Logo of the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
I got an email from Nicholas Helweg-Larsen the other day, asking about a reference work he had run across online, the Science Fiction Encyclopedia. He asked if I was familiar with it.
I replied, "Yes, it's very good, I use it all the time for looking up SF authors. The brains behind it are British luminaries such as John Clute and Dave Langford. I should do a blog post and recommend it and put up a link. So you have given me a good idea."
There are in fact many entries which might interest readers of this blog. For example, there's one on Robert Anton Wilson, and one on Robert Shea. There's no separate entry on Illuminatus!, but in the RAW entry, critic John Clute opines the work is "clearly spoofing the intensively recomplicated plots of A E van Vogt and those influenced by him."
Pretty much any "name" SF author will have an entry, e.g. Philip K. Dick, Arthur C. Clarke, Harlan Ellison, Jack Vance, Philip Jose Farmer, and so on. It doesn't just explore authors; themes and ideas are also discussed, as in this piece on Libertarian SF. The Prometheus Award has its own entry, although the Prometheus Hall of Fame Award (which went to Illuminatus!) is covered by a link to the award's official site.
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