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Wednesday 13 May 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.
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Suzuki Kōji
(1957-2026) Japanese author and essayist, largely known in English through the Cinema adaptations of several of his books, the international success of which obscured his wide-ranging domestic output. His horror and Equipoisal fiction proceeded in tandem with a wide array (not listed here) of books on young fatherhood and occasional works on motorcycle travel. He was also the translator of Simon Brett's ...
Griffin, P M
Working name of US author Pauline Margaret Griffin (1947-2020), who sometimes wrote as Pauline Griffin. She was initially known for the untaxing Star Commandos Military SF sequence set in an interstellar venue, beginning with Star Commandos (1986) and ending with Star Commandos #12: War Prince (2004). Griffin also published several fantasy stories, including Science Fantasy material ...
Wolpe, Berthold
(1905-1989) German book designer, typographer, illustrator and author, in UK from 1935 (interned 1939-1941; naturalized in 1947); his escape as a Jew from Nazi persecution was, as so often, a close call. In Germany from 1927, he had established an early reputation for his innovative use of lettering in various media; of the typefaces he invented, Albertus from 1935 is perhaps the most famous. Though he did freelance commissions, including logos for ...
Ariel: The Book of Fantasy
Large-letter-size US magazine/anthology (12 x 9 in; about 305 x 230 mm), only the first issue (Autumn 1976) of which is unequivocally designated a magazine, and was made up almost exclusively of original material; the three remaining issues or volumes (1977, April and October 1978) typically presented reprint stories with new illustrations. All four were edited by Thomas Durwood. Ariel was lavishly produced on glossy paper, emphasizing fantastic art and ...
Scott, Melissa
(1960- ) US author who began publishing sf with her first novel, The Game Beyond (1984), a Space Opera of some resonance which uses analogies with the Roman Empire – familiar since the early Foundation stories (1951-1953) of Isaac Asimov – with considerable skill (see History in SF). In 1986 she won the ...
Robinson, Roger
(1943- ) UK computer programmer, bibliographer and publisher, active in UK Fandom for many years. The Writings of Henry Kenneth Bulmer (1983 chap; rev 1984 chap) is an exhaustive Bibliography of one of the most prolific sf writers, Kenneth Bulmer, and Who's Hugh?: An SF Reader's Guide to Pseudonyms (1987) is similarly exhaustive in its ...