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Sunday 16 November 2025
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.
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Unobtainium
The pseudo-Element or alloy unobtainium – sometimes spelt unobtanium – is a traditional, half-serious joke of physics and engineering dating from the mid-twentieth century: it denotes an ideal material from which frictionless bearings, massless levers and other desirable but unfeasible experimental components might be made. It was first formally defined in the US Air Force Air University's Interim Glossary, Aero-Space Terms (1958) by ...
Mason, Anita
(1942-2020) UK author whose second novel, The Illusionist (1983), is a literary fantasy centred on the magician/magus Simon Magus. Her sf novel, The War against Chaos (1988), also intensely literary in demeanour (see Mainstream Writers of SF), posits a Near-Future City in an unnamed (but very UK-like) Dystopia dominated by ...
Jarman, Heather
(? - ) US author associated with the Star Trek universe; her contributions include Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Mission: Gamma Book Two: This Gray Spirit (2002), the novel-length "Andor: Paradigm" (in Star Trek: Worlds of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Volume One, anth 2004, ed anon), and Star Trek Voyager: String Theory, Book III: Evolution (2006). [JC]
Wright, John C
(1961- ) US author who began publishing work of genre interest with "Not Born a Man" in Aberrations for Christmas 1994, and whose novels, most of them comprising series, vigorously attest the value of modern Space Opera as a format or arena capable of representing complex philosophical and (perhaps less rewardingly to a general audience) Religious arguments, ranging from ...
Thing, The [comic]
US Comic (1952-1954). 17 issues. Charlton Comics. Artists include John Belfi, Steve Ditko and Bob Forgione. Script writers include Carl Memling. 36 pages. 4-5 long strips and a short text story per issue, often with 1-2 short filler strips. / This comic contains "weird tales of suspense and Horror" introduced by an unseen narrator named The Thing; sf ...
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 ...