SF Encyclopedia Home Page
Sunday 22 June 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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Forsyth, Frederick
(1938-2025) UK author who gained fame with his first novel, The Day of the Jackal (1971), and whose books are generally political thrillers. The Shepherd (1975 chap), however, is a sentimental Timeslip or ghost fantasy in which a pilot on Christmas Eve 1957 is saved from crashing by a World War Two pilot in an antique bomber: pilot and plane had been shot down on the Christmas Eve of 1943. ...
Lustbader, Eric Van
(1946- ) US author who graduated from Columbia University, majoring in sociology, and worked for a time in the rock-music industry; married since 1982 to Victoria Schochet. Although "Van" is a middle name rather than part of his surname, he is frequently shelved under V in bookshops and libraries; he has also appeared as Eric Lustbader, a decision of the publishers rather than the author. His published sf/fantasy work began with the ...
Westall, William
(1835-1903) UK author and journalist, resident for much of his life in Switzerland, where he served as foreign correspondent for The Times of London; he also travelled in South America and elsewhere. The explorer protagonist of The Phantom City: A Volcanic Romance (1886) travels by Balloon to a Lost-World race of Incans hidden in a Guatemalan volcano, where they maintain a pre-Conquest level of civilization. ...
Food of the Gods
Film (1976). American International Pictures. Produced and directed by Bert I Gordon. Written by Gordon, based on a "portion" of The Food of the Gods and How it Came to Earth (1904) by H G Wells. Cast includes Pamela Franklin, Marjoe Gortner, Ida Lupino and Ralph Meeker. 88 minutes. Colour. / Set on an island off the coast of British Columbia, ...
Sound of Horror, The
Film (1964; US release 1966; original title El sonidode de la Muerte). Zurbana Films/Vinals Distribucion Spain/Europix Consolidated Corporation US. Produced and Directed by José Antonio Nieves Conde. Written by Sam X Abarbanel, Conde, Gregorio Sacristán de Hoyos, and Gregg C Tallas from a story by Abarbanel. Cast includes José Bódalo, Antonio Casas, Arturo Fernández, Lola Gaos, Soledad Miranda, James Philbrook, Francisco Piquer and Ingrid ...
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 ...