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Monday 9 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
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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 ...
Zelman, Aaron
(1946-2010) US author who collaborated on two sf novels with Libertarian themes: Rebelfire: Out of the Gray Zone (2005) with Claire Wolfe and Hope (2008) with L Neil Smith. He should not be confused with the television producer Aaron Zelman (1973- ). [JC]
Apparitions
UK tv series (2008). BBC, Lime Pictures. Directed by Joe Ahearne. Written by Joe Ahearne. Cast includes Luigi Diberti, Siobhan Finneran, Elyes Gabel, David Gyasi, Martin Shaw, John Shrapnel and Rick Warden. Six 60-minute episodes. Colour. / Father Jacob Myers (Shaw) is a London-based priest tasked with investigating the "causes of saints", a Catholic detective responsible for assessing the veracity of miracles. He has been targeted by the forces of evil (see ...
Mr. Nobody
Film (2009). Pan-Européenne in association with Virtual Films and Pathé. Written and directed by Jaco van Dormael. Cast includes Rhys Ifans, Diane Kruger, Jared Leto, Natasha Little, Linh Dan Pham, Sarah Polley, Toby Regbo and Juno Temple. Theatrical cut 137 minutes; director's cut 156 minutes. Colour. / In 2092, when "telomerization" has otherwise arrested ageing and rendered humanity immortal (see Immortality), the last remaining ...
Williams, Francis
Working name of UK journalist and author Edward Francis Williams, Baron Francis-Williams (1903-1970); a working newspaperman from 1920; he was dismissed from his editorship of the London Daily Herald in 1940 for refusing to abate his long-held anti-Nazi fervour; from 1941 he served as controller of press and censorship. His sf novel, The Richardson Story (1951; vt It Happened Tomorrow 1952), deals with an ominous Near Future ...
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 ...