The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction

Book excerpt: The first edition of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction was published in 1979 and was immediately hailed as a classic work of reference. This edition, now available in paperback, has taken years to prepare and is much more than a simple updating. The world of science fiction in the 1990s is much more complex than it was in the 1970s. The advent of game worlds, shared worlds, graphic novels, film and TV spin-offs, technothrillers, SF horror and much more has meant that the book has been expanded dramatically to cope with the complexities and changes in the genre. It now contains well over 4,300 entries - a staggering 1,500 more than the original - and, at 1.3 million words, it is over half a million words longer than the first edition. Written and compiled by a team of editors with unparalleled collective experience in the field, it is an invaluable reference work for any fan of imaginative fiction.