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Monday 9 March 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 March 2026
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du Maurier, George
(1834-1896) French/UK illustrator, cartoonist – over 3000 cartoons for Punch alone between 1864 and 1896 – and author, resident mostly in UK from the 1850s on; grandfather of Daphne du Maurier. Some cartoons feature Technological whimsies, including an 1879 anticipation of the Videophone (which see). The protagonists of his first and best novel, ...
Pragnell, Festus
Working name of Frank William Pragnell (1905-1977), UK police constable, clerk and author who was known all his life by his father's first name, Festus (even in the 1911 census, his wedding banns and his own will: "Frank William, known as Festus"). He began to publish work of genre interest in the US Pulp magazines with "The Venus Germ" in Wonder Stories for November 1932 with R F Starzl, his own ...
Kastel, Warren
Ziff-Davis House Name used on magazine stories by Chester S Geier and possibly others 1948-1950, and by Robert Silverberg in 1957. According to Geier, "Kastel" began as a pseudonym which he used for collaborations with his friend William L Hamling. [JC/MA] links / ...
Cheetham, Anthony
(1943- ) UK publisher, initially at New English Library, where his enthusiasm led that company to acquire UK paperback rights to Frank Herbert's Dune (fixup 1965). Subsequent employers included Sphere, of which he was editorial director from 1968 and later managing director. He founded or worked on the early stages of Futura (1973-1979), Macdonald Futura (1979-1982), Century (1982-1985), Century Hutchinson (1985-1989), ...
Halberstam, Michael J
(1932-1980) US medical doctor and author whose The Wanting of Levine (1978) depicts a Near Future US presidential campaign which ends in the 1988 election of the Jewish politician Levine, whose wry wisdom may bring the nation back from the violent civil strife that has already begun to balkanize the land. Halberstam was murdered by a burglar whom he had surprised on returning home with his wife. [JC]
Clute, John
(1940- ) Canadian critic, editor and author, in the UK from 1969; married to Judith Clute from 1964, partner of Elizabeth Hand since 1996. He began to publish work of genre interest with an sf-tinged poem "Carcajou Lament" in Triquarterly for Winter 1960 [ie Autumn 1959]; he began consistently publishing sf reviews in his "New Fiction" column for the Toronto Star (1966-1967), and later in ...