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Sunday 19 July 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 14 July 2026
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DiSilvestro, Roger L
(1949- ) US author whose first novel of genre interest was Ursula's Gift (1988), a humorous fantasy. His second, Living with the Reptiles (1990), spoofs the ethical tomfooleries of that form of the Time-Travel tale in which the protagonist changes history to save/destroy/play with the future. In this case the protagonists, after acquiring the necessary equipment in what remains of the Amazon jungle, pass into the ...
Pseudoscience
Pseudosciences are here defined as belief systems which, though adopting a scientific or quasiscientific terminology, are generally regarded as erroneous or unproven by the orthodox scientific community; frequently they not merely disagree with, or are improbable adjuncts to, accepted science but violate its fundamental tenets; several relevant figures and ideas have elsewhere been sorted under the "techno-occultism" rubric, in terms consistent with their presentation in this entry. They are ...
Caillou, Alan
Pseudonym of UK-born soldier, actor, screenwriter and author Alan Samuel Lyle-Smythe (1914-2006) who lived and worked in the Middle East, Africa and Canada before moving to the US late in life; he was awarded an MBE (Civil Medal of the Order of the British Empire) in 1938 for his work in Palestine, and an MC (Military Cross) 1944 for his work with partisans in Yugoslavia. As Alan Caillou he wrote adventure thrillers from 1955, and as Alex Webb from 1985. A Caillou novel, Alien Virus ...
Hill, Joe
Working name of US Comics scripter and author Joseph Hillstrom King (1972- ), son of Stephen King and brother of Owen King; most of his earlier work has been horror, much of it nonfantastic, though Horror in SF topoi sometimes visit; he began to publish work of genre interest with "The Lady Rests" in Palace Corbie Seven (anth 1997) ...
Kukalis, Romas B
(1956- ) American artist, born in Canada, who usually identifies himself simply as Romas and has also used his full name, Romas Brandt Kukalis. As a child he moved to the United States, and in 1989 he officially became an American citizen. After training at the Paier College of Art in Connecticut, he did some early Comic illustration for Creepy, Eerie, Heavy Metal, and Conan the Barbarian. He ...
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 ...