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Saturday 14 March 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 9 March 2026
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White, Fred M
(1859-1935) UK author whose first work of sf interest seems to be "The Island of Shadows" (2 April-9 July 1892 Illustrated Chips), a short novel whose protagonists, aided by a gelatine-like substance that allows them to breathe Under the Sea, discover a sunken Island which, when disturbed, reveals an entrance to the Hollow Earth, where furry amphibious humans have established a ...
Strange World of Your Dreams, The
US Comic (1952-1953). 4 issues. Headline Publications Inc. "Produced by Simon & Kirby. Morton Meskin Associate Editor." Artists include Jack Kirby, Bob McCarthy, Mort Meskin, Ben Oda and Joe Simon. Scriptwriters include Jack Kirby and Jack Oleck. 36 pages. Each issue would have 2-3 "Richard Temple" dream analysis features, as well as 2-3 other strips and 2 short text stories; #3 also had one-page on "How the Stars Affect Your Job", ...
Reed, Van
A House Name used for two books published by Curtis Warren, one by Denis Hughes and the other, Dwellers in Space (1953), by an unidentified author. [JC/DRL]
Electric Light Orchestra
Also known as ELO. British pop-rock band, founded by Roy Wood (1946- ), Jeff Lynne (1947- ) and Bev Bevan (1944- ), whose full names are Roy Adrian Wood, Jeffrey Lynne and Beverley Bevan. ELO were notable for their skill at blending classical orchestral and pop-rock music idioms. The band's first single "10538 Overture" (1972) was not sf, despite a title that seems to contain a far-future date (in fact it is the number ...
Harkon, Franz
Pseudonym of unidentified UK author (? - ), known almost solely for the entirely unremarkable Space Express Security sequence of Space Operas, the first and third being published as by Astron Del Martia, and the middle title as by Franz Harkon [see Checklist]. As Harkon, this author also published some short fiction. [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 ...