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Tuesday 24 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 23 February 2026
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Chong, Jinwoo
(? - ) US author whose first novel Flux (2023) complexly engages in exploring perplexities as to the nature of Time (see Dimensions; Time Distortion), with some implication that the caltraps of plot and circumstance that beleaguer the cast may originate in the profit-and power-driven machinations of some tentacular private corporation. [JC]
Tokusatsu
Tokusatsu is a contraction of the Japanese term tokushu satsuei ["special photography"] and is the term for special effects used in live action film and Television. It is mainly associated with those sf, Fantasy and Horror productions that are dominated by special effects; thus there are many works in those genres not classifiable as Tokusatsu. / Strictly speaking, ...
WALL-E
Animated film (2008). Pixar Animation Studios/Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by Andrew Stanton. Written by Stanton and Jim Reardon, based on a story by Stanton and Pete Docter. Cast includes Ben Burtt, Jeff Garlin, Elissa Knight, Sigourney Weaver. 95 minutes. Colour. / On the page it sounds implausibly avant-garde: a love story between two Robots aimed at children and told through mime. On the screen, however, it was a stunning critical and commercial ...
Stables, Gordon
(1840-1910) Scottish medical doctor and author of children's fiction, writing well over a hundred novels, primarily for boys; he served as surgeon on a whaling boat and later with the Royal Navy until 1875; some of his books were signed Dr Gordon Stables, RN, and some others were signed W Gordon-Stables or W Gordon Stables, MD, RN. He wrote extensively for the Boys' Papers, including The Boy's Own Paper, where he published many ...
Twelve Monkeys
Film (1995). Polygram Filmed Entertainment and Universal Pictures present an Atlas Entertainment production. Directed by Terry Gilliam. Written by David & Janet Peoples, inspired by La Jetée (1963) by Chris Marker. Cast includes David Morse, Brad Pitt, Christopher Plummer, John Seda, Madeleine Stowe and Bruce Willis. 129 minutes. Colour. / A time traveller sent ...
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 (1966-1967), and later in ...