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Wednesday 14 May 2025
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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Fabian, Stephen E
(1930-2025) American artist, sometimes credited as Steve Fabian or simply Fabian. The self-trained Fabian first worked as an electronic engineer, but he began contributing art to Fanzines in the late 1960s and became a full-time professional artist in 1973. He did a number of covers and interior art for SF Magazines, mostly Amazing, Fantastic, and ...
Madách, Imre
(1823-1864) Hungarian playwright and parliamentarian, chiefly known for his verse play Az ember tragédiája (1861; trans Charles Henry Meltzer and Paul Vajdatrans as The Tragedy of Man: A Dramatic Poem in Fifteen Scenes 1933 Hungary; preferred trans George Szirtes 1988 Hungary). This philosophical, rather pessimistic fantasy about the destiny of mankind focuses on Adam (an optimist) and Eve (see ...
Carter, Justin L
(1880-1959) UK author who sometimes signed his books J L J Carter and sometimes as Compton Irving Carter. Two of his novels of are genre interest: Peggy the Aeronaut (1910), a Future War story which hints at a possible Pax Aeronautica; and Daughter of Egypt (1937) as by Compton Irving, about a revivified mummy in the twentieth century. [JC]
Sutton, Felix
(? - ) US author whose The City under the Sea: an Ace Cooper Adventure (1961), which may be the first volume of an aborted Young Adult series, mildly depicts a Near Future expedition Under the Sea. Ace Cooper is the hero. [JC]
Sketchley, Martin
(1967- ) UK author who began to publish work of genre interest with "Morals Profane" for Xenos #30 in April 1995. His principal sf achievement is the effectively written Delgado/Structure trilogy, comprising The Affinity Trap (2004), The Destiny Mask (2005) and The Liberty Gun (2006). This opens on a Dystopian future Earth whose unpleasant military dictatorship is opposed by the flawed ...
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 ...