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Wednesday 18 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.
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Michel, John B
(1917-1968) US author and editor of several Fanzines who was a founding member of the New York Futurians, most of whom were influenced by his revolutionary left-wing politics, known as "Michelism". This advocated the harnessing of science and Fandom to work towards a unified world Utopia, a controversial platform widely identified with Communism (Michel was indeed a member of the ...
Bernard, Rafe
Secondary pseudonym of UK author Reginald Alec Martin (1908-1971), better known for his Children's SF written as by E C Eliott (whom see for full entry). He used Bernard for an sf novel, The Wheel in the Sky (1954), which datedly concerns itself with the construction of a pre-NASA-style, privately financed Space Station, and for an Invaders ...
Barr, George
(1937-2025) US illustrator, one of the most meticulous of sf/fantasy artists, although for many years his prominence as an artist for Fanzines since 1959 tended to overshadow his professional work; early illustration venues included George Scithers' Amra, Richard E Geis's Science Fiction Review, Tom Reamy's ...
Thorson, Alice Otillia
(1870-1929) US author of The Tribe of Pezhekee: A Legend of Minnesota (1901), in which Lost Race devices serve primarily to give depth to a local Minnesota legend. [JC]
Love War, The
Made-for-tv film (1970). Paramount/ABC-TV. Directed by George McCowan. Written by Guerdon Trueblood, David Kidd. Cast includes Harry Basch, Lloyd Bridges, Angie Dickinson and Dan Travanti. 74 minutes. Colour. / Six Aliens from two warring planets arrive on Earth for a duel to the death to decide which of those planets is the victor. Four are eliminated; one survivor (Bridges) opts to try to stop the fight, remain on Earth, merge with the natives, and have a ...
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 ...