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Friday 17 January 2025
Welcome to the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, Fourth Edition. Some sample entries appear below. Click here for the Introduction; here for the masthead; here for 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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Pseudonyms
Reasons for using pseudonyms are very various, but almost always involve concealment. So obvious is this that it might seem to go without saying; but in fact many reference books altogether disregard the factor of concealment in their use of the term, and often designate as pseudonyms variations upon real names made to heighten impact (C J Cherry, for instance, writes as C J Cherryh), or to shorten or simplify a spelling (Francis A Jaworski writes as Frank ...
Chapbook
In the early nineteenth century this term described a pamphlet on any of a wide range of subjects – from sermons to sensational tales, often illustrated with woodcuts – sold not through bookshops but by "chapmen", who hawked their wares. In the later nineteenth century, the term began to acquire a contrived antiquarian air, and was used to designate a small book or pamphlet produced for collectors. Although the fake antiquarianism attached to the term has since faded, chapbooks in ...
Abyss & Apex
US Online Magazine that qualifies as a Semiprozine based on wordrate and estimated readership. It was founded by Carol Burrell, Leah Bobet and Elizabeth Bear and published by Burrell from New York under the ByrenLee Press imprint. Elizabeth Bear was managing editor from the first issue (January/February 2003), to issue #7 (January/February 2004), followed by ...
Aylett, Steve
(1967- ) UK author who very quickly developed a reputation for his tone of voice, which could be described as gonzo, surreal, metacyberpunkish, riff-driven, surfer-noir; it is a voice which sometimes obscures the objects of his tales, which attack the objects of their Satire through vignettes, quotes and characters from the Pulp magazines and Comics of the previous century. He began ...
Mannheim, Karl
Pseudonym of the unidentified UK author (? - ) of two sf Space Operas forming the short Venus series: When the Earth Died (1950) and Vampires of Venus (1950). They are modestly competent but hasty. [JC]
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 ...