Never Got Past First Base: A Laugh-in at the Future? (1968 Hong Kong) as by Felix Severance (the name of a character from his brother's earlier A Plague of Demons), is a spoof Satire on Time Travel stories (see also Baseball); later novels, some as by Xavier Zanthus, ...
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 ...