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Tuesday 17 February 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 16 February 2026
Sponsor of the day: Andy Richards of Cold Tonnage Books
Metaltech
Videogame series (from 1994). Dynamix. / After developing the first MechWarrior game in the late 1980s (see Battletech), Dynamix lost the licence to Activision. Their response was to create their own version of the Battletech (1984) universe, featuring HERCULANs (human and AI piloted bipedal robots) in a unique Future History, ...
Tales of Moreauvia
Canadian Semiprozine published by Creative Guy Publishing, Vancouver, British Columbia, and edited by Peter S Allen; letter-size, planned as semi-annual, but the four issues are dated Spring 2008, Summer 2009, Winter (November) 2010 and finally Summer 2012. It labelled itself "Flights of Historical Fancy", the contents being a mixture of Steampunk, Alternate History and historical sf (see ...
Simpson, George E
(1944-2009) US author, film scriptwriter and sound effects editor who worked with Universal Studios for several years. With Neal R Burger he wrote three sf novels, all with a strong espionage-thriller flavour. Ghostboat (1976) centres on the submarine USS Candlefish, believed lost during World War Two, which reappears in modern times minus her crew. The solution of this mystery involves an uneasy mix of ...
Shea, Cornelius
(1863-1920) US author for the silent screen and author of dime novels (see Dime-Novel SF), prolific in many categories but best remembered for marvel stories using a fairly consistent "mythology" of dwarfs, subterranean eruptions, and stage illusion masquerading as supernatural magic. His first tale of sf interest seems to be The Air Voyagers; Or, a Trip to the Moon in a Balloon: A Tale of Wonderful Adventure (1880 chap), which may have been ...
Torgeson, Roy
(1936-1990) US editor, noted mainly for the competent Chrysalis series of Original Anthologies beginning with Chrysalis (anth 1977) and ending with Chrysalis #10 (anth 1983). A second sequence ran for only two volumes: Other Worlds 1 (anth 1979) and Other Worlds #2 (anth 1980). The 1977 Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine Checklist and Price Guide 1923-1976 ...
Langford, David
(1953- ) UK author, critic, editor, publisher and sf fan, in the latter capacity recipient of 21 Hugo awards for fan writing – some of the best of his several hundred pieces are assembled as Let's Hear It for the Deaf Man (coll 1992 chap US; much exp vt The Silence of the Langford 1996; exp 2015 ebook) as Dave Langford, edited by Ben Yalow – plus five Best Fanzine Hugos ...