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Tuesday 21 April 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 20 April 2026
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Watson, Ian
(1943-2026) UK teacher and author who lectured in English in Tanzania (1965-1967) and Tokyo (1967-1970) before beginning to publish sf with "Roof Garden Under Saturn" for New Worlds in 1969; he then taught Future Studies for six years at Birmingham Polytechnic, taking there one of the first academic courses in sf in the UK; he became a full-time writer in 1976, publishing around 200 short stories since 1969 at a gradually increasing tempo and with visibly ...
Lethem, Jonathan
(1964- ) US author, married 1987-1998 to Shelley Jackson, who began publishing work of sf interest with "The Unexpurgated Zap Gun: A Report" for The Philip K Dick Society Newsletter #15 in 1987, the first of several pieces on Philip K Dick whose natural – though not inevitable – culmination was his editing for the Library of America three Dick omnibuses, beginning with ...
Ecklar, Julia
(1964- ) US songwriter, Filk-singer and author, initially best known for a vinyl album, Divine Intervention (1986), which she wrote and performed. She began writing work of genre interest with "The Music Box" in Analog for September 1989, and soon published the first of her Star Trek Ties, Star Trek: The Kobayashi Maru (1989). Her ...
Burton, S H
(1919-2005) UK author – principally of school textbooks – and anthologist, of sf relevance for his compilation Science Fiction (anth 1967). This includes an introductory essay and a glossary, and is intended for high-school students. Selected stories range from Robert A Heinlein's "Requiem" (January 1940 Astounding) to John Brunner's "The Windows of Heaven" (May 1956 ...
Invisible Avenger, The
Japanese film (1954). Original title Tomei Ningen; vt The Invisible Man. Toho. Directed by Motoyoshi Oda. Written by Shigeaki Hidaka. Special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Cast includes Seizaburo Kawazu, Minoru Takada and Yoshio Tsuchiya. 70 minutes. Black and white. / During World War Two, Japanese Scientists secretly created a troop of invisible ...
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 ...