SF Encyclopedia Home Page
Monday 20 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.
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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 ...
Michelson, Bennett
(? - ) US author of two sf thrillers, The Perfect Weapon (1980), whose eponymous Weapon is used for evil purposes, and The Chosen People (1982), also about a terrorist weapon capable of self-selecting its victims (see Paranoia). [JC]
Tymn, Marshall B
(1937-2020) US editor, academic, sf/fantasy bibliographer and editor, whose work concentrates on the pedagogical implications of both sf and fantasy (see SF in the Classroom). After a first, short, self-published bibliographical guide – A Directory of Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing Houses and Book Dealers (1974 chap) – Tymn issued a stream of helpful material, including ...
Fane, Julian
(1927-2009) UK author of literary bent whose Dystopia, Revolution Island (1979), was one of the last UK visions of a union-dominated left-wing future. It was published just before the incoming administration of Margaret Thatcher (1979-1990) put an end, for the century of its publication, to the local relevance of this category of the dreadful warning. [JC]
Sarti, Ron
(? - ) US academic and author of The Chronicles of Scar sequence, comprising The Chronicles of Scar (1996), Legacy of the Ancients (1997) and The Lanterns of God (1998); set in a balkanized Ruined Earth version of America, the tale is constructed along lines familiar in contemporary fantasy, for the young protagonist, the eponymous Scar, is a Hidden Monarch (see The ...
Nicholls, Peter
(1939-2018) Australian editor and author, primarily a critic and historian of sf through his creation and editing of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction [see below]; resident in the UK 1970-1988, in Australia from 1988; worked as an academic in English literature (1962-1968, 1971-1977), scripted television documentaries, was a Harkness Fellow in Film-making (1968-1970) in the USA, worked as a publisher's editor (1982-1983), often broadcast film and book reviews on BBC Radio from 1974 and ...