SF Encyclopedia Home Page
Thursday 12 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
Sponsor of the day: Ansible Editions
Murray, Alfred
(? -? ) UK author of The Old French Professor; Or, the Tragedy of the Cafe Bertin (1907) whose eponym, something of a Mad Scientist, hopes to apply his Invention, a Weapon that uses radio waves to wreak destruction, in the imposition of world peace; unfortunately, he destroys a restaurant, and himself, first. [JC]
Michel, M Scott
(1916-1992) US author, mostly of thrillers; Journey into Limbo: A Novel of Intimate Adventure (1962) in which a call-girl and a psychiatrist, trapped on a mysterious tropical Island, have Sex together and discover a Lost World. [JC]
Neo-Opsis Science Fiction Magazine
Canadian Semiprozine published and edited by Karl Johanson, Victoria, British Columbia, together with his wife Stephanie Johanson, who also serves as art director. Its first issue appeared in October 2003 and initially it maintained a schedule of roughly three issues per year but that has since become more irregular. It is printed in a slim Digest-size format on good quality coated stock, with attractive covers, so it is that rare ...
Rice, Elmer
First the pseudonym, then the legal name of US playwright and author born Elmer Leopold Reizenstein (1892-1967), active from around 1914. Of his plays, the closest to untrammelled sf may be The Adding Machine: A Play in Seven Scenes (performed 1923; 1923): this follows its protagonist, Mr Zero, from Suicide into heaven – which he despises because it is full of indecent creatures like Rabelais and Jonathan ...
Stacy, Ryder
Joint pseudonym of Jan Stacy and Ryder Syvertsen (whom see for titles), and solo pseudonym, after 1985, of the latter. [JC]
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 ...