SF Encyclopedia Home Page
Tuesday 20 January 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 19 January 2026
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von Däniken, Erich
(1935-2026) Swiss author of a series of purportedly nonfiction books, beginning with Erinnerungen an die Zukunft (1968; trans Michael Heron as Chariots of the Gods? 1969), which, based on a mass of often suspect and internally inconsistent data, argues that the Earth was visited by at least one Alien spacefaring race before and at the dawn of historical time; thus, for example, the Great Pyramid of ...
Adams, Scott
(1957-2026) US author and cartoonist best known for the Dilbert strip published from 1989, which when at its best superbly (in terms of concept and accuracy of Satire rather than quality of drawing) satirized contemporary office life and corporate incompetence. As with most ambitious modern comic strips, it segues frequently into sf and fantasy tropes – such as Robot office workers, wish-fulfilling ...
Dillard, J M
Pseudonym of US author Jeanne M Kalogridis (1954- ) who, under her own name, is the author of the Chronicles of Family Dracul series of horror novels [see Checklist], as well as at least three historical novels. As Dillard, she is most identified with the Star Trek domain, for which she has written about 15 Ties, beginning with Star Trek: Mindshadow (1986). It is a clear sign of her competence in ...
Bartholomew, Barbara
(1941- ) US author who began publishing work of genre interest with "Wheel of Fire" in Analog for June 1975, and whose Timeways Trilogy for young adult readers – The Time Keeper (1985), Child of Tomorrow (1985) and When Dreamers Cease to Dream (1985) – traverses familiar Time-Travel themes without undue stress. Other books for younger readers include ...
Barnes, Myra Edwards
(1933- ) US author of Linguistics and Language in Science Fiction-Fantasy (1975), a reprint of her 1971 PhD dissertation. This is a useful introduction to the subject (see Linguistics), although not as comprehensive as Aliens and Linguists: Language Study and Science Fiction (1980) by Walter E Meyers. [PN]
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 ...