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Wednesday 1 July 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 29 June 2026
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Yugoslavia
This entry, written for the second edition of the encyclopedia, awaits updating and linking to further new entries covering the development of sf in the various post-1992 successor states such as Croatia (see also Slavic Fantastika). / Yugoslavia was established as a nation in 1918, but the first sf works in two of its three linguistic areas – the Serbocroat and the Slovenian – long predated that. The first sf ...
Gurdjieff, G
(?1866-1949) Armenian philosopher of Greek descent, composer, mystic, teacher and author, in Russia proper (Armenia being a Russian territory) from 1912, in Turkey and mostly in France from 1920; his birth date is insecure, with 1872 and 1877 also being suggested. His doctrine of the Fourth Way – which seems essentially to apply "scientific" expressions of mystical intuitions with the aim of providing models of harmonious selfhood for his followers – ...
Megazone 23
Japanese Original Video Animation (1985-1986; vt Omega Zone 23; vt Megazone Two-Three). Artland, Artmic. Created by Noboru Ishiguro. Directed by Noboru Ishiguro (part one) and Ichiro Itano (part two). Written by Hiroyuki Hoshiyama. Voice cast includes Maria Kawamura, Masato Kubota, Kumi Miyasato, Kaneto Shiozawa, Mina Tominaga and Kazuki Yao. Two 80 minute episodes, the first titled Megazone 23, the second ...
Sarrantonio, Al
(1952-2025) US editor and author who began publishing work of genre interest with "Ahead of the Joneses" in Asimov's for March 1979. Much of his work was horror, sometimes tinged with sf (see Horror in SF), including his first novel, The Worms (1985), a Gothic tale set in Massachusetts with hints of H P Lovecraft; and the Equipoisal Moonbane ...
Benford, James
(1941- ) US experimental physicist, author and fan, identical twin brother of Gregory Benford. The brothers were active in Fandom as Greg and Jim Benford from an early age, launching the Fanzine Void in May 1955; James dropped out after 13 issues and was replaced by Ted White for #14 in February 1958. James began to ...
Clute, John
(1940- ) Canadian critic, editor and author, in the UK from 1969; married to Judith Clute from 1964, partner of Elizabeth Hand since 1996. He began to publish work of genre interest with an sf-tinged poem "Carcajou Lament" in Triquarterly for Winter 1960 [ie Autumn 1959]; he began consistently publishing sf reviews in his "New Fiction" column for the Toronto Star ...