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Thursday 19 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. ...
Illustrated Man, The
Film (1968). SKM Productions/Warner-Seven Arts. Directed by Jack Smight. Written by Howard B Kreitsek, based on The Illustrated Man (coll 1951) by Ray Bradbury. Cast includes Claire Bloom, Robert Drivas, Don Dubbins, Jason Evers and Rod Steiger. 103 minutes. Colour. / Ray Bradbury's idea of a man (here Steiger) whose various tattoos each represent a different tale did not completely work as an afterthought framework to link the stories ...
Rezillos, The
Scottish punk and post-punk band, notable for energetic, bright-coloured and abbreviated songs that give voice to a number of junk culture topoi, occasionally drawing on sf. "Flying Saucer Attack" and "2000AD", both on the group's debut album Can't Stand the Rezillos (1978), are characteristically effervescent and disposable. In 1980 they changed their name to "The Revillos", although they have since changed it back. Under each of these names (and occasionally, under both, as with ...
Rabelais, François
(?1483/1494-1553) French monk, doctor, priest and author. The various titles now generally gathered together as Gargantua and Pantagruel (1532-1552 plus a posthumous text of dubious authenticity 1564) were initially published as separate volumes [see Checklist for individual titles plus the translations of same by Sir Thomas Urquhart – first two books 1653, third book 1693 – and Peter Anthony Motteux – fourth and fifth books 1694]. ...
Star Fleet Battles
Board and counter Wargame (1979). Task Force Games (TFG). Designed by Stephen Cole. / Star Fleet Battles was first developed as a game of tactical combat between starships in the Star Trek universe. However, the limitations of the licence under which the game is produced, and the extent to which the various themes found in the original material were differently emphasized by the game developers and later television ...
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 ...